Brenda J. Oliver

Brenda J. Oliver provides advice and counsel to United States and foreign companies to facilitate transfers of high level and special skilled employees to the United States, partnering with clients to build an immigration program that fits their unique objectives and scale.

Brenda’s maternal family immigrated to the United States from South Korea and her interest in immigration law was sparked during law school while working for an immigration practitioner. It was there that she gained an appreciation for the ability of a business to thrive when employers have an opportunity to employ talented foreign nationals. She also learned first-hand that employment of foreign nationals often rested on a nuanced understanding of the complex legal and regulatory system governing their ability to work in the United States.

Today, Brenda combines her experience and personal history, putting them to work for clients helping them to obtain nonimmigrant and immigrant visas and permanent residency based on employment and/or family sponsorship. She also provides guidance to clients on applying for employment-based permanent residency petitions and labor certifications for employees. She has worked with clients in creating a global rotational program, working to ensure compliant policies are in place prior to initiating immigration processes for their foreign national employees. Brenda also provides advice on I-9 compliance and assists with company audits to ensure U.S. employment authorization practices are being followed. Brenda has advised individuals seeking to gain permanent residency after successfully appealing denials of PERM applications and multinational manager petitions. She has also prepared clients for consular processing as well as advised clients with citizenship and naturalization issues.

Brenda’s pro bono activities focus on immigration law including assisting individuals in obtaining T and U visas and eventually adjusting their status to permanent residency. She is active in the immigration bar and the D.C. Bar’s pro bono immigration clinic.

Honors and Recognitions

• The Best Lawyers in America©, “Immigration Law” (2020-present)
• The National Black Lawyers, “Top 100”
• Who’s Who Legal, “Recommend Attorney in Corporate Immigration” (2015-2021, 2023-present)
• Legal 500 USA, “Recommended Attorney” (2022)

Pro Bono and Community Involvement

• Friends of 16th Street Heights Parks, Board Member
• Mentor to DC Bar Pro Bono Immigration Advice Clinic (2015-present)

Published Works

• American Immigration Lawyers Association (National) 2021 Practice Advisory, “PERM Labor Certification: Still Alive and Doing Reasonably Well” [Co-Author]
• American Immigration Lawyers Association (National) 2013 Practice Advisory, “Completing Form DS-160, Online Nonimmigrant Visa Application” [Co-Author]

Speeches

• American Immigration Lawyers Association (National) 2022 Annual Conference, “It’s Tough to Become an Intracompany Transferee: Crafting Winning L-1A and L-1B Arguments” (June 2022) (Speaker)
• American Immigration Lawyers Association (National) 2021 Annual Conference, “PERM Labor Certification: Still Alive and Doing Reasonably Well” (June, 2021) (Speaker)
• Virtual Summit: Women in Law & Leadership, “The Time for Change is NOW: Attracting, Promoting & Retaining Leaders of Color” (April 21, 2021) (Speaker)
• Georgetown University Migration & Refugee Policy Initiative, “The Future of Employment Based Immigration” (February, 2021) (Speaker)
• Virtual Summit: Women, Diversity & Change, “The Time for Change is Now: Developing & Promoting Leaders of Color” (September, 2020) (Speaker)
• American Immigration Lawyers Association (National) Webinar, “Advanced PERM Issues: Successes, Pitfalls and Setting Client Expectation” (2020) (Speaker)
• American Immigration Lawyers Association 2019 Annual Conference, “Flat Fee vs. Hourly – Head to Head” (Speaker)
• MN/Dakotas Chapter of American Immigration Lawyers Association 2019 Conference, “H-1B Specialty Occupation Issues within the IT/Consulting Industries” (Speaker)
• American Immigration Lawyers Association (National) 2018 Annual Conference, “Labor Cert 101: Introduction to PERM” (Speaker)
• American Immigration Lawyers Association (National) 2017 Fundamentals of Immigration Law Conference, “Nonimmigrant Visa Workshop: H-1B” (Speaker)
• American Immigration Lawyers Association (National) 2017 Annual Conference, “How to Complete Forms ETA 9141, ETA 9089 and I-140” (Speaker)
• American Immigration Lawyers Association (National) 2016 Annual Conference, “Hot Topics in Immigration” (Speaker)
• American Immigration Lawyers Association (National) 2015 Fundamentals of Immigration Law Conference, “Family Based Immigration Visa Workshop with Experts” (Speaker)