Simone Williams-Arrington is founder and Managing Partner representing international businesses individuals and investors in matters relating to U.S. and global immigration, EB-5 investments, corporate formation and corporate compliance.  Simone advises individuals and multinational companies on all aspects of U.S. immigration law, with a particular emphasis on employment-based immigration and investment visa options to acquire U.S. temporary residency, U.S. permanent residency and foreign citizenship.  

Simone has assisted individuals relocate to the U.S. based on their specialized background or job offer in the U.S.   Simone has also assisted foreign investors and multinational companies with all aspects of establishing new operations in the U.S.  In addition to obtaining visas for the United States and other countries, she provides pre- and post-transfer counseling to help ensure the proper drafting and execution of employment contracts and tax planning.  Simone also advises employers on staffing strategies, personnel policies, corporate compliance and best practices.  She trains human resources and legal staff, conducts audits of compliance records and defends employers in government enforcement actions, as well as advising investors and entrepreneurs on immigration strategies.  Simone also regularly partner with lawyers specializing in white-collar investigations, corporate transactions, and global tax minimization to achieve client goals.

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Background

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Simone has worked as General Counsel to a multi-million Regional Center (RC), where she managed the EB-5 immigration process, operations and EB-5 investors for the RC's projects.  Prior to this role, she worked at Baker & McKenzie’s Toronto and Washington DC office, where she served as outside counsel to multinational corporations, Fortune 500 companies, and individuals in all areas of U.S. immigration and global migration issues, including EB-5 investments, immigration consequences of corporate recruiting, and requirements for transfers of key executives and highly skilled professionals.  At the Toronto office, Simone was the Lead Managing attorney of the firm’s Immigration practice, where she counseled clients on U.S. immigration, Canadian immigration and employment issues. 

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Accomplishments

Simone is regarded as one of the top U.S. attorneys in the country.  In 2023, she was honored for her work with global communities by She Rises International, a nonprofit organization whose mission is focused on mentoring, counseling encouraging and empowering girls and women.  In 2019, Simone was awarded the International Pioneer Award by the International Law Section, of the National Bar Association (NBA).  

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Simone is a Board Member and Co-Chair of the International Business Committee of the DC Chamber of Commerce and is also Board Member of Birchwood University.  She was appointed a Commissioner of the Mayor’s Advisory Commission on Caribbean Community Affairs (MACCCA).  Simone s is also former Chair of the International Law Section of the National Bar Association (NBA).   Her other honors include:  Immigration Lawyer of the Year, awarded by the U.S. Minority Chamber of Commerce; Top Ten Corporate Counsel, awarded by the Association of Corporate Counsel; and Top 40 lawyer under the age of 40 awarded by the National Bar Association.

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 Representative Matters

• Represented a multi-million dollar  Regional Center in the construction of an automobile manufacturing plant in Mississippi.

• Represented numerous foreign nationals in obtaining U.S. permanent residency based on their direct investment in businesses, including a billion dollar manufacturing plant in Virginia and a multi-million dollar luxury fashion brand in New York.

• Successfully prepared and submitted an I-924 application to USCIS for an EB-5 designated regional center in Philadelphia, that raised funds for several “exemplar” projects, which allow individual EB-5 immigrant investors to submit their petitions based on a project that has been pre-approved.   The projects included a $70 million mixed-use commercial “exemplar” project and a $58 million biotechnology project.

• Assisted numerous foreign investors from various countries, including China, India, Canada and South Korea; and several countries in Africa, Europe, and Latin America, to obtain U.S. permanent residency based on EB-5 qualifying investments in regional center-sponsored projects throughout the United States.

• Advising high net worth individuals on foreign country investment visa options, including the Canadian immigrant investment program, and other citizenship-by-investment programs in multiple jurisdictions.

• Represented major companies investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for potential criminal violations of employment eligibility rules.

• Represented numerous companies as compliance counsel to avoid potential criminal or civil immigration liability to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

• Acted as counsel in numerous federal court challenges to federal immigration programs, including the L-1B visa category, the H-2A visa category, and the program requiring certificates for foreign-educated health care workers.

• Represented numerous companies in the meat, chicken and protein industries in their immigration-related legislative, regulatory and compliance matters.

• Acted as counsel to a defense supplier's global migration program, coordinating the immigration requirements in multiple countries, including Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Spain, Italy, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, South Korea, Taiwan and United Kingdom, and securing work authorization for assignees pursuant to government and commercial services agreements.

• Assisting the President and CEO of a leading hotel chain with dual citizenship, US residency and related tax planning.

• Represented the owners of a multimillion-dollar Chinese manufacturing company in establishing a B2B business in the United States.

• Advised on succession issues in the M&A context, including the multi-jurisdictional impact to visa holders arising from global reorganizations and acquisitions.

• Advised multiple US employers on recruitment and compliance protocols to meet the requirements of PERM, the US labor certification process required for employment-based permanent residency.