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1601 Market Street
Suite 2600
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Phone: 215.825.8695
Fax: 215.825.8699
225 West 34th Street
14 Penn Plaza
New York, NY 10122
Phone: 646.787.1371
Fax: 215.825.8699
1 Thomas Cir NW – Industrious Thomas Circle
Suite 700
Washington D.C., 20005
Phone: 202-970-2642
Fax: 202-810-9031
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Elise A.
Fialkowski

Education

  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, B.A. (Phi Beta Kappa) 1987
  • Villanova University School of Law, J.D. (magna cum laude) 1991

Admissions

  • Pennsylvania
  • New Jersey
 
 

Elise Fialkowski is co-chair of the firm’s Corporate Immigration Practice and has practiced immigration law for over twenty-five years. She handles all aspects of employment-based immigration. Her clients run the gamut from multinational corporations and their employees to universities, startups, entrepreneurs, and private individuals.

In addition to employment-based immigration work, Elise has particular experience in working with venture capital and startup companies through all phases of growth. She has obtained all types of visas for startup clients including for example, J-1 visas, temporary work visas, and immigrant visas/green cards for startup clients. She also regularly presents at conferences and other forums regarding effective immigration options and programs for startups and entrepreneurs.

Elise also has a particular expertise in worksite enforcement and leads our worksite compliance group. Elise regularly counsels clients regarding I-9 compliance, E-Verify and H-1B Labor Condition Application (LCA) compliance. Prior to joining the Firm, Ms. Fialkowski’s practice also included advising employers in traditional employment and labor law matters, including litigation as well as advice regarding proactive action to avoid and minimize claims. With her immigration clients, she has provided counseling, training and policy development services to employers in a diversity of industries including, for example, pharmaceutical, financial, university, food and beverage, manufacturing, healthcare, e commerce, and technology.

Her practice focuses on:

  • The representation of multinational and domestic corporations, their employees and private individuals in business immigration matters before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the U.S. Department of Labor, and at U.S. Consulates.
  • Assisting individuals of extraordinary ability, academic researchers, professors, international medical graduates and physicians, as well as individuals whose immigration is in the national interest in obtaining immigration benefits.
  • Immigration advice and assistance to entrepreneurs, investors, and startups.
  • Advice to employers regarding the Immigration Reform and Control Act including I-9 employment eligibility verification and worksite enforcement issues.
  • Development of proactive compliance programs and immigration policies.
  • Assistance with internal audits and training to ensure I-9, H-1B LCA, E‑Verify and Social Security no-match compliance.
  • Representation of companies facing I-9 and H-1B LCA audits and investigations.
  • Matters involving: Adjustment of Status, Exchange Visitors, Treaty Trader and Investors, Immigrant Visas, Temporary Work Visas and Naturalization.
  • Representation of universities and research centers as well as students and faculty.

Elise has long been active in the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and currently serves on AILA’s National Online Course Committee, AILA’s 2023 Annual Conference Committee, AILA’s 2021 Annual Conference Committee, AILA’s Verification and Documentation Liaison Committee, the Philadelphia Customs and Border Protection Liaison Committee, Nationalities Service Center’s Nominating and Governance Committee, Women Owned Law Steering Committee, and is a Board Member of John F. Peto Studio Museum. She has served on many other committees at the local and national levels.

Elise was named 2022 “Lawyer of the Year” by The Best Lawyers in America©, has been listed in Best Lawyers in America© since 2018, included annually in The International Who’s Who of Corporate Immigration Lawyers and the International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers, and named to the Pennsylvania Super Lawyer list in 2010.

Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, (B.A.1987), she received her law degree from the Villanova University School of Law (J.D., magna cum laude, 1991).

Elise's Practice Areas

  • Workshop: Deep Dive into Responding to L-1 RFEs, 2023 AILA Annual Conference, Orlando, FL, June 23, 2023
  • Hot Topics in Advanced Employment-Based Immigration, 2023 NAFSA Annual Conference & Expo, Webinar, May 30, 2023
  • Hot Hot Hot: Corporate Immigration Updates, 2023 Klasko Webinar Series, May 25, 2023
  • Hot Topics for International Students, 2023 AAU Immigration Task Force, Webinar, April 17, 2023
  • Customs and Border Protection (CBP), AILA PHL Conference, Philadelphia, PA, April 14, 2023
  • Hot Topics for International Students, Washington International Education Conference, Washington, D.C., March 16, 2023
  • Immigration Insights: 2023 H-1B Cap for Startups, KILP Webinar, February 2, 2023
  • Beyond the Cap: Creative Solutions to the Capped Out H-1B, Beyond Borders: Conquering Immigration Challenges KILP Seminar, October 25, 2022
  • Hot Topics for International Students, Beyond Borders: Conquering Immigration Challenges KILP Seminar, October 25, 2022
  • The Overture and the Final Act: Hiring and Firing, 2022 AILA Annual Conference on Immigration Law, June 15, 2022
  • Working in the New World: USCIS vs. Consular Processing, KILP Spring Webinar Series, April 6, 2022
  • Visiting the United States for Work or Pleasure: What Are the Rules, and How Can I effectively Counsel My Clients?, AILA 2022 Border Issues Virtual Conference, March 8, 2022
  • Oh, Where Are the Good Old Times? Trying to Be an L-1 Intracompany Transferee, 2021 AILA Annual Conference, June 12, 2021
  • A New Era: Green Card Strategies, KILP Webinar, April 22, 2021
  • 2021 H-1B Lottery: Preparing for a New Administration, KILP Webinar, January 27, 2021
  • Immigration Law Information, St. Joe’s University, Webinar, February 4, 2021
  • 2021 H-1B Lottery: Preparing for a New Administration, KILP Webinar, January 27, 2021
  • Lone Voyager: The Effect of the Pandemic-Redesigned Workplace on Global Immigration Practice, 2020 AILA/GMS Virtual Annual Global Immigration Forum, Webinar, December 2, 2020
  • Update From Washington: Employer’s Preview of Immigration Restrictions From The Administration, KILP Webinar, June 24, 2020
  • Hot Topics in Advanced Employment Based Immigration, 2020 NAFSA Annual Conference & Expo, St. Louis, MI, May 24, 2020
  • Worksite Compliance in the Time of COVID-19, KILP Webinar, May 19, 2020
  • After Graduation: Visa and Permanent Residence Options for International Students and Exchange Visitors, University of Delaware, Webinar, March 11, 2020
  • Avoiding an ICE Storm – How to Prepare for Audits and Inspections in the Trump Era, 17th Annual AILA New England Immigration Conference, Boston, MA, February 28, 2020
Elise Fialkowski

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