Immigration Staff Attorney

Barnes & Thornburg LLP; Atlanta (GA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Barnes & Thornburg LLP invites a Staff Attorney to join its Atlanta office. The role focuses on business immigration, handling cases across a spectrum of employers including tech and universities, with supervision from Immigration Partners.

The ideal candidate has 1–3 years of business immigration experience and strong research, writing, and communication skills. A collaborative, client‑facing team culture is emphasized.

Qualifications

• Juris Doctor and active bar license in good standing.
• 1–3 years of experience preparing business immigration applications.
• Strong research, writing, analytical and communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Manage a high-volume caseload of business immigration matters.
• Review, draft and oversee petitions with paralegal team.
• Interact professionally with clients and internal teams.

Skills

Juris Doctor

Bar admission (IL)

Business immigration experience

Legal writing

Client communication

Education

Juris Doctor

Job description

Immigration Staff Attorney

Barnes & Thornburg is seeking a highly motivated Staff Attorney for our Atlanta Office with one to three years of business immigration experience to join its growing Immigration and Global Mobility Services practice group. Under the direct supervision of the Immigration Partners, the Staff Attorney works as part of a fast‑paced group, working with team members across the firm. The Staff Attorney will work with a wide range of employers sponsoring foreign national workers in a wide range of corporate and technology clients, universities, financial industry and healthcare systems. The preferred candidate will have experience working with a high volume of case types, including reviewing, drafting and overseeing cases with a team of paralegals.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Must be able to exercise significant discretion, apply legal research skills, formulate legal arguments and identify appropriate case law for business immigration cases.
• Manage large caseloads, independently manage multiple tasks in a fast‑paced environment, review, draft, and monitor petitions.
• Must be responsive and professional to clients, deadlines and handle extensive client contact.
• The preferred candidate will have experience with:
  • PERM labor certification and recruitment
  • Nonimmigrant visas including H‑1B, L‑1, TN and E visas
  • Immigrant visas including EB‑1, EB‑2 and EB‑3 preference categories
• Maintain a commitment to professionalism, customer service and teamwork philosophy with clients and internal teams.
• Strong academic performance and excellent research, writing, analytical, and communication skills are required.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Required

• Juris Doctor, licensed to practice law in IL and in good standing
• Must have at least 1‑3 years of experience preparing business immigration applications and other types of immigration matters.
• Must have a congenial personality, excellent client interaction skills and demonstrated passion for immigration work.
• Must have the ability to manage multiple matters simultaneously and work independently as needed.
• Candidate must be well‑organized, detail‑oriented, manage time efficiently, work independently as needed, astute at identifying issues and a quick learner in a fast‑paced environment.
• Ability to prioritize workload, meet strict deadlines and to interact effectively with professionals from diverse cultural backgrounds as well as in‑house counsel and H.R. professionals is a must.
• Must be detail‑oriented to ensure the highest level of accuracy and be able to multi‑task.

We will not consider resumes submitted by external agencies or recruiters for this position. Recruiters and agencies will not be compensated for assisting Barnes & Thornburg LLP in recruiting for this position, regardless of whether such party has a recruiting contract with us.

About the Firm

Barnes & Thornburg LLP is an AmLaw 100 firm with 26 offices. The firm and our Commercial Litigation Group have an exceptional reputation for having an inclusive, collegial, and supportive atmosphere, where members of the firm can thrive, learn, and advance in their career.

Equal Employment and Opportunity Statement

Barnes & Thornburg is committed to equal employment opportunity in both principle and as a matter of policy. We will recruit, hire, train, promote, compensate and provide benefits to all applicants and employees without regard to ancestry, sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, gender, age, religion, religious creed, mental and/or physical disability, medical condition, military and/or veteran’s status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, or any other basis protected by applicable federal, state and local laws. This policy applies to all recruiting, hiring, promotions, upgrades, layoffs, compensation, benefits, terminations and all other privileges, terms and conditions of employment. The firm complies fully with all federal, state and local equal employment opportunity laws.