Robert N Gottfried

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Immigration

In today's global marketplace, companies and individuals face challenges from every direction. But where others see obstacles, attorneys in the Hodgson Russ Immigration Practice Group see opportunities for clients to expand, diversify, and reach a higher level of success. From multinational corporations and entrepreneurs to athletes, entertainers, physicians, and specialized workers, the Immigration Practice Group provides clients with advice on immigration issues ranging from routine to very complex.

Extensive Experience

The Hodgson Russ Immigration Practice Group has more than 25 years of experience in the field of immigration law. Our attorneys are skilled in handling a broad range of immigration issues for businesses and individuals, including:
* Representing large, multinational companies in connection with the temporary employment of professionals and intra-company transfers, the periodic entry of business visitors, and the permanent employment of foreign workers
* Counseling U.S. employers on all aspects of employment eligibility and verification and related unlawful discrimination practices
* Representing foreign entrepreneurs and investors
* Representing foreign athletes and entertainers entering the United States for professional work, events, and performances
* Representing foreign corporations of all sizes expanding or relocating to the United States
* Representing hospitals as well as foreign nurses and physicians entering the United States to pursue graduate medical education or clinical practice
* Representing foreign scientists and researchers
* Advising individual foreign nationals and foreign diplomats with respect to a wide range of immigration issues, including family-based immigration sponsorship
* Representing Canadian professionals seeking to work under the immigration provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

The Right Connections

Our experience and ability to provide high-quality legal services are enhanced by our regular interactions with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service’s four regional service centers — giving us great familiarity with each center’s practices and procedures — and by the experience of members of our group who have previously worked for the Immigration Service. In addition, our attorneys frequently work with U.S. consular posts throughout the world to assist clients in obtaining visas to enter the United States to live and work.

Members of the Immigration Practice Group have significant experience filing a broad range of petitions and applications for non-immigrant and immigrant visas with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and work regularly with the U.S. Department of Labor as part of the labor certification process.

Meeting Your Needs

Hodgson Russ’s employment-based immigration practice is tailored to the needs of our domestic and international clients, including the acquisition of permanent residence (green cards) in the United States. We have extensive experience assisting clients in acquiring a multitude of non-immigrant visas, including H-1B, L-1, E-1, E-2, O-1 and P-1, among others.

In addition to our business immigration work, our family-based immigration practice includes a broad range of services to assist U.S. citizens and permanent resident aliens in bringing their families together, including a full complement of non-immigrant and immigrant services. In addition, we have significant experience in the area of employment verification (I-9 compliance), in accordance with the Immigration Reform and Control Act.

Many Hodgson Russ immigration clients also take advantage of our excellent legal counsel from other areas within the firm, including international tax planning, business reorganization or restructuring, intellectual property, and real estate.

Robert N Gottfried
Hodgson Russ LLP
1 Grand Central Place
60 E 42nd St - 37th floor
New York NY 10165
Tel: 212 661-3535
Fax: 212 972-1677
E-mail: rgottfri@hodgsonruss.com

Areas of Practice: Immigration and naturalization, family immigration law, business immigration

Professional Experience: Mr. Gottfried has more than 30 years of immigration law experience in the New York City area. His practice focuses on obtaining work visas, permanent resident status, and U.S. citizenship for individuals and corporations, including an international airline and numerous area hospitals. He also represents United Nations employees and the diplomatic community in U.S. immigration cases. Mr. Gottfried has obtained permanent residence for world-famous artists, photographers, athletes, scientists, and authors based on their extraordinary ability in their chosen professions.

Presentations/Conferences: Mr. Gottfried is a frequent speaker on a wide range of immigration law topics. He has regularly conducted pre-retirement seminars at the United Nations since 1999, and he has been a speaker at the national conference of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), most recently in 2009 on H-1 and L-1 visas and in 2007 on consular processing and the Child Status Protection Act. He has also been a speaker about international adoption issues at the 2009 Adoption Policy CLE seminar hosted by New York Law School; on family-based immigration at the New York State Bar Association seminar titled "Immigration Law Update 2008 - Basics and Beyond;" and on individual case liaison requests at a 2007 AILA meeting.

He has participated on numerous panels, including the PLI Basic Immigration Conference on naturalization issues, 2008; the AILA New York Chapter Conference, 2002, 2003, and 2007, on the Child Status Protection Act and naturalization issues; and the Association of the Bar of the City of New York in 2006 and 2007 on the intersection of employment and immigration law and naturalization issues.

Professional Associations: Member, AILA (Mentor, Family, and Business Matters); former co-chair, New York Chapter of the AILA District Office Liaison Committee, 2005-2009

Honors/Awards: Listed in Best Lawyers in America, 1996-present, and in Super Lawyers since 2006. Mr. Gottfried received the highest rating available (AV) from Martindale-Hubbell's peer-rated system, which shows a lawyer has reached the height of professional excellence and is recognized for the highest levels of skill and integrity.

Admitted to Practice: New York, United States District Court for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York

Education:
B.A., State University of New York at Albany
J.D., University at Buffalo Law School, State University of New York