Laura Foote Reiff

Practice Areas

Immigration & Compliance

Labor & Employment

Government Law & Policy

Equine Industry Group

Career

Laura Foote Reiff has more than 32 years of experience representing businesses and organizations in the business immigration and compliance field. She is also a business immigration advocate and has long chaired prominent business immigration coalitions. Laura is Co-Founder of GT’s Business and Immigration and Compliance Group which she co-led since 1999. She currently chairs the Northern Virginia/Washington D.C. Immigration and Compliance Practice. Laura is also Co-Managing Shareholder of the Northern Virginia Office of GT, a position she has held since 2010. As a global leader in the business immigration community, Laura has served on the Boards of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the American Immigration Council, the National Immigration Forum and is currently the Chair of the America is Better Board.

Laura advises corporations on a variety of compliance-related issues, particularly related to Form I-9 eligibility employment verification matters. Laura has been involved in audits and internal investigations and has successfully minimized monetary exposure as well as civil and criminal liabilities on behalf of her clients. She develops immigration compliance strategies and programs for both small and large companies. Laura performs I-9, H-1B and H-2B compliance inspections during routine internal reviews, while performing due diligence (in the context of a merger, acquisition or sale) or while defending a company against a government investigation.

Laura represents many businesses in creating, managing and using "Regional Centers" that can create indirect jobs toward the 10 new U.S. jobs whose creation can give rise to EB-5 permanent residence for investment. She coordinates this work with attorneys practicing in securities law compliance, with economists identifying "targeted employment areas" and projecting indirect job creation, and with licensed securities brokers coordinating offerings. She also represents individual investors in obtaining conditional permanent residence and in removing conditions from permanent residence.

Laura's practice also consists of managing business immigration matters and providing immigration counsel to address the visa and work authorization needs of U.S. and global personnel including professionals, managers and executives, treaty investors/ traders, essential workers, persons of extraordinary ability, corporate trainees, and students. She is an immigration policy advocacy expert and works on immigration reform policies.

Concentrations:

Immigration advocacy

Compliance and worksite enforcement

I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification

Permanent and temporary international transfers of personnel

Obtaining U.S. nonimmigrant visas, including professional visas (H-1B), intracompany transferee visa (L-1), treaty trader/investor visas (E-1/E-2), student visas (F-1), scholar and exchange visas (J-1), cultural visas (Q), and extraordinary ability/artist/athlete visas (O and P)

Compliance with Export control requirements

Naturalization

Outbound assistance with visa needs in other countries

Litigation

Advice concerning withholding of social security and taxation of foreign nationals and corporations

Corporate restructurings

Immigration Status of Foreign National Workplace

Global human capital solutions

Professional Memberships

Founding Member, The EB-5 Immigration Coalition, 2014

Co-Chair, HRLA, Washington, D.C. Metro, 2004 - 2014

Member, Board of Trustees, American Immigration Law Foundation (AILF), 1995 - 2000; Chair, Immigration Policy Committee, 1995 - 1999

Legal Counsel, Essential Worker Immigration Coalition, 1999 to Present

Member, American Bar Association

Member, Board of Governors, American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), 1998 - 2002

Member, District of Columbia Bar Association, 1999 to Present

Member, Federal Bar Association, 1990 to Present

Member, Maryland Bar Association, 1989 to Present

Member, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 1989 to Present

Publications

Listed, Chambers USA Guide, 2006-2022

Listed, Chambers Global, Immigration: Business (USA), 2008-2022

Personal

J.D., with honors, The George Washington University Law School, 1989

B.A., Legal Institutions, Economics and Government, magna cum laude, American University, 1986