Wendy Padilla-Madden

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IMMIGRATION

The immigration practice group of Balch & Bingham provides business immigration services to individuals and corporate entities of all sizes. Our practice group has full time immigration attorneys who specialize in the field and are attuned to the ever-changing and complex landscape of U.S. immigration.

Our clients include public utilities, financial institutions, health care providers, religious institutions, universities, non-profit organizations, and individuals like doctors, engineers, university professors, information technology professionals, scientists, entrepreneurs, foreign investors, professional performers and other highly trained specialists.

We manage all details of an immigration case and rely heavily on attorneys in our other practice groups including tax, health care, corporate, compensation and employee benefits, labor and employment, to ensure all aspects of a case are handled by expert attorneys.

To ensure that we provide cutting edge and compliant legal services, we keep up to date on all U.S. immigration laws, pertinent Congressional legislation and relevant government agency policies, and we utilize best practice approaches.

Our experience includes the following:

Employer Immigration Compliance
* I-9 policy development, compliance and training
* I-9 Audits and/or Investigation by ICE or other Government Audit and Investigations
* Electronic I-9 creation and retention
* Selection of compliant Electronic I-9 vendors
* Internal I-9 audits in order to correct and remediate I-9 violations
* Registration and use of E-Verify, including E-Verify requirements for Federal Contractors under FAR
* State and Local immigration laws and regulations
* Contractor I-9 Compliance and FAR E-Verify flow-down requirements
* Labor Condition Application audits by DOL
* Office of Special Counsel Investigations
* Immigration compliance related to mergers, acquisitions, reductions in force and corporate restructuring
* U.S. export control laws relating to the transfer or export of defense related-articles or technology to employees that are not U.S. citizens or Permanent Residents

Immigration Services for Foreign Nationals and Employers

We provide end-to-end case management services to ensure that foreign national employees obtain and maintain lawful immigration status throughout the duration of their employment and stay in the United States. We utilize the latest software for case management in order to track all aspects of a case and to allow us to service our clients in a cost-effective and collaborative manner. These services include:

Temporary Admission to U.S. by Visa Exempt Persons

Non Immigrant Visas
* Temporary Visitors: B-1 & B-2 Visas
* Visas for Students and Trainees: F, M, J and H-3 Visas
* Visas for Business Personnel: H, L, E, E-3 (Australia), O, P, Q and R (Religious Worker) Visas
* Family-Related Visas for Fiancées, Spouses and Children of U.S. Citizens and LPR’s
* Transit, Crewmen: C, D
* J-1 home residency and other waivers
* Consular Processing of Non-Immigrant Visas

Immigrant Visas
* PERM Labor Certification Applications for Employment Based Immigration
* Immigrant Visa Petitions Based on Employment (EB-1, EB-2, EB-3, EB-4)
* Immigrant Visa Petitions for Investors and Entrepreneurs (EB-5)
* Immigrant Visa Petitions Based on Family Relationships
* Permanent Residence Application with Related Work and Travel Authorizations
* Consular Processing Immigrant Visa Petitions
* Naturalization Process Applications

Wendy Padilla-Madden
Balch & Bingham LLP
1901 6th Ave N #1500
Birmingham AL 35203-4642
Tel: 205 226-3447
Fax: 205 488-5871
E-mail: wmadden@balch.com

Services & Practices
* Immigration
* Government Relations
* Federal Governmental Relations

Wendy Padilla-Madden is an attorney in Balch and Bingham’s Birmingham office and practices in the firm’s Labor and Employment group. She specializes in business immigration law.

Wendy’s immigration practice is devoted to assisting and advising employers on all aspects of business immigration law. Her practice is divided into two main areas: immigration compliance and obtaining temporary employment authorization and permanent residence for foreign nationals.

As part of her compliance practice, Wendy develops effective employment policies relating to the hiring of foreign nationals and the implementation of these policies. She routinely counsels employers and federal contractors in I-9 compliance and their participation of the Department of Homeland Security's program for online authorization of employee work authorization, E-verify. In the last year alone, Wendy has audited over 10,000 I-9, has defended five ICE Notices of Inspection (NOI’s), has conducted various immigration investigations and has advised several large employers through selection and implementation of electronic I-9 systems. She has drafted numerous articles about I-9 compliance and policy development and is frequently asked to speak and blog about E-Verify, I-9s, electronic I-9’s and related issues. Wendy was invited to be a member of AILA's National Verification and Documentation Committee. The committee serves as liaison to the various government entities in charge of nagement and enforcement of Form I-9 and E-Verify (among other programs) and strives to provide AILA attorneys information and guidance regarding all relevant developments and issues in this area of law.

In the last year alone, Wendy has audited over 10,000 I-9, has defended five ICE Notices of Inspection (NOI’s), has conducted various immigration investigations and has advised several large employers through selection and implementation of electronic I-9 systems. She has drafted numerous articles about I-9 compliance and policy development and is frequently asked to speak and blog about E-Verify, I-9s, electronic I-9’s and related issues.

Wendy works with local and international employers to obtain nonimmigrant and immigrant visas for foreign national employees. Along with a team of experienced immigration professionals she helps her clients obtain, extend, amend, and change nonimmigrant status (E, E-3, E, E-B5, H, J, L, O, R, and TN status) and assists clients in obtaining lawful permanent residence in the U.S. through applications for labor certification, petitions for aliens of extraordinary ability, outstanding researchers, international manager and foreign investor petitions.

Additionally, Wendy helps her clients ensure that their contracts with sub-contractors, employment agencies, etc., provide the adequate safeguards and protections related to potential immigration liabilities. She has developed innovative practices that help companies safeguard from the liability of immigration related violations committed by their subcontractors and temporary worker agencies.

Wendy is very active within the Hispanic Community and she routinely represents Hispanic-owned businesses. She chairs the Alabama Bar’s Spanish-Speaking Lawyers Committee and is a member of the Board of the Hispanic Business Council of the Birmingham Business Alliance and the Alabama Latin American Association (ALAS). She is a member of the Governor’s Joint Interim Patriotic Immigration Commission and a member of the Atlanta Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), where she chairs the UPL Committee.

She received her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Alabama summa cum laude, and her Juris Doctor from the University of Alabama School of Law cum laude.

Wendy was born and raised in Guatemala City, Guatemala and grew up in a multi-lingual family speaking Spanish, English and French.