Shanon R. Stevenson

Partner

Atlanta

404.240.5842

404.240.4249

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Overview

Shanon Randhawa Stevenson is a partner in Fisher Phillips’ Atlanta office, Chair of the firm's Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee, Co-Chair of the Immigration Practice Group, and a member of the firm’s COVID-19 Taskforce. Her practice focuses on immigration law in the information technology, financial services, healthcare, education, and manufacturing industries.

Shanon focuses on the underlying business issues that prompt organizations to obtain legal counsel, knowing that the compliance and regulatory aspects of maintaining a successful immigration program can distract employers from pursuing their core competencies and business objectives. Shanon partners with clients to alleviate that distraction and reduce their risk profiles so they can focus on the business of innovation and growth.

Represented one of the largest banks in the United States in connection with a variety of immigration matters, including I-9 and E-Verify compliance.
- During COVID, our client, like many employers, faced challenges in verifying the work authorization for its remote workers. We worked with the bank to develop a policy to help effectively manage the I-9 process for remote hires to minimize the amount of work the team will need to complete with the Form I-9s once the workers return to the office and the I-9 flexibilities put in place by the Department of Homeland Security expire.
- On a separate I-9 compliance matter, we also assisted the bank in convincing the U.S. Department of Justice that its interpretation of the immigration regulations was incorrect when several employees tried to file immigration discrimination complaints with the USDOJ; as a result, the charges were never filed or pursued by USDOJ.
Assisted a S&P 500 company and leading SaaS provider primarily for the financial services industry in reducing its immigration spend by combining the required recruitment for foreign nationals going through the PERM process to obtain permanent residence. By combining the recruitment for the same positions, the company benefited from substantial cost savings that could fund additional H-1B work visa transfers to increase headcount in its growing Information Technology Group.
Secured national interest exceptions related to COVID-based travel bans for a large client in the finance industry. Utilizing immigration software, we quickly identified which foreign national employees were impacted by travel bans, then worked with the client’s HR team to determine their locations. The exceptions were secured in response to persuasive arguments to the Department of State, demonstrating appropriate qualifications of each employee in question.
Represented one of the world’s largest defense contractors in nearly 3,000 immigration matters over almost 20 years, including a recent focus on achieving Federal Aviation Administration certification of a new aircraft. We were able to secure approval of 75 National Interest Exceptions (NIEs) that allows these executives and engineers to circumvent pandemic-related travel restrictions to Europe, facilitating an on-schedule rollout of the defense contractor's new flagship aircraft.
Represented a premier provider of managed labor services to the transportation industry operating in 50+ locations in a charge of citizenship discrimination brought by the U.S. Department of Justice. This case is complex because it involves a large employee population of Lawful Permanent Residents and Refugees who claim to have been discriminated against on a company-wide basis. Although the initial charge was brought against the entire company, we were able to negotiate and narrow the scope of the investigation to just five locations – limiting the potential monetary exposure to the company.
Represented a member of the Fortune 500 and leading company in the design and manufacturing of packaging for commercial products in connection with nearly 700 immigration matters over a nearly 20-year relationship, including management of issues related to I-140, I-485s, I-94s, H-1Bs, PERMs and more. Our client is categorized as a manufacturer of products within Critical Infrastructure Segments, making our high rate of success in their immigration matters a critical element of their business.
Represented a publicly traded manufacturer of highly engineered industrial and technology solutions serving high-growth specialized markets across the spectrum of labor and employment related legal challenges, including nearly 200 specifically related to immigration issues, since 2008. This includes work in connection with PERMs, H-1Bs, Blanket L-1As, I-485s and more.
Represented a global staffing agency in connection with their immigration needs since 2008, handling nearly 400 immigration matters across the range of non-immigrant visas and permanent residence applications, including H-1Bs, Blanket L1As, PERMS, H4s and more.