1 Research Ct., Ste 450, Rockville, MD 20850, USA
Immigrant (Permanent Residency) & NonImmigrant (Temporary)
Employment-based Visas
We help professionals, creatives, and healthcare workers turn achievements into immigration success. We build immigration plans that support lasting careers. Our strategies create pathways for talent, innovation, and healthcare to thrive in the U.S.
Creating a Strong Legal Foundation with Kennedy Law
At Kennedy Law, we proudly represent creative professionals, academics, healthcare workers, and global talent seeking to build their futures in the United States. Whether you're an artist preparing for an O-1 petition, a physician pursuing a National Interest Waiver, or a researcher seeking a green card through EB-1 or EB-2, we work closely with you to build a strong and strategic legal foundation—without cutting corners or relying on cookie-cutter filings.
As a solo practice, we focus on select case types that allow us to provide thorough, personalized service with a clear understanding of long-term goals. From internationally acclaimed musicians to early-career researchers and skilled healthcare workers, we provide thoughtful, we provide guidance tailored to your goals and qualifications. Our priority is strategic, viable filings that build a strong foundation for long-term immigration success—not just fast paperwork.
Legal Permanent Residency (Green Cards)
Legal Permanent Residency is through an Immigrant Visa. Categories include:
- EB-1A: Extraordinary Ability Green Card — For individuals at the top of their field, including artists, scholars, creative professionals, and scientists. This category allows self-petitioning with no employer required.
- EB-1B: Outstanding Professors and Researchers — For academics and scientists with international recognition and a qualifying job offer. Requires evidence of major contributions and a strong academic record.
- EB-2: For individuals with advanced degrees or exceptional ability in the sciences, arts, or business. Most require a PERM labor certification and employer sponsorship. Exceptional ability can be demonstrated through at least 3 out of 7 regulatory criteria.
- National Interest Waiver (NIW): A valuable EB-2 subcategory that allows applicants to self-petition by showing their work holds national importance. We focus on NIW cases for physicians, researchers, and public interest professionals.
- EB-3: For skilled workers, professionals, and other workers—including nurses and physical therapists eligible for streamlined processes.
NonImmigrant Work Visas
Nonimmigrant visas allow individuals to work temporarily in the U.S., often as a pathway to permanent residency:
- O-1 Extraordinary Ability: For individuals who have achieved sustained national or international acclaim. Ideal for artists, researchers, educators, and performers
- H-1B: For specialty occupations requiring at least a bachelor's degree or equivalent. We assist both cap-subject and cap-exempt filings, especially for healthcare and nonprofit organizations.
- L-1: For intracompany transferees relocating to a U.S. office from abroad.
- TN: For eligible Canadian and Mexican professionals under USMCA.
- P Visas: For internationally recognized entertainers, athletes, and performers.
- E-2 Investor Work Visas: For an investor, spouse, child, & employee to enter and work based on an investment in a U.S. business. Investor must be a citizen of a treaty country.
We help clients understand and align short-term visa needs with long-term strategies that build toward permanent residency and career continuity, always beginning with a careful evaluation of eligibility and timing.
Guidance & Long-Term Planning
In addition to extraordinary ability paths, we advise on related visas that support long-term planning:
- F-1 with OPT / STEM OPT – For graduates of U.S. programs building a record before O-1 or NIW
- J-1 Exchange Visitor Visa – For visiting researchers, scholars, or cultural fellows
- H-1B Specialty Occupation – For professors or researchers at universities or nonprofit institutions
- B-1 for Short-Term Artists or Lectures – For unpaid exhibitions, lectures, or showcases
We focus on strategies that reflect your achievements today and create opportunities for long-term success tomorrow. At Kennedy Law, we don’t just file petitions— we design immigration plans that grow with your career.
- Researchers: We help connect OPT to O-1s, then NIW or EB-1 filings in a way that builds on each stage of your record, avoiding gaps and strengthening each step with publications and citations. While approvals depend on USCIS, our role is to prepare strong evidence—publications, citations, conference work—and to plan timing so your immigration path supports continued research.
- Artists and Creative Professionals: We guide artists turning short-term B-1 showcases toward O-1B visas and eventually EB-1A green cards. Although final decisions rest with immigration authorities, we help ensure press, reviews, and sponsorships are organized effectively and that each filing strengthens the next step in your career.
- Physicians and Healthcare Workers: We align J-1 waivers, H-1Bs, and NIWs with clinical needs, ensuring immigration status supports both patient care and long-term residency goals. Approvals are always determined by USCIS or the Department of State, but we focus on timing, evidence, and strategy so filings work together.
Every plan is built for efficiency, continuity, and lasting stability.
Pathways for Achievement, SCHOLARS, & Healthcare
EXTRAORDINARY ABILITY & Creative Professionals, Researchers, and Academics
EXTRAORDINARY ABILITY & Creative Professionals, Researchers, and Academics
EXTRAORDINARY ABILITY & Creative Professionals, Researchers, and Academics
We specialize in representing:
- Artists, musicians, dancers, and performers
- Designers, filmmakers, and entertainment professionals
- Researchers, scholars, and outstanding professors pursuing O-1, EB-1, or NIW pathways
These cases reward creativity, precision, and well-organized evidence. As a solo attorney, I work closely with clients to build cases that reflect their achievements and support sustainable immigration solutions.
Medical Professionals & Healthcare Workers
EXTRAORDINARY ABILITY & Creative Professionals, Researchers, and Academics
EXTRAORDINARY ABILITY & Creative Professionals, Researchers, and Academics
We work with:
- Registered Nurses & Physical Therapists: Eligible for EB-3 green cards without PERM
- Physicians: Pursuing J-1 waivers (including Conrad 30), hardship waivers, H-1Bs, or EB-2 NIW
- Healthcare specialists and allied professionals using cap-exempt H-1B or PERM sponsorship
Our most common and successful engagements involve:
- Physicians in underserved areas or smaller clinics without in-house legal counsel
- International medical graduates seeking NIW or J-1 waiver support
- Doctors completing residency/fellowship preparing for H-1B or green card sponsorship
- Nurses and therapists seeking direct green card sponsorship through compliant employers
PERM Labor Certification Process
How We Support Employers & I-9 Compliance
How We Support Employers & I-9 Compliance
For certain EB-2 and EB-3 filings, we assist clients and small employers in:
- Assessing the viability of PERM sponsorship
- Navigating prevailing wage determinations
- Understanding U.S. labor market recruitment obligations
As a boutique practice, we focus on PERM cases in healthcare and other mission-aligned sectors where long-term retention and integrity matter.
How We Support Employers & I-9 Compliance
How We Support Employers & I-9 Compliance
How We Support Employers & I-9 Compliance
We partner with small businesses, nonprofits, clinics, and academic institutions to:
- Identify appropriate visa and green card options for employees
- Support cap-exempt filings and specialty occupation strategies
- Develop retention-oriented long-term immigration plans
- Advise on I-9 completion and compliance, best practices, how to perform internal audits of I-9 forms, how to properly complete and store Form I-9 records.
- Assist employers on responses to Form I-9 notices of inspection, notices of intent to fine, as well as defending against sanctions and penalties.