An employer immigration lawyer represents companies — not just individual workers — through everything hiring foreign talent involves: choosing the right visa for a candidate, filing the petitions, running the PERM labor certification process for green-card sponsorship, and keeping the company compliant with I-9, wage, and audit obligations that carry real penalties. Any business hiring its first foreign national, acquiring one through a merger, or scaling a sponsorship program needs this counsel before deadlines and government scrutiny arrive. Atlas Immigration Law runs a full employer-side practice from our Dallas office, serving companies in all 50 states with flat fees, same-business-day responses, and a free 20-minute consultation — the same firm handling startups’ first work visas and established companies’ business immigration programs.
Key takeaways
Employer-side immigration runs on two tracks: temporary work visas (H-1B, L-1, O-1, TN, E-2 — most filed on Form I-129) that get talent working now, and the multi-stage employment green card (PERM labor certification through the Department of Labor, then I-140 and adjustment) that keeps them long term. The compliance layer — I-9s, LCA obligations, site visits, audits — is where unrepresented employers get hurt. Flat-fee counsel makes all three predictable line items instead of open-ended risks.
What an employer immigration lawyer actually does
The work splits into three streams. Case work: assessing a specific candidate and filing the petition that fits — usually Form I-129 for nonimmigrant workers — with the supporting evidence built to survive scrutiny the first time. Program work: sequencing visas into green cards, budgeting sponsorship, writing offer-letter and repayment policies that comply with the rules about who must pay which fees. Compliance work: I-9 procedures, public access files for H-1B employers, audit and site-visit response, and M&A due diligence when a deal transfers sponsored employees. A firm that only files petitions leaves two-thirds of the job undone.
The main work visa options at a glance
| Visa | Who it fits | Key feature |
|---|---|---|
| H-1B | Professionals in specialty occupations requiring a degree | Annual cap and lottery for most employers; wage and LCA obligations |
| L-1 | Executives, managers, and specialized-knowledge staff transferring from a foreign affiliate | No lottery; requires a qualifying corporate relationship and prior employment abroad |
| O-1 | Individuals with extraordinary ability in their field | Evidence-heavy but uncapped; strong option for founders and researchers |
| TN | Canadian and Mexican professionals in listed occupations | Fast, renewable, treaty-based; no lottery |
| E-2 | Investors and key employees of treaty-country businesses | Tied to a substantial investment; renewable while the business operates |
Category choice is strategy, not taxonomy. The same candidate can often be filed more than one way, and the right answer depends on timing (lottery vs. no lottery), the company’s structure, the person’s long-term green-card plan, and how much evidence the file can honestly support. Our work visa practice covers each of these categories in depth.
Wondering where your case fits in these timelines?
A free consultation gets you a straight answer on your category, your realistic timeline, and the flat fee — before you commit to anything.
Sponsoring a green card: the PERM three-step
| Stage | Agency | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 1. PERM labor certification | Department of Labor | Prevailing wage determination, a prescribed recruitment campaign testing the U.S. labor market, and the ETA-9089 filing — the stage where audits happen and where employers must pay the costs. |
| 2. I-140 immigrant petition | USCIS | Proves the job, the worker’s qualifications, and the company’s ability to pay the offered wage. |
| 3. Green card stage | USCIS or consulate | Adjustment of status or consular processing once the worker’s priority date is current in the visa bulletin. |
PERM is process-driven in a way that punishes improvisation: recruitment steps in the wrong order, a job description quietly tailored to the candidate, or a missed audit deadline can send the case back to the start. The Department of Labor publishes the governing rules for the permanent labor certification program. Some categories — extraordinary-ability cases and national-interest waivers — skip PERM entirely, which is exactly the kind of routing decision counsel should make at the start, not after a year of recruitment. The full sequence is covered in our employment green card practice.
The compliance layer employers underestimate
- I-9 obligations apply to every employer in the country, sponsor or not — and paperwork errors are penalized even when every employee is authorized. Internal audits under counsel’s privilege find problems before the government does.
- H-1B employer obligations — the LCA wage attestations, the public access file, notice requirements, and the duty to pay the required wage until a bona fide termination — continue after approval and are enforced through complaints and investigations.
- Site visits. USCIS conducts unannounced visits for H-1B and L-1 employers; front-desk staff should know exactly what to do before the visit happens, not during it.
- Corporate changes. Mergers, acquisitions, relocations, and layoffs each have immigration consequences for sponsored workers — immigration diligence belongs on the deal checklist.
