Welcome to the
®
248.680.0600
An Association of Professional Corporations practicing exclusively in the field of U.S. Immigration and Nationality Law
Who We Are
With four attorneys
practicing exclusively in the field of immigration and nationality law, the
Piston Group® provides its clients with focused and in-depth representation in
business immigration matters. The firm was founded in 1985 by Michael
E. Piston - immlaw@piston.net.
Since that time, we have processed
over 5,000 applications for U.S. permanent residence based upon employment and
over 10,000 immigrant employment visas.
Other members of the firm
are:
Krista
Carpenter - Employment-based immigration specialist
Blaine
Coleman - Non-immigrant visa specialist
Alexander
Vernon - Family immigration, Asylum and Removal Proceedings
Overview
While we represent a wide
range of individuals and employers in numerous different industries, nearly 80%
of our business involves representing individuals in corporations in the
computer software consulting industry. Due to the extreme time constraints
inherent in that industry, our office has developed a core expertise in getting
non-immigrant visa petitions filed both fast and right.
Today our offices
process approximately 300 PERM and over 1,000 non-immigrant visa petitions per
year. Rather than adversely affecting the ability to take care of new customers,
this means that we have H-1 visa processing and PERM down to such a science that
we can get the appropriate applications prepared and filed far faster than a
firm with 1/10 our volume.
Of course we also provide immigration related
legal services across the whole gamut of business and family law, including B,
E, F, J, K, L, O, P, and R visas, applications for permanent residence based
upon extraordinary ability, being an outstanding researcher or professor, or
national interest waiver, and adjustment of status and consular
processing.
We also deal extensively in litigation against the U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services, primarily lawsuits challenging the denials
of H and L visa petitions.
We do accept Immigration Court cases, but only in
the State of Michigan, and then only on a case by case basis after careful
examination of their merits.
Languages
We speak Български
(Bulgarian), Македонски (Macedonian),
(Mandarin Chinese), Русский (Russian) and 
(Taiwanese).
Purpose of this website
This web site is not
intended to produce or compete with the very fine work which has been done by a
number of other immigration attorneys in presenting a comprehensive discussion
of all U.S. immigration issues. In particular, those seeking a more
comprehensive site are welcome to follow our links to http://www.shusterman.com/,
and Canadians seeking an exhaustive discussion of U.S. immigration issues
pertaining to them can go to http://www.grasmick.com/.
Rather, the purpose of this web
site first and foremost of all is to provide ongoing informational updates to
our existing clientele and, secondarily, to introduce new or potential clients
to the services of our office.
Emphasis will be upon providing the most up to
date processing times available, from the Department of Labor and Citizenship
& Immigration Services, and providing downloadable lists of the documents
and information which are required for various applications and petitions which
our office is most involved in preparing.
Finally, we believe that what you will find in our web site that is not available anywhere on the web is the most extensive collection of in-depth memorandums prepared by our office for clients which provide practical advice that goes well beyond the mere recitation of the law on such critical topics as:
- Strategies for extending employment authorization after the employee has been in the United States for six years in H-1B status.
- Effective utilization of the B-1 in lieu of the H-1.
- The comprehensive overview of obtaining employment authorization for foreign professionals.
- Detailed discussions of the H-1B classification and labor condition application rules.
- How a foreign employer may obtain permanent U.S. residence with no fixed minimum investment by entering into a joint venture with a company in the United States.
- Procedure, problems and perils in applying for H and L visas abroad.
and Many Others!
Clients and
non-clients of our office alike are welcome to peruse our memorandum section as
long as they understand the statements contained in these memorandums are not
intended as legal advice but merely general background information to allow you
to discuss your legal issues intelligently with a full-time immigration
attorney.
Those having specific questions are welcome to call our office at
(248) 680-0600 for a free telephone consultation.
