Immigration Attorney

SUMMARY:

Provide legal, compliance, and strategic guidance within both the Research Foundation Human Resources and Legal Affairs Departments. This position advises on a broad range of institutional matters, with a primary focus on employment-based immigration, and a secondary focus on employment law, and general RF business contracts. As a solo practitioner within the immigration-employment domain, the Immigration Attorney will manage both high-level legal strategies and hands-on execution and administrative filing of all immigration cases (approximately 100 active cases annually) without dedicated paralegal support. This position reports directly to the Chief Human Resources Officer with a dotted line supervisory relationship to the Chief Counsel and Deputy Chief Counsel. The position works closely with the Assistant Director of Human Resources for Personnel Services on all immigration-related employment matters.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Full Immigration Employment Case Ownership: Manage and execute the end-to-end preparation, drafting, and filing of complex employment-based petitions (including Cap-Exempt H-1B, O-1, EB-1, EB-2 NIW, PERM, TN, and E-3) for approximately 100 active cases per year.
• Docketing & Compliance: Independently monitor case deadlines, maintain meticulous immigration case records, and ensure institutional compliance with Department of Labor (DOL) Public Access Files (PAFs).
• Advisory: Serve as the primary source of contact for Principal Investigators, international researchers, RFCUNY employees, administrators, and CUNY personnel regarding case status, document requests, and processing timelines.
• Business Contracts & Policies: Advise Research Foundation senior executives or other staff on legal issues to identify and respond strategically to legal risks, review internal agreements, and advise on corporate governance matters.
• Employment Law: Advising the Human Resources Office as needed on issues such as investigations, discipline and termination; draft, review, revise and negotiate employment agreements; oversee employment-related complaints proceedings and litigation; work with outside counsel as necessary.
• Other duties as assigned .

COMPETENCIES:

• End-to-End Execution: Ability to manage both high-level legal risk analysis and meticulous clerical task compilation.
• Prioritization & Autonomy: Proven capacity to manage an independent caseload efficiently without administrative oversight.
• Stakeholder Diplomacy: Ability to communicate complex federal regulations clearly and respectfully to university leadership, faculty, and foreign nationals.
• Integrity & Discretion: Exceptional judgment when handling sensitive personal data and institutional liabilities.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

• Education: J.D. from an ABA-accredited law school.
• Experience: 3+ years of practicing employment-based immigration law with a demonstrable track record of preparing and filing your own forms.
• Licensure: Active license to practice law in any U.S. jurisdiction; must obtain in-house counsel registration in New York State within six (6) months

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Prior legal experience working directly with foreign nationals within a U.S. higher education or research institution environment.
• Proficiency with Mitratech immigration case management software (TrackerCorp / INSZoom) and Microsoft Office Suite.
• Familiarity with higher education immigration nuances, including cap-exempt H-1B regulations and J-1 visa rules.
• Strong research and analytical skills applied to evolving USCIS, DOL, and NVC procedures.