About the Author
Hector A. Chichoni practices in the area of U.S. and global immigration law and is the chair of the firm's Immigration Practice in Florida. Mr. Chichoni represents corporate and individual clients, including healthcare organizations, Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies, multinational corporations and universities, doctors, professors, researchers and students. He handles international matters and business transactions and has represented clients in a wide variety of cases before the U.S. Immigration Court. Mr. Chichoni is also a member of Duane Morris' Cuba Business Group.
Mr. Chichoni's experience includes large, complex corporate immigration matters exceeding millions of dollars in potential impact. He also assists clients with immigration audits, obtaining nonimmigrant and immigrant visas, counseling non-U.S. companies establishing U.S. operations for the transfer of key executives, managers and specialists into the U.S., counseling U.S. and international businesses, educational institutions and not-for-profit entities regarding temporary and permanent business-, employment- and investment-related U.S. visas, and representing employers in connection with I-9 compliance and work site enforcement actions by Immigration Customs Enforcement. Mr. Chichoni also assists investors and their families with all stages of the EB-5 immigration process, including adjustments of status, immigrant visa processing, consular interview preparation and source of funds preparation.
Mr. Chichoni also has served as lead counsel for immigration and employment verification issues during large acquisitions, mergers and corporate reorganizations; pro bono lead immigration counsel on immigration-related matters in Immigration Court and before the Immigration Board of Appeals on behalf of foreign nationals detained at ICE Processing Service Centers; lead immigration counsel for international corporate clients assisting their employees obtain foreign visas and work authorization for employees assigned inside and outside of the United States. He has assisted foreign nationals with obtaining U.S. citizenship, trained in-house legal personnel in preparing applications and petitions for the temporary admission of foreign nationals, trained the press to report immigration issues accurately; advised universities and other organizations on the fundamental research exception and its applicability to the activities of foreign graduate students, researchers, visiting professors and others and developed systems, procedures and policies in accordance with U.S. immigration laws for employers to provide screening mechanisms for new hires with export licensing issues while complying with federal antidiscrimination provisions.
Mr. Chichoni is the National Immigration Counsel for ALTA (Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association), a large trade association representing airlines and affiliated industries offering services in Latin America, and for RBA (Retail Bakers of America), a trade association representing retail bakers and allied industries in the United States.
The editors of Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business also selected Mr. Chichoni as a "Leader in the Immigration Field," based on in-depth interviews with other lawyers and clients. He is a frequent speaker and author on immigration and international issues at U.S. and international forums. Mr. Chichoni is a book reviewer for the book publishing section of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and his articles have appeared in numerous publications, including HR Magazine, HR News, Immigration Legal Weekly, The Immigration Daily, Cyberspace Lawyer (Westlaw), Bloomberg Law Report, HR Executive Magazine, HR Watch, Texas Reporter, E-Commerce Times, The Daily Bugle, Hsyndicate News, Hospitality Net, China Update, Cincinnati Business Courier, Immigration Dispatch, Immigration Insider, Employer's Update and Diario La Tribuna. His articles have been published in English and Spanish and translated into Chinese. Mr. Chichoni presently co-authors the Florida Employer and was the co-founder and co-author of the Florida Employment and Immigration Law blog. He is the editor of the widely distributed newsletters Latest US Immigration News and Latest International Immigration News. Mr. Chichoni is also a frequent commentator on immigration issues, and his interviews have appeared in The National Law Journal, Workforce Management, Law.com, Miami Today, The Daily Report, The Arizona Republic, The Miami Herald, The Daily Business Review, The South Florida Sun-Sentinel, El Sentinel, The South Florida Business Journal, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Salt Lake Tribune, El Nuevo Herald, HSToday, Mundo Hispanico, The Ledger, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Mercado De Dinero, Diario Tribuna, The Coral Gables Gazette, and El Empresario (Ecuador). Mr. Chichoni also has appeared on Comcast News and the Profiles, Panorama, and Business Watch television shows.
Mr. Chichoni is a 1996 graduate of Brigham Young University Law School, where he was conference editor of the Journal of Law and Education, and a graduate of Brigham Young University (M.P.A., 1996; B.A., 1992). Prior to entering private practice, he served a judicial clerkship with the Fourth District Court of Utah. Mr. Chichoni speaks French, Portuguese and Spanish.
