Magdalena M. Gruettner

Magda Gruettner is an associate in the San Francisco office of Ogletree Deakins. She has more than 13 years of experience practicing U.S. business immigration law.

Magda’s practice encompasses the full nonimmigrant-to-immigrant business immigration lifecycle for foreign nationals seeking employment authorization, permanent residency, and citizenship in the United States. She regularly handles nonimmigrant visa petitions (H-1B, L-1, O-1, TN, E-3, and E-2), PERM labor certifications (including supervised recruitment and audit responses), immigrant visa petitions (I-140s), adjustment of status and naturalization applications. Her experience covers a broad range of clients, from start-ups to large multinational corporations across various industries.

Magda also holds a degree in journalism, and she draws on her background as a writer throughout her practice. She applies those storytelling and research skills to craft compelling EB-1 petitions for individuals of extraordinary ability, outstanding researchers, and multinational managers and executives, and she uses her persuasive writing to respond to complex requests for evidence (RFEs) and notices of intent to deny (NOIDs).

Prior to joining Ogletree Deakins, Magda practiced at a large, global corporate immigration firm, where she focused on the labor certification process, immigrant visa petitions, consular processing, adjustment of status applications, and nonimmigrant visa petitions. She also worked at a boutique immigration firm specializing in nonimmigrant and immigrant immigration.

As an immigrant herself, Magda understands firsthand the challenges foreign nationals face when navigating the U.S. immigration system.

Magda has been recognized by Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America® for Immigration Law. She earned her J.D. from the University of San Francisco School of Law.