Lynn O'Brien serves as the firm's Immigration Practice Leader. She focuses her practice on navigating complex business immigration matters for U.S. employers. She provides comprehensive assistance from the initial hiring or sponsorship of foreign nationals through to their permanent residency process. With extensive experience in H-1B, L-1, O-1, TN, and other visa types, including those for business visitors, E-2, E-3, and I visas, Lynn is skilled at managing immigration programs for Fortune 500 companies or smaller titans of industry. She also has extensive experience in the preparation and filing of various green card case types, including those for multinational managers, labor market-test (PERM-based) green cards, and permanent residence for those with extraordinary ability in their respective fields, among others.  

Lynn has managed detailed, complicated audit requests from the Department of Labor and Requests for Evidence or Motions in relation to filings with USCIS. She has regularly prepared clients for visa interviews governed by the Department of State and successfully navigated tough interactions with consular offices or U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials. Her legal and advisory services serve a diverse clientele, ranging from innovative startups to billion-dollar Fortune 500 corporations across multiple industries, including artificial intelligence, banking, data science, financial services, information technology, IT consulting, manufacturing, media, retail, and others.

Representative Experience

  • Secured reversal of visa denial & 10-year bar on re-entry for employee of Fortune 500 company.
  • Amended L-1 Blanket for publicly traded company following back-to-back acquisitions.
  • Guided publicly traded company through layoff analysis and PERM strategy for filing dozens of cases within narrow filing window.
  • Secured O-1 approval for engineering professional after application prepared by previous counsel was denied. 
  • Successfully obtained H-1B approval for individual with American Studies degree.
  • Successfully obtained H-1B approval for individual who was partial owner of startup company.
  • Successfully responded to PERM audits for company with 100% audit rate. 
  • Liaised with Office of the USCIS Ombudsman to set aside visa number for principal applicant’s spouse who was unable to adjust status while visa numbers were current.
  • Managed high-volume of RFE responses via use of temporary contract employees and well-drafted templates.
  • Successfully re-strategized unsuccessful TN Management Consultant, focusing on different TN category.
  • Obtained numerous nunc pro tunc approvals for various case types filed outside of the filing deadline.

Thought Leadership

  • Forbes.com, Immigration Policies at USCIS Lead to Denials of L-1B Petitions, Contributor
  • Forbes.com, NYC and California Pay Laws Complicate Employment-Based Immigration, Contributor
  • SHRM Conference, Moderator, Crunching the Numbers: Using and Understanding Government Data
  • Worldwide ERC, Speaker, Plan, Budget, and Be Prepared: Tips for Global Mobility and HR Professionals in Unpredictable Immigration and Tax Environments 
  • Discussion Leader, Perm for Experts, ILW
  • Speaker, American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) DC Chapter, Fall Conference, Hot Topics in PERM 
  • Speaker, Visa Options After Graduation (presented at Catholic University, Howard University, and the University of Maryland Baltimore Campus)
  • Immigration Considerations for Employers Planning Layoffs, Law360 (January 2023)
  • The Top 5 Actions for H-1B Cap Employers to Take on October 1, 2024, (October 2024)
  • Immigration Policy Changes are a Boon to STEM Employers, Law360 (January 2022)
  • Employers More Likely to Fight Visa Denials Amid Pandemic, Law360 (July 2020)

Professional & Civic Engagement

  • American Immigration Lawyers Association, National Committee, CIS Ombudsman Liaison Committee, former member
  • Maryland State Bar Association, Immigration Section, founder and former chairperson
  • Volunteer, MTech at the University of Maryland at College Park providing immigration advice to foreign national students and startup founders