Maria Fernanda Gandarez

Pryor Cashman Partner Maria Fernanda Gandarez, a member of the firm’s Immigration Group and chair of the Global Mobility Practice, has over 30 years of experience practicing U.S. immigration law. Maria is fluent in four languages, enhancing her ability to counsel multinational Fortune 500 corporate clients from an array of industries, including finance, food and beverage, consumer goods, fashion, information technology, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology, among others. Her clients rely heavily on Maria’s ability to seamlessly secure temporary employment visas, permanent residence, and passports, and look to her for counsel on employer sanctions and advice on employment verification procedures, immigration-related discrimination practices, and the consequences of mergers and acquisitions and other corporate restructurings.

For the last decade, Maria has built her practice around global mobility, assisting her clients in all of their U.S. and foreign immigration needs. Under Maria’s leadership, the firm’s Global Mobility Practice assists clients in any matter that may arise locally or in another country, including: filing applications globally for all categories of visas – from the more complicated long-term work permit and corresponding family residence cards to more straightforward tourist entry visas or short-stay business visas; obtaining second citizenships globally for individuals and families; globally procuring personal and government documents required for visa, citizenship, residency, or any other global mobility application process, as well as any necessary legalization or apostilles for both U.S. and international citizens; making appointments for one-day processing for new and renewed passports for U.S. citizens traveling internationally within two weeks; and counseling clients on countries’ ever-changing international travel restrictions in response to global events.