Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP

Legal Expertise
Immigration and nationality law with an emphasis on employer obligations and responsibilities.  Counseling multi-national corporations, small businesses, and individuals on a wide variety of immigration matters, including immigration requirements during corporate reorganizations, transfer of executives, managers, professionals, and technicians, temporary work permits and permanent residence applications, and immigration-related security matters.  Counseling employers on I9 and LCA audits.  Documentation for international manufacturers and R&D companies doing business and trade in the United States.

Industry Focus
Information technology, new media, research and development, manufacturing, entertainment. commercial, advertising and healthcare

Key Professional Accomplishments
* Successfully prosecuted appeals for a motion picture studio to qualify a director of photography, editor, production designer, and lighting specialist for employment visas to film in the U.S.
* Represented major international petroleum, data communications, entertainment, health care, and consumer products companies concerning transfers of critical foreign managerial, professional, and technical personnel to U.S. offices
* Successfully defended clients in Department of Labor, OFCCP, Wage and Hour, and Immigration audits

* "Take a Number: The U.S. State Department Dramatically Alters Waiting Times for Indian Nationals Awaiting Employment-Based Green Cards," MS&K Immigration Alert (July 2013)
* "Purchasing a New Brand – US Immigration Consequences," MS&K Immigration Alert (January 2013)
* "O-1 "Super Executive" Visas in Fashion," MS&K's Fashion Industry Blog (November 2012)
* "Travel, Fashion & Visas," MS&K's Fashion Industry Blog (October 2012)
* "New Investment Opportunities for Israeli Nationals," MS&K Immigration Alert (June 2012)
* "U.S. Employers Should Prepare for On-Site Visits by USCIS," Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp Immigration Alert (February 2012)
* "The Social Security Administration Revives the Employer No-Match Letters," Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp Immigration Alert (April, 2011)
* "Export Licensing Enforcement Now Falls on Human Resources Managers," Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp Immigration Alert (March 2011)
* Speaker, "Hiring Foreign Talent in a Downturn Economy: What Every HR Professional Should Know," 2011 PIHRA Update (January 2011)
* "Travel To The United States: Making The Experience Less Harrowing," Bloomberg Law Reports (November 2010)
* Speaker, "Hot Topics in Immigration for Labor and Employment Attorneys," ABA Annual Meeting: Immigration Panel (August 2010)
* "Summer is Here: Trainees and Interns," Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp Immigration Alert (June 2010)
* "Regulations For Workforce Reduction, Lay-Offs and Termination of Foreign Workers," Daily Journal (August 2009)
* Co-author, “Focus Column,” Daily Journal (August 2009)
* "EB-5 Regional Centers: Pooled Resources For Job Creation With "Green Cards" As Rewards," MS&K Immigration Alert (July 2009)
* "U.S. Immigration - Retention of U.S.," MS&K Immigration Legal Update (June 2009)
* "Employer Update: H1B and E-verify," MS&K Immigration Alert (April 2009)
* "Work Force Reductions Involving H-1B Foreign Workers," MS&K Immigration Alert (February 2009)
* "U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services Delay Implementation of Revised Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification Form," MS&K Immigration Alert (February 2009)
* "Nonprofit Organizations: Uniquely Positioned to Take Advantage of Immigration Benefits," MS&K Immigration Alert (November 2008)
* "Fusion and Security: New Screenings for Cargo and Travelers," U.S. Custom House Guide (September 2008)
* "E-Verify," MS&K Immigration Alert (June 2008)
* Speaker, "Recruiting Seasonal, Peakload Foreign Workers," National HR in Hospitality Conference (2008)
* "U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Announces Revised Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification," MS&K Immigration Alert (November 2007)
* ""No Match" Regulations Are No Match For Federal Judge," MS&K Immigration Alert (September 2007)
* "Risks and Benefits of Hiring Foreign Talent," MS&K Immigration Legal Update (March 2007)
* "O's and P's - The Entertainment and Sports Visas," MS&K Immigration Legal Update (March 2007)
* Speaker, "HR Concerns in the Recruitment & Retention of Foreign Workers," Professionals in Human Resources Association (PIHRA) (2006 and 2007)
* Speaker, "Immigration Fundamentals: What Every Lawyer Needs to Know," ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law (2007)
* Speaker, "National Security & Immigration Policies," World Jurist Association (2007)
* Speaker, "Security's Impact on the Arts and Production," major entertainment studios (2003 - 2007)
* "Program Electronic Review Management (PERM)," MS&K Immigration Alert (June 2006)
* "Program Electronic Review Management (PERM) - January 2005," MS&K Immigration Alert (January 2005)
* "2005 Omnibus Appropriations Bill: H-1B/L-1 Visas," MS&K Immigration Alert (December 2004)
* Speaker, "The Impact of U.S. Security," ABA Section on International Law and Practice (Spring 2004)
* Speaker, Georgetown Corporate Counsel Institute (1997, 2001)
* Editor, "Canada-U.S. Business Immigration Handbook," by Joseph C. Grasmick (Carswell Thomson Professional Publishing) (1999)
* Author, "U.S. Immigration Laws - Temporary Work Visas," The Labor Letters (October 1998)
* Speaker, Advanced Employment Issues Symposium (1998)
* Author, "Risks and Benefits of Hiring Foreign Talent," H.R. Advisor, Legal and Practical Guidelines (May/June 1997)
* Speaker, PLI Annual Immigration & Naturalization Institute (1996)
* Speaker, USC Entertainment Law Symposium (1986)

 

 

Professional, Business, and Civic Affiliations
* Chair, MS&K Immigration Department
* Co-Chair, MS&K Homeland Security & Regulatory Practice
* Member, MS&K Governing Board
* Editor, MS&K Immigration Alert
* Pacific Council on International Policy
* Immigration Section, Los Angeles County Bar Association
* Association of Immigration and Nationality Lawyers
* President's Cirlce, Los Angeles County Museum of Art Prints, and Drawing Council
* Friend, British Academy of Film & Television Arts (1996-present)
* Former Vice-Chair, American Immigration Lawyers Association, Southern California Chapter (1987)
* Former member, Board of Legal Specialization, Immigration Law Consulting Group for the State Bar of California (1983-1986)

Education
University of California, Los Angeles, J.D. 1978; Moot Court Honors Program
University of Southern California, B.A. 1975; Phi Beta Kappa

Foreign Languages
Fluent in Spanish and Hebrew.