Pryor Cashman LLP

Immigration Group

Partner

With over 35 years of experience practicing immigration law, Maria Fernanda Gandarez has extensive knowledge of U.S. and international visa requirements. A partner and member of Pryor Cashman’s Immigration Group, Maria is chair of the firm’s Global Mobility Practice and counsels multinational corporate clients across various industries to help them to achieve their worldwide talent objectives.

Highly committed to her “white-glove,” high-touch client service, Maria and her team have consistently been recognized as premier immigration attorneys by Chambers, Legal 500, and Super Lawyers, and Maria was named among the Best Women Lawyers in New York City by Crain’s New York Business. Chambers USA 2021 noted Maria's "deep experience in extraordinary ability petitions," with one client enthusing, "[s]he is very thorough, responsive, capable, always on top of things and good at keeping us informed."

Over the last decade, Maria has focused her practice on global mobility, assisting her multinational clients in U.S. and international immigration matters. This broad skillset includes acquiring temporary employment visas and permanent residence in over 185 countries; securing passports; getting documents legalized and/or apostilled in numerous jurisdictions; assisting with obtaining police records from various countries; readvising clients on employer sanctions, discrimination, and employment verification procedures; and, with local team assistance, even counseling clients on the tax and general labor consequences of mergers & acquisitions, complex employee relocations, and other corporate restructurings around the globe.

In addition to her global mobility expertise, Maria heads up the firm’s consular practice, which facilitates visa processing worldwide, including staying up-to-date on COVID-related consular closings, visa appointment availability, requests for expedited appointments, travel exemptions, and quarantine requirements. Well-versed in foreign governmental requirements and permanent establishment, Maria utilizes a vast global network of partners in over 185 countries to bring about swift resolutions for her clients. Her years of experience in each of these jurisdictions enable her to understand the culture, process, and procedures of these foreign entities, and she knows how, when and what to deliver to avoid the unnecessary back and forth that is so common when managing global mobility needs for large foreign multinationals.

Maria regularly works with a diverse client base and delivers a full range of immigration expertise to national and multinational corporate and individual clients across a broad spectrum of industries, including aviation, education, financial services, technology, pharmaceutical, fashion, food, and entertainment.

A Trusted Expert

Maria has led various panel discussions and frequently speaks about current global immigration law topics at various industry events and organizations, including the New York State Bar Association International Section, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (“AILA”) Fordham Law School, among others.

Pro Bono + Community

A strong supporter of pro bono service, Maria works with community outreach programs and churches to aid the immigrant community. Maria also provides pro-bono legal services to a global not-for-profit organization whose mission is to ensure the development of safe and accessible HIV vaccines for use throughout the world.

Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French

American Immigration Lawyers Association New York State Bar Association New Jersey State Bar Association (Immigration Law Section) District of Columbia Bar Association Portuguese-American Chamber of Commerce (Member; Board of Directors) British-American Chamber of Commerce European American Chamber of Commerce National Association of Professional Women ("NAPW") National Employment Law Council ("NELC") Society for Human Resource Management ("SHRM") National Association for Women Lawyers ("NAWLS")

Rutgers University School of Law (J.D., 1988) Hood College (B.A., 1985)