James N. Garilas

James is an immigration shareholder whose practice focuses on employment-based immigration. He works with clients of all sizes, ranging from small startups and family-owned businesses to large, multinational Fortune 500 companies, developing both short-term and long-term immigration strategies. He advises clients across a wide range of industries, including airlines, 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 visa categories, including H-1B, H-1B1, L-1, O-1, TN, E-2, E-3, and B-1 visas, and guides employers through the paths to legal permanent residency in the U.S., including the PERM Labor Certification process and EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3 immigrant visa processes. 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 a J.D., cum laude, from the University of South Carolina School of Law. While in law school, James served as Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Law and Education. Prior to joining the firm as an associate attorney in 2016, James served as a law clerk to the general counsel of a large regional healthcare system and as a summer associate at Ogletree Deakins. James is a member of the Greenville County Bar Association and the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA).