We guide employers and foreign national employees through the complex immigration sponsorship process including temporary work visas and permanent residence.

We have assisted several multinational companies in obtaining "Blanket L" approval enabling them to transfer foreign national employees from offices abroad to the United States through an expedited immigration process. We have also processed thousands of L visa petitions for international companies at Consulates worldwide.

We advise health care employers on the complex rules governing employment of physicians who have received graduate medical education or training in the United States including the J-1 waiver process, H-1B sponsorship, and permanent residence processing. We also assist employers with sponsorship of allied healthcare professionals such as nurses and physical therapists.

We advise schools throughout the region on foreign national student issues including work authorization, travel, maintaining immigration status and ensuring compliance with SEVIS reporting requirements.

We represent some of the world’s leading thoroughbred breeding and racing interests in transferring equine personnel around the globe in various categories including farm managers, bloodstock analysts, nominations specialists, broodmare managers, seasonal workers, trainees, and exercise riders.

We assist U.S. companies in developing their own J training programs, enabling them to J approvals to bring foreign national employees to the United States for approved training. We work with employers to ensure an adequate and established training program is in place and that other requirements such as health insurance and wage issues were met. We have also represented numerous foreign national employees in obtaining J visas at U.S. consulates throughout the world based on their employer's J program.

We assist companies in conducting internal I-9 and H-1B audits and in developing compliance programs to ensure conformity with government requirements. This includes providing general training as well as advice related to specific compliance issues.

SKO attorneys assist business entities in navigating through the immigration implications of corporate reorganization by ensuring immigration issues are properly addressed in the corporate transaction and assessing the impact on foreign national employees including tax, employment law issues, immigration requirements, and risks associated with assuming immigration liabilities.

We guide families through the complex immigration sponsorship process including fiancé visas and permanent residence sponsorship, and assist individuals in applying for U.S. citizenship through naturalization.

SKO is mindful of the economic constraints many businesses and individuals are facing. SKO attorneys work with clients to contain costs, both from a billing perspective through the use of technology and standardized processes, and by identifying more cost-effective immigration solutions, choosing between domestic and foreign processing of visas, and avoiding renewal costs through timely decision making.

Industries We Represent
The Immigration Practice Group represents employers and foreign national individuals in the region and throughout the world across a variety of industries including: Information Technology, Engineering and Manufacturing, Financial Services, Insurance, Health care, Education including Primary, Secondary and Colleges and Universities, Equine, Biotechnology and Public Utilities.

The Immigration Group has staff fluent in Japanese, and other firm attorneys are`fluent in Spanish, French and German.
With the use of cutting edge technology and our knowledge of practices and procedures at the U.S. Consulates worldwide, we have the capability and the experience to fully represent companies and individuals on all continents – from the Middle East and Africa, to Europe, Asia, Australia and the Americas.