Biglaw

Goodwin Associates Who Lost The Visa Lottery Lost Their Job

Without an H-1B visa, the associates have to transition out of the firm.

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h-1b visa color icon vector illustrationIf you spend any time on the corners of the internet where Biglaw associates complain — read Fishbowl and Reddit — you’ve probably heard about the furor surrounding international associates working in U.S. offices. According to the rumor mill, associates who needed the firm to sponsor their H-1B visa applications who were not selected in the lottery for the visa were immediately fired from the firm and not offered positions in any international outposts of the firm.

So which firm’s feeling the heat over their treatment of H-1B visa lottery losers? The finger’s being pointed at Goodwin Procter, a firm that’s already down a round of layoffs earlier this year.

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When reached for comment, a spokesperson for the firm confirmed that the visa lottery is a situation beyond their control and that eight of 11 international first-year associates failed to secure work visas. As a result, the firm says they’ve worked with immigration counsel on a “near-term” solution, but none is available. As such, those associates will be leaving the firm:

Unfortunately, we recently learned that eight associates in our first-year class were not selected in the lottery and will lose their authorization to work in the United States, meaning that we will no longer be permitted to legally employ them in the United States. We are working with each of these associates to identify whether there are viable, alternative near-term visa paths for them. After consulting with immigration counsel, we do not expect to successfully identify any near-term alternatives for most of these associates, so they will be leaving the firm. Separately, three first-year associates were successful in the lottery.

As to the frequently touted option of transferring the associates to the firm’s European or Asian offices, the firm says that isn’t “viable”:

We do not believe that it is viable to transfer the impacted individuals to any of our offices in Europe or Asia, where they would need to continue to be staffed on U.S.-based work, and where they – as U.S.-trained first-year associates – would not have the same access to U.S.-based work and professional development opportunities as they would in the United States, where they were trained and hired. None of the impacted associates is trained to do local work in any jurisdiction outside of the United States where we have an office.

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The firm also indicated they’re providing services to the impacted individuals:

Our principal focus now is to help the impacted individuals. During their transition period, which will run until late June, they will continue to have access to their current benefits, including health care coverage. We are providing them with access to our immigration counsel, and we are offering them career transition coaching, outplacement support, and alumni coaching. We are also offering to sponsor them in the H-1B lottery in 2024.

We recognize that this is a stressful situation for our international first-year associates, who have sacrificed a lot, worked very hard, and may now have to leave the United States, where they have been building a life and a career. Unfortunately, the H-1B process is entirely out of our control.

Best of luck to those being let go from Goodwin.

How is your firm or organization is handling H-1B visa lottery losers? Please don’t hesitate to let us know. Our vast network of tipsters is part of what makes Above the Law thrive. You can email us or text us (646-820-8477).

Read the firm’s full statement on the next page.

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