Geetha Adinata leads FordHarrison's Business Immigration practice group.
She concentrates her practice on all facets of business immigration and I-9 and E-Verify compliance. With respect to business immigration, she works with local, national, and multinational companies to develop strategies to meet their short-term and long-term needs for foreign workers. Geetha works closely with management to evaluate temporary and permanent work options for foreign workers, develops streamlined processes for companies to bring in foreign workers, and develops proactive strategies for overcoming potential issues and risks before they arise, and advises management on corporate legal obligations arising in this context to ensure their compliance. More specifically, she handles the full spectrum of temporary work visa options (e.g. H-1B, L-1, E-2, TN, etc.) and permanent visa options (i.e. green card process) for foreign workers, and offers clients high-level strategic advice on immigration-related issues arising in the context of corporate mergers and acquisitions, and responds to Immigration Service Requests for Evidence.
With respect to I-9 and E-Verify compliance, Geetha identifies and evaluates deficiencies in corporate I-9 practices and procedures and advises clients about the legal issues involved in government I-9 audits and develops legal strategies to ensure corporate compliance mitigate exposure. To this end, she provides a range of services including consultations to evaluate risk, preparation of comprehensive I-9 policies and practices, and I-9 training for management and HR personnel. She regularly advises clients on state and federal E-Verify requirements. In addition, she manages legal aspects of workforce enforcement actions, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) I-9 Audits and ICE raids, and successfully negotiates reduced fines and mitigated penalties through ICE. Further, she advises clients on procedures for responding to Social Security No Match letters.
Prior to attending law school, she served as a Research Assistant for Political Research Associates, a public policy think tank in Boston, where she performed research on a range of political topics.