Costs and timeline
Employer-side costs come in three distinct buckets, and confusing them causes budgeting and legal problems alike: government filing fees (petition fees and, for some employers and categories, statutory surcharges — current amounts are on the USCIS fee schedule linked from each form page), required recruitment costs in PERM cases, and attorney fees. The law also assigns some of these: PERM costs, for instance, must be borne by the employer, and certain H-1B fees cannot be passed to the worker — rules a lawyer builds into policy before an auditor reads the reimbursement agreements. Atlas quotes flat fees per case type, so a sponsorship program can be budgeted per hire instead of per billable hour.
Timelines range from weeks (TN, premium-processed petitions) to multi-year (PERM through green card, and longer for workers born in backlogged countries). Because agency speeds move constantly, we plan cases against current processing times and build the calendar backward from the business need — the start date, the OPT expiration, the lottery registration window — with margin for the government to be slow.
How Atlas Immigration Law helps employers
Jordan Weinberg, our founder and managing attorney — licensed in Texas, member of AILA and the Dallas Bar Association — built this practice to work the way growing companies actually operate: fast answers, fixed prices, and no surprises in either direction.
- Flat, transparent fees per case — sponsorship becomes a predictable line item HR can budget.
- Same-business-day responses and direct attorney access — because candidate offers, lottery windows, and audit deadlines move at business speed.
- Atlas Vision client portal — HR and the sponsored employee track every case in real time, with secure document collection replacing email attachments.
- One firm for both sides of the company’s needs — employer petitions and the employees’ family matters, in English and Spanish.
- Dallas office at 1920 McKinney Ave, serving employers in all 50 states — immigration law is federal, so a Dallas firm can run your program wherever your offices are.
Whether it is a first hire stuck on visa questions or a compliance program that has never been audited, the free 20-minute consultation is the right first step — bring the job description and the candidate’s situation, and leave with a strategy and a fixed quote.
Frequently asked questions
What does an employer immigration lawyer do?
They represent the company through the full lifecycle of foreign-national employment: choosing and filing work visa petitions (H-1B, L-1, O-1, TN, E-2), running the PERM labor certification and I-140 process for green-card sponsorship, and maintaining compliance — I-9 procedures, H-1B wage and posting obligations, audit and site-visit response, and immigration diligence in corporate transactions.
How long does it take to sponsor a foreign worker?
It ranges enormously by category. A TN or premium-processed petition can resolve in weeks; a cap-subject H-1B is tied to the annual spring lottery cycle; and the PERM-based green card sequence runs years, longer for workers born in backlogged countries. The practical answer is to plan backward from the business need against current processing times.
How much does it cost a company to sponsor a work visa or green card?
Costs fall into government filing fees (set on the USCIS fee schedule, with some statutory surcharges depending on employer size and category), required recruitment costs in PERM cases, and attorney fees. The law requires employers to bear certain costs — PERM expenses and specific H-1B fees cannot be shifted to the employee. Atlas quotes flat attorney fees per case so the total is known up front.
Can a small business or startup sponsor a work visa?
Yes. There is no minimum company size for H-1B, TN, O-1, or most other categories — the employer must show a real job, the ability to pay the required wage, and a legitimate business. Startups face extra scrutiny on those points, so the petition should be built with financial and corporate documentation from the start.
What is the difference between a work visa and green card sponsorship?
A work visa (like H-1B or L-1) is temporary permission tied to the employer and role, usually granted in multi-year increments. Green card sponsorship — typically PERM labor certification, then an I-140 petition, then adjustment of status — makes the worker a permanent resident. Most companies run both tracks: the visa gets the person working now, and the green card process retains them.
What happens to a sponsored employee if they change jobs — or if we acquire a company that sponsors workers?
Sponsored status is employer- and role-specific, so job changes generally require new or amended filings, and green-card cases have portability rules that depend on stage. In mergers and acquisitions, sponsored employees’ cases can survive or collapse depending on how the deal is structured — which is why immigration diligence belongs on every acquisition checklist.
Do all employers have to worry about I-9 compliance, or only sponsors?
Every U.S. employer must complete and retain Form I-9 for every hire — citizens included. Penalties apply to paperwork violations even when the workforce is fully authorized, and enforcement audits arrive with short response deadlines. A privileged internal audit and a written procedure are inexpensive insurance compared to the fine schedule.
This guide is part of our business immigration services — the service page covers eligibility, fees, and how we handle these cases.
Founder & Managing Attorney, Atlas Immigration Law
Member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and the Dallas Bar Association. Licensed to practice in Texas; fluent in English and Spanish.
Legally reviewed by a licensed immigration attorney
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This guide is general information, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Immigration law and procedures change, and how they apply depends on your specific facts — consult a licensed immigration attorney about your situation.