Biography
Megan Naughton, co-chair of the firm’s Immigration Group, has more than two decades of experience successfully handling U.S. business immigration matters. She represents a wide range of clients, from start-up to Fortune 500 companies, in a variety of industries, including financial services, insurance, technology, manufacturing, and higher education.
U.S. Business Immigration Advice
Megan advises employers on the best way to employ candidates and retain employees who need U.S. immigration sponsorship. She guides clients through an assessment of temporary and permanent options, and issues involving timing and cost. She also provides advice regarding employee pay and benefits, promotion, relocation, travel, and termination related to employees requiring sponsorship. Megan has developed best practices for employers regarding immigration sponsorship.
Preparation and Filing of U.S. Immigration Cases
Megan prepares visa petitions and business immigration cases for submission to government agencies, such as the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and the U.S. Department of State. These cases include, but are not limited to, petitions and applications for temporary business visitors, temporary employment visas, and exchange visitors, as well as Program Electronic Review Management (PERM) applications and employment-based immigrant petitions, including outstanding researchers and extraordinary ability cases. As a Six Sigma Green Belt, Megan has overseen the efficient preparation and filing of thousands of successful cases.
Immigration Compliance
Megan counsels employers on the Immigration Reform and Control Act and related issues, including I-9 and worksite enforcement issues. She provides training to employers on their I-9 obligations, and responds to government audits and site visits regarding sponsored employees. She also has provided immigration compliance training to human resources professionals, recruiters, executives and managers, business owners, and in-house counsel for a variety of clients and business organizations, including one of the world's largest chemical and pharmaceutical companies, as well as one of the largest insurance companies in the U.S.
Immigration Strategies for U.S. Start-ups
Megan assesses visa options for new companies in the United States, and prepares and files applications in highly scrutinized immigration categories on behalf of start-ups. She successfully assisted many British, Canadian, Danish, French, German and Italian -owned companies in their efforts to bring employees to the United States in E-2 status as managers and essential workers.
Pro Bono
Megan regularly provides immigration assistance on a pro bono basis. She helped a diplomat from the Democratic Republic of the Congo obtain asylum in the United States. She routinely represents children in special juvenile immigrant visa petitions, enabling them to obtain U.S. permanent resident status.
A frequent author on pressing topics shaping immigration law, Megan most recently wrote "The H-1B Quagmire: Colleges and Universities Develop Programs to Combat H-1B Gridlock," and "Foreign-Born Entrepreneurs Have Visa Options," both published in the Connecticut Law Tribune. She served as a peer editor for the treatise Business Immigration Law & Practice, published by the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
Megan has served as a faculty member for Sterling Educational Services' immigration series. She frequently speaks for the Connecticut Business Industry Association, as well as the Connecticut Bar Association, on immigration-related topics.