‘We pride ourselves in assisting employers and individuals with creative solutions to their immigration problems.’ Emily Reber-Mariniello, Founder of ERM Immigration Law, PLLC

“The bottom line is communication, communication, communication.”

ERM Immigration Law, PLLC, is a casual boutique firm devoted entirely to immigration and naturalization law. ERM serves clients from around the world.

ERM Immigration Law was established in 2012.

The Silicon Review reached out to ERM’s Seattle headquarters and spoke with Emily Reber-Mariniello, founder of the company. Here’s what she had to say.

Interview Highlights

Q. What ground-breaking and proactive methodology does ERM Immigration Law implement to meet client expectations?

ERM Immigration Law, PLLC, implements a philosophy of emphatic empathy and commitment to not only a positive outcome but also a positive journey.

It may not seem groundbreaking, but many law firms fail to recognize that both the outcome and lifecycle of a case can change lives, such as helping a business owner successfully run their business, or ensuring a family is together. With long and complicated processes, the experience in the meanwhile can be almost as valuable as the benefit.

At ERM, the first step we take is to help the client understand the process. We know the stress of immigration takes a toll on everyone involved. Any lawyer should be able to learn and apply the law, but great lawyering considers the personal goals of the client, presents levels of risk associated with each strategy, and lets the client decide what is best for them. This custom approach to each situation is what sets our firm apart.

The bottom line is communication, communication, communication. The more a client understands the process, the better expectations can be managed, and the better their experience will be.

Q. What are your focus areas?

ERM works primarily with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS), the agency responsible for adjudicating applications for both non-immigrants and immigrants coming to the United States. Our firm assists a variety of clients—from asylum seekers to families, start-ups to billion-dollar corporations, world-class athletes to artists—in achieving their desired immigration goals.

We also frequently work with the Department of State (DOS) in visa processing and The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) for those in removal proceedings, as well as the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) and the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA).

Q. How skilled is the ERM Immigration team of experts? And how do they bring value to thefirm?

ERM Immigration Law recently celebrated its 10th year in practice. There are two staff attorneys and of counsel experienced in various immigration matters, including employment-based, family-based, humanitarian-based, removal defense, and citizenship matters. Specifically, ERM has extensive experience in adjustments of status of various types (Green Cards obtained from within the U.S.) and consular processing (Green Cards obtained abroad) from various field offices and consular posts.

When things get complicated, ERM can also assist you with your National Interest Waiver (NIW), Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver (I-601A Waiver), or Waiver of Ground of Inadmissibility (I-601 Waiver). If you are the best at what you do, we also can successfully obtain your O-1 or EB-1 Alien of Extraordinary Ability visa or status; or we can help you start your own business in the United States through the E-2 Investor Visa. We handle other petitions as well.

We pride ourselves in assisting employers and individuals with creative solutions to their immigration problems, and sometimes we can even find multiple solutions, increasing your chances of success.

Q. Can you provide us with one or two success stories describing the challenges your clients faced and how your solutions helped them overcome those challenges?

A technology company came to us after their previous counsel had made several mistakes in their employee’s TN NAFTA Professional Extension of Status filing resulting in a denial. The employer was panicked to learn that their employee was unlawfully present for more than a year, creating serious consequences for the employee. The company was also experiencing a significant employee shortage, and losing this employee would mean losing an entire team. If the employee couldn’t work, the company would lose over a million dollars in revenue.

ERM filed an I-129, Petition for Non-immigrant Worker, nunc pro tunc, reviving the applicant’s status retroactively, fixing the employee’s status, which allowed the employee to remain and lawfully work in the U.S. This saved his career in the U.S. while also preserving the company’s bottom line. The employee felt he could trust the employer again, valuable equity in a very tight job market. The employer could rest assured knowing he took care of his company and the people who make it successful.

We need to recognize the entire picture to manifest positive results.

Q. What do you think are the biggest challenges your industry will face in the next five years? And how do you plan to counter those challenges?

Over the next five years, we expect many changes in policy and perhaps the law. There also will be changes in processing as USCIS attempts to modernize their processes. Continued slowdowns resulting from the pandemic and other pre-existing backlogs will be a problem for the foreseeable future. We are always attuned to the changing law, policy, and trends to avoid roadblocks while proactively educating and communicating with clients about what to expect, no matter who is in charge.

Q. About the future, where do you see ERM Immigration a couple of years from now?

ERM continues to grow! Recently, ERM expanded into the adjacent suite to accommodate our growing team. In the next couple of years, we expect to continue to expand our employment-based practice to accommodate more PERM and non-immigrant worker clientele. Currently, we are recruiting highly skilled staff with employment-based experience to accommodate additional services. We are also considering satellite offices. But, for now, we continue to work out of Seattle, or anywhere you are located via remote services.

Q. Is there anything else you want us to highlight that we might have missed?

The U.S. immigration system quite literally makes life and death decisions every day. USCIS recently updated their agency mission statement to “USCIS upholds America’s promise as a nation of welcome and possibility with fairness, integrity, and respect for all we serve.” This statement reflects ERM’s sentiments as well, and we hold them to it!

Emily Reber-Mariniello | Founder

Emily Reber-Mariniello, Esq., is the founder and managing attorney of ERM Immigration Law, PLLC. Emily graduated from Seattle University, School of Law, in 2010. She formed her practice, ERM Immigration Law, PLLC, in San Francisco, California, in May 2012. The firm relocated to Seattle, Washington, in 2015 for a more enriched family life, but ERM continues to serve clients, not only San Francisco and Seattle, but throughout the United States and the globe.

Emily experienced the U.S. immigration system personally when she and her husband (from Italy) pursued a life together in the United States. From that experience, Emily has come to understand that when a client is seeking legal assistance, they are often vulnerable, confused, or downright irritated. It is her philosophy that lawyering isn’t just about knowing the law, it is also about counseling the client in a way that meets their needs so that they have a pleasant, calm, and successful experience.

“Our firm assists a variety of clients—from asylum seekers to families, start-ups to billion-dollar corporations, and world-class athletes to artists—in achieving their desired immigration goals.”