Queens Employment Immigration Lawyers

Last Updated on: 11th October 2025, 11:05 am

Queens Employment Immigration Lawyers

Thanks for visiting Spodek Law Group – a second-generation law firm managed by Todd Spodek. We have over 50 years of combined experience helping Queens employers and workers navigate employment-based immigration. If you’re here, it’s because you’re an employer sponsoring workers or a foreign worker seeking employment-based visas or green cards.

Queens has a diverse economy – hospitals in Jamaica and Forest Hills and Flushing, tech companies in Long Island City, financial firms and professional services and restaurants and retail throughout Queens. Employers need foreign workers. Workers need authorization. We handle work visas and green cards for Queens employers and employees.

Temporary Work Visas

H-1B visas work for specialty occupations requiring bachelor’s degrees. Tech and healthcare and finance and professional services. Annual cap of 85,000. Lottery required. Up to six years, extendable if green card is in process. Dual intent allowed.

L-1 visas work for intracompany transfers from foreign offices to U.S. offices. L-1A for managers and executives, L-1B for specialized knowledge workers. No cap. Requires one year employment abroad. Dual intent allowed.

O-1 visas work for individuals with extraordinary ability in sciences and arts and education and business and athletics. High standard. No cap. Three-year increments, unlimited extensions. Not dual intent.

TN visas work for Canadian and Mexican citizens in 64 professional occupations. No cap. Up to three-year increments. Not dual intent. Canadians apply at ports of entry, Mexicans at consulates.

E-2 visas work for treaty country nationals investing substantial capital in U.S. businesses. No minimum investment but typically $100,000 or more. Two to five year increments, unlimited renewals. Not dual intent.

We help Queens employers select appropriate visa categories. We analyze position requirements and worker qualifications and business needs and immigration goals.

Employment-Based Green Cards

EB-1 priority workers include extraordinary ability individuals and outstanding professors and researchers and multinational executives and managers. No labor certification required. Priority dates typically current.

EB-2 for advanced degrees or exceptional ability. Requires master’s degree or bachelor’s plus five years progressive experience. Labor certification required unless National Interest Waiver. Indian nationals face 10+ year backlogs. Chinese nationals face 2-3 years. Others current.

EB-3 for skilled workers and professionals. Requires bachelor’s degree or two years experience. Labor certification required. Indian nationals face 5+ year backlogs. Chinese nationals face 2-3 years. Others current.

EB-5 for immigrant investors. Investment of $800,000 in targeted employment areas or $1.05 million elsewhere creating 10 jobs. No labor certification. Conditional two-year green card first.

Queens workers pursue different categories based on qualifications and country of birth. Indian tech workers face crushing EB-2 backlogs. Chinese healthcare workers face shorter waits. Workers from most other countries have current priority dates.

PERM Labor Certification

EB-2 and EB-3 require PERM labor certification – employers prove no qualified U.S. workers are available. The Department of Labor determines prevailing wage. Queens wages are high due to New York City area.

Employers conduct recruitment – two Sunday newspaper ads and job order with New York State Department of Labor and 30-day internal posting and three additional recruitment steps. Employers document results. If qualified U.S. workers apply, employers show lawful job-related reasons for rejection.

Employers file Form ETA-9089 with the Department of Labor. Processing takes 6-12 months. Audits request recruitment documentation.

We handle PERM regularly. We structure job requirements lawfully. We complete proper recruitment. We respond to audits.

National Interest Waiver

National Interest Waiver allows EB-2 workers to self-petition without employer sponsorship or labor certification. Requires proving your proposed endeavor has substantial merit and national importance, you’re well positioned to advance it, and it’s beneficial to the United States to waive job offer and labor certification requirements.

Queens professionals qualifying include healthcare workers addressing underserved communities and tech entrepreneurs developing innovative technologies and researchers and STEM educators and professionals addressing climate change and public health.

We prepare winning National Interest Waiver cases. We develop narratives showing national importance. We gather expert letters. We document qualifications.

From Work Visa to Green Card

Many Queens workers start with temporary visas then pursue green cards. H-1B to green card is most common. H-1B allows dual intent. File PERM while on H-1B, then I-140, then I-485 when priority date becomes current. H-1B is extendable beyond six years once I-140 is approved.

L-1A managers often qualify for EB-1C green cards. L-1B specialized knowledge workers may pursue EB-2 or EB-3.

O-1 holders often qualify for EB-1A or EB-2 National Interest Waiver. But O-1 is not dual intent. Must show nonimmigrant intent when renewing O-1 while green card is pending.

TN is not dual intent. Risky to pursue green cards on TN. Common strategy is switch to H-1B first then pursue green card.

E-2 is not dual intent. Difficult path to green card. Options include EB-5 if investment and job creation requirements are met.

We coordinate visa and green card strategy. We time applications to avoid jeopardizing current status.

Why We Handle These Cases

Todd Spodek is a second-generation attorney – his father practiced law before him. After graduating from Pace Law School, Todd started appearing in courts throughout New York daily. He’s represented clients in high-profile cases including Anna Delvey – the case that became a Netflix series. Our firm has been featured in The New York Times, Newsweek, Bloomberg.

We handle employment immigration for Queens employers and workers across every industry. Healthcare and tech and finance and professional services and hospitality and education. Whether you need work visas or green cards – call us. We’re available 24/7.