Foster LLP > Houston, United States > Firm Profile

Foster LLP > Firm Profile

Foster is a leading global immigration law firm dedicated to helping employers and individuals obtain nonimmigrant and immigrant work visas and permanent resident options worldwide. With the most board-certified attorneys in immigration and nationality law in Texas, we guarantee top-tier knowledge and expertise, a client-centered approach to service excellence, and tech-led solutions to strategically manage today’s growing need for international talent.

For over 45 years, Foster continues to champion each client’s goals and objectives, by providing the highest-quality, value-added immigration solutions in an environment which promotes excellence, integrity, service, and community. The firm comprises over 100 lawyers, legal assistants, and other professionals across 3 offices and multiple coordination centers globally.

A Tier 1 “Best Law Firm”​ by US News & World Report and Best Lawyers®, Foster attorneys are recognized as respected thoughts leaders in the corporate immigration field by Chambers, Texas Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers, and Who’s Who. Wherever your business takes you – in the U.S. or abroad – your Foster team reaches to deliver full immigration support.

Key sub-practice areas:

• U.S. Immigration
• Global Immigration
• I-9 Compliance
• EB-5 Investor Visa Program
• Litigation, including Deportation & Removal Defense

Key enterprise-level services include:

• Strategic immigration planning, policy formulation and implementation
• Form I-9 proactive and reactive audits and defense litigation
• H-1B compliance audits and defense; H-1B program management
• EB-5 Regional Center representation
• Immigration support minimizing the impact of mergers and acquisitions, reductions in force and corporate reorganization

Key U.S. immigration services include: Foster handles difficult and complex matters with ease, including the development of strategies and solutions for those who are approaching the end of their maximum temporary eligibility, such as those reaching their 6-year maximum H-1B eligibility are transitioning to a new employer. Foster’s ability to routinely handle difficult fact patterns and to successfully execute innovative strategies under tight timelines has enabled clients to complete difficult and time-sensitive employment transitions both seamlessly and without gaps in employment authorization.

• Temporary work visas (e.g., B, E, H-1B, J, L-1, O, P, TN)
• S. lawful permanent residency under all immigrant preference categories, including aliens of Extraordinary Ability, Outstanding Researchers and Professors, Multi-National Managers/Executives and National Interest Waivers (NIW)
• Advice and consultation for investors and start-ups
• Family-based permanent residency
• S. citizenship & naturalization
• Immigration-related litigation representation, USCIS and USDOL appeals

Key global immigration services include: Foster provides worldwide immigration legal services via a global network of experienced affiliates and trusted service providers, facilitating global coverage and local treatment of all cases. Foster consolidates the global expertise and resources of our network under a single umbrella of managed immigration legal services in order to provide clients with centralized management and a single point of contact for escalations and urgent cases.

• Business and work visas and work permits
• Local registrations and residency permit applications
• Document procurement and legalization
• Social security waiver applications
• FBI and criminal background requests
  Passport applications

Key workforce compliance services include: Foster’s patented I-9 Solver® efficiently identifies Form I-9 errors, delivers detailed migration instructions to eliminate high percentages of errors and resulting liability, and establishes the necessary framework for minimizing future errors and avoiding the cost of future Form I-9 audits. Foster teams mobilize and deploy within hours in response to an ICE Notice of Inspection and Foster clients that have gone through a proactive audit under the I-9 Solver® process routinely avoid fines. Current and past clients have saved millions through Foster’s I-9 Solver® mitigation.

• Proactive and reactive Form I-9 audits with mitigation of liability and both on-site and remote services
• H-1B public access file audits
• H-2A and H-2B audits
• Representation before the Office of Special Counsel for immigration related unfair employment practices
• Representation in connection with U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) notices of inspection
• Representation before OCAHO
• Representation in defense of USDOL wage & hour claims by H-1B employees
• Policy formulation and implementation
• Form I-9 HR training and advice on implementation of E-Verify
• Ad-hoc advice on difficult Form I-9 completions or Tentative Non-Confirmations (TNCs) and Final Non-Confirmations (FNCs) in the E-Verify program

Key EB-5 and investor services include: Charles Foster, John Meyer and other partners frequently travel to China, Vietnam and Mexico to speak with investor groups about immigration options for their clients who may qualify through employment-based immigration, through organizing affiliates in the U.S., or through either direct investment in the U.S. enterprise or investment in a major real estate or other commercial project through the EB-5 Regional Center program.

• Consultation and strategic advice on qualifying investments and corporate formations
• Immigration support for fine tuning business plans to document qualifications
• Strategic advice and planning for entrepreneurs
• EB-5 investor petitions and permanent residency
• Support of EB-5 Regional Centers