James N. Garilas

James N. Garilas is an associate immigration attorney focusing his practice on employment-based immigration. James works with clients of all sizes ranging from small startups and family-owned businesses to large, multinational Fortune 500 companies to develop short- and long-term immigration strategies. He advises clients in a multitude of industries, including airline, information technology, retail, finance, insurance, automotive, manufacturing, and engineering. James represents clients before various government agencies, including U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services; the Department of Labor; the Department of State; Customs and Border Protection; and the Department of Justice, Immigrant and Employee Rights Sections (DOJ/IER). He advises clients on nonimmigrant visas categories, including H-1B, H-1B1, L-1, O-1, TN, E-2, E-3, and B-1 visas, and guides employers through the various paths to obtaining legal permanent residency in the U.S., including the PERM Labor Certification process and EB-1 immigrant visa process. James has extensive experience responding to Requests for Evidence and PERM audits. He also advises clients on I-9 and E-Verify compliance, and represents clients in DOJ/IER charges and investigations.

James earned a B.S. in Economics, cum laude, from the College of Charleston and earned his J.D., cum laude, from the University of South Carolina School of Law. During law school, James served as the Deputy Editor-in-Chief for the Journal of Law and Education. Prior to joining the firm as an associate attorney, James served as a law clerk for the General Counsel at a large regional healthcare system and as a summer associate at Ogletree Deakins. James is a member of the Richland County Bar Association and the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA).