Meredith C. Doll advises clients on all facets of business immigration, from hiring foreign-born employees to I-9 compliance. She has more than a decade of experience in the preparation and submission of immigration applications to government agencies. Her clients include pharma, biotech, and scientific companies; academic and governmental research laboratories; multinational engineering, manufacturing, transportation and distribution firms in industries ranging from agriculture to semiconductors; higher education and healthcare systems including universities, faculty practice groups, residency programs, foreign students, and exchange visitors; and individuals who are extraordinary in their field.
As a dedicated employment-based immigration attorney, Meredith understands the interplay between U.S. immigration laws and the operational needs of client organizations, and strives to anticipate challenges, communicate proactively, and put strategies in place to prevent problems before they start. Client services include:
- Employment-based immigration sponsorship: Advises companies on recruitment, hiring, retention and/or termination of foreign-born workers in the U.S., from the C-suite to the front line. Provides proactive policy development, implementation, and training services to clients, to engender a culture of compliance, drive efficiencies and reduce costs of immigration sponsorship to organizations.
- Mergers & Acquisitions: Provides immigration-related due diligence for mergers and acquisitions, advises buyers on management of liability and workforce risks during post-close transitions.
- Policies & Training: Assists companies in developing nondiscriminatory recruitment and hiring policies; compliant workforce verification processes (Form I-9 and E-Verify); and immigration-sensitive restrictive covenants for employment agreements.
- Global Mobility: Advises HR and Global Mobility teams on complex global employee travel and relocation issues, liaises with U.S. consulates abroad in special situations, and provides up-to-date guidance and coordination with local counsel for outgoing transfers.
- International Trade: Helps employers identify and navigate export licensing obligations under Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) when recruiting for sensitive positions or hiring "foreign persons"; develops nondiscriminatory recruitment and hiring policies for employers subject to export regulations.
- Government Investigations: Defends companies in all stages of civil and criminal government investigations involving foreign-born employees and/or company compliance with immigration-related regulations, such as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) I-9 audits, independent and complaint-based Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) investigations, and Fraud Detection and National Security (FDNS) site visits.
- Litigation and Appeals: Advises companies and individual clients on post-decision strategies, including federal court litigation – Administrative Procedure Act (APA) challenges, mandamus actions, etc.) –; represents companies in agency litigation against U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and administrative appeals before Administrative Appeals Office (AAO), Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA), and Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR).