Jennifer L. Shanley focuses her practice on U.S. business immigration matters. She is a member of our firm's Immigration Practice group.
Immigration
Jennifer helps multinational companies, particularly in the manufacturing, aerospace, financial and pharmaceutical industries, staff their U.S. offices by obtaining appropriate immigration status for employees. Her efforts allow research organizations, academic institutions, and manufacturing, chemical, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology companies, including some Fortune 100 companies, to retain key business people, scientists, researchers, and other professionals. She obtains both temporary and permanent immigration status for key workers. Her practice encompasses all business-related nonimmigrant and immigrant petitions. Jennifer frequently handles multinational intracompany transfers, transfers for individuals with specialized knowledge, as well as petitions for outstanding researchers and individuals with extraordinary ability. She has helped secure immigration approvals for hundreds of employees, helping business clients attract and secure top talented individuals across a range of industries. While doing so, Jennifer uses her Six Sigma Green Belt certification to streamline the immigration process for clients, to decrease process variation and increase value.
Employment Eligibility – Verification + Compliance
Jennifer counsels employers on the Immigration Reform and Control Act and related issues, including employment verifications, I-9 matters, and E-Verify. She also provides guidance with export control regulations.
Jennifer regularly writes about immigration-related topics. Her recent article, 'H-1B and Beyond: What are the Options for Hiring Foreign Nationals?' published in Industry Week, discusses the most common work-authorized status categories through which manufacturers can sponsor foreign nationals to fill at least some of the unprecedented 800,000 job openings. She also co-authored the piece “How Fund Managers May Increase the Likelihood That H-1B Sponsorship for Quants and Data Scientist Employees Will Be Approved," published in Hedge Fund Law Report.
Pro Bono
Jennifer is committed to pro bono service. She recently assisted with our firm’s successful effort to secure the required immigration status for a dancer from Bolivia by demonstrating that he was one of the top ballet dancers in his field. The successful petition permitted the Bolivian dancer to join a ballet company in New York.
In addition to her practice, Jennifer is committed to serving her community, is serving as Chair of the Engagement and Connectivity Task Force at Robinson+Cole, and is an active member of Robinson+Cole’s Women’s Committee, which promotes the success of women lawyers and its Safety & Health Committee, which promotes the safety and health of our firm’s employees.
Prior to joining Robinson+Cole, Jennifer served as a law clerk to the Honorable F. Herbert Gruendel of the Connecticut Appellate Court. While attending law school, she served as the business managing editor of the Quinnipiac Probate Law Journal. She also served as a judicial intern for the Honorable Janet C. Hall at the United States District Court, District of Connecticut.
