Overview
Joan-Elisse Carpentier provides legal representation in all areas of immigration and nationality law affecting individuals, corporations and other businesses. She has worked on evaluations of immigration practices of corporations, development of corporate policies and procedures for handling immigration matters and obtaining immigrant and non-immigrant visas, as well as citizenship and expatriation. Joan-Elisse assists businesses with I-9 compliance programs and provides representation during government audits and in settlement negotiations. She also provides advice concerning immigration issues during mergers and acquisitions.
Joan-Elisse represents clients in a wide variety of industries, including finance and banking, publishing, entertainment, broadcasting, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, manufacturing, hospitality and energy. She works with entrepreneurs developing US businesses, and also works on behalf of US citizens and foreign nationals to obtain visas for other countries.
Joan-Elisse has written and lectured on business immigration topics for many different audiences. She has written articles on foreign hiring for Human Resource Executive Immigration Advisor and Management News, and was recently interviewed for Realtor magazine regarding EB5 foreign investments in real estate projects. Her article on employer sanctions and I-9 compliance was recently published in Bloomberg BNA – Workplace Immigration Report. She has been a featured speaker at human resources conferences and meetings sponsored by a number of clients. Joan-Elisse was a guest lecturer in 2012 and 2014 for Northwestern University School of Law’s Tax LLM Program for the International Estate Planning course.
Results
- Represented an institutional client in a Blanket L petition to transfer 20 employees to the United States on an expedited basis to assist in transitioning technology following a merger
- Represented a manufacturing business in an I-9 audit, successfully negotiating a more favorable settlement after receiving a government fine
- Represented a dancer in an extraordinary ability visa petition to enable her to remain in the United States and perform with a prestigious dance company
- Represented a group of teenage soccer players in U visa applications after witnessing the murder of their friend and teammate
- Represented a nonprofit foundation with multiple visa applications for employees in key roles for the organization, including personnel on the business side of fundraising and administration, as well as zoologists and scientists
- Represented a researcher involved in groundbreaking scientific advancements in his outstanding ability permanent residence application, receiving approval of the application within five months; this timing was critical to enable the client to better access government grants
Recognitions
- The Best Lawyers in America, Immigration Law, 2023
- The Legal 500 United States, 2010 to 2022
- Chambers USA, 2008 to 2022, including being short-listed at the 2014 Women in Law Awards for Outstanding Contribution: Pro Bono Work
Community
- American Immigration Lawyers Association, New York Chapter, past co-chair of the Corporate Practice Committee, and current member of the National Pro Bono Services Committee and the liaison subcommittee on Unauthorized Practice of Law
