On December 3, 2020, BCLA held a unique, but necessary webinar entitled “Pathways to Immigration for Scientists in Biotech Under a New Administration.” It was a 60 min discussion and Q&A that focused on the latest developments in immigration for scientists in biotech.
BCLA was honored to have immigration lawyers Greg Siskind, Jason Susser, and Adam Cohen from Siskind Susser, P.C. for the conversation. This event was moderated by the incoming BCLA President, Kathy Grotsch, and the Outreach Lead of BCLA, Sadhna Rao. Greg Siskind is a founding partner of Siskind Susser, P.C. – Immigration Lawyers, and has been practicing law since 1990. He is one of the founders of Visalaw International, the global alliance of immigration lawyers (www.visalawint.com) and was recently named by Who’s Who in Corporate Immigration Law on its list of the ten most distinguished lawyers in the world. Jason Susser is an attorney in the Memphis office of Siskind Susser, P.C., where his practice focuses exclusively on immigration and nationality law. Mr. Susser represents businesses and individuals in several areas of immigration law including employment-based immigration, family-based immigration, naturalization, and humanitarian cases. Adam S. Cohen is an attorney in the Memphis office of Siskind Susser, P.C., where he exclusively practices immigration and nationality law. Mr. Cohen represents corporate and individual clients in several areas of immigration law, with a particular concentration on the immigration of physicians, researchers, and academics. He has considerable experience with J-1 waivers, H-1Bs, O-1s, TNs, EB-1s, National Interest Waivers, PERM labor certification green cards, schedule A green cards, and various other business and family immigration procedures.
The event began with a general question about how the Biden Plan will affect foreign scientists working in the United States. This was followed by an in-depth explanation on the status of the H-1B program and its possible future. Other topics of discussion that were covered during the 30-minute moderated panel discussion were the recent changes to the OPT STEM program, and the status of J-1 visas. The floor was then opened up to a live Q&A session, where audience members were able to ask questions about their specific situation. These questions touched on F-1, O-1, H-1B, J-1, and DACA, as well as the green card application process.
In the biotech realm as well as others, a good portion of the workforce is composed of brilliant, intelligent and diligent international scientists. The fundamental issue that each of these scientists faces is their status and the opportunities to work and contribute. We hope this informative conversation gave you some insight and direction to pursue your desirable status. If you missed the talk, please feel free to watch the full conversation here.