Brian C. Turner, Th.M., B.A., AAOBTC Certified

Experience

• 

  USCIS

  Jul 2001 - Sept 2018

  Senior Immigration Services Officer (Level 3)

  CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:• CARRP national security cases adjudicator for I-140, I-730, and I-485 (Sec. 209 and 245)• Supplement J to the Form I-485 developer and trainer• Employment-based, family-based, and asylum law trainer• NIW Physician principal adjudicator and trainer• Motions, appeals, and certifications training module designer and coordinator• Officer competency evaluator• Expert witness in United States v. Zhen Zhou Wu, 680 F. Supp. 2d 287 (D. Mass. 2010), aff’d 711 F.3d 1 (1st Cir. 2013)TRAINING WORKSHOP DESIGNER:• Understanding IRS tax returns for USCIS adjudicators• Labor certification workshop for USCIS adjudicators• Integrated learning stylesPUBLIC OUTREACH TO STAKEHOLDERS:• TSC University presenter for public• Congressional conference presenter for Congressional staffers• NAFSA (National Association for Foreign Student Affairs) I-765 presenter• NAFSA SEVIS presenterAGENCY CONTRIBUTIONS:• Research skills for immigration programs: compiled local library of precedent decisions and relevant U.S. Supreme Court and circuit court decisions for Immigration Services Officers, Level 1, 2, and 3• Strong communication skills: representative on multiple occasions for public outreach in national immigration conferences, local immigration conferences, and Dallas field office; written multiple SOP’s, field guides, and casework memoranda• Short-term and long-term program designing: created, coordinated, and implemented several training modules for basic, intermediate, and advanced adjudication skills; developed mentoring program review process• Independent program coordinating skills: leader, host, presenter, and facilitator for TSC Academy students as their educational component of USCIS service center operations• Expert immigration adjudication skills: adjudication of national security discretionary denials, certification of complex cases on behalf of TSC Director, associate center directors, and supervisory immigration services officers Show less

• 

  Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP

  Nov 2018 - Jul 2019

  Senior Paralegal II

  Mastery of multiple case types, including legal research for relevant precedent decisions in Federal administrative caselaw, independently handled cases, and utilized document and data management systems to prepare, monitor, and record all aspects of client casework as per company policy. JOB DUTIES:• Evaluated problematic cases and proactively provided strategies and solutions to issues • Devised strategies for problematic cases • Performed independent research to obtain background information on company or industry• Processed high volume of cases and worked on cases of increasing complexity and variation• Coordinated work for major clients and responsible for an increasingly larger scope of work• Initiated contact with government agencies to obtain necessary information Show less

• 

  Freelance

  Jul 2019 - now

  Independent Expert Consultant for U.S. Immigration

  PROFESSIONAL HIGHLIGHTS:• Expert witness: U.S. Immigration• Immigration Law trainer: 10+ yrs• Adjudicated 17K+ immigrant petitions (I-140, I-130, and I-360)• Adjudicated 15K+ adjustment applications (I-485, Sec. 209 and 245)PROFESSIONAL EXPERTISE:• Provide subject matter expertise in a wide range of U.S. immigration-related matters from F-1 academic students to USCIS operations as well as ETA 9089 strategies, U.S. political asylum, NIW Physicians, religious workers (NIV and IV), AOS, and immigrant petitions for law firms and consulting groups. Show less

• 

  Servsys Corporation

  Sept 2019 - now

  Direct the design and implementation of all areas of corporate Legal Team’s immigration affairs for an IT staffing corporation, chiefly: Delegation of paralegal tasks and assignments • Authorization over final immigration products, including Form I-9 for all employees • Immigration Compliance Advising • Office Management • TrainingCORPORATE ACHIEVEMENTS:• Reduced corporate immigration expenses including legal fees by $432K per year, saving $2.16 Mil over five years• Generated over $60K in accounts receivable for immigration services over two years• 99.7% H-1B approval rate, including sustained appeals• 100% I-140 approval rate, including sustained appeals• 100% ETA 9089 approval rate, including audits• Implementation of year-long revolving ETA 9089 batch filings for core positions• Oversight of ETA 9089 batch filings for non-core positions• Chief consultant for TN visa packets • Governance of management’s L-1A visas• Expansion of immigration services over third-party companies to generate accounts receivable• Elimination of outside immigration counsel feesCORPORATE FUNCTIONS:• Head of legal strategy for immigration services• Resolution of employee escalations over immigration matters• Implementation of long-term corporation’s immigration plans• Point of contact for complex immigration matters• Oversee execution of designs accommodating new immigration laws and policiesMAJOR VICTORIES:• TN Computer Systems Analyst 3-yr EOS with BS in Physics• Untimely filed H-1B EOS excused in discretion per Matter of Cornell University, 19 I&N Dec. 650 (Comm. 1987)• Non-violation of H-1B recoupment fees under 20 C.F.R. § 655.731(c)(9)(iii)(C)• Non-violation of LCA worksite per COVID State ordinances• LCA short-term "displacement" under 20 C.F.R. § 655.735 Show less Oversee the design and implementation of all areas of the corporation’s immigration affairs as principal architect of the immigration department for an IT staffing corporation, chiefly: H-1B strategies • PAF compliance • ETA 9089 strategies • Immigrant petitions • Nonimmigrant applications • Appeals • Motions • Waivers • Corporate ParalegalCORPORATE ACHIEVEMENTS:• Designed, restructured, and implemented corporation's EB immigration system from the ground up• Digitization of corporation’s entire H-1B paper PAF library • 98% H-1B approval rate, including sustained appeals• 43.4% reduction in employee back wages liability• Design, implementation, and training of ETA 9089 process for corporation’s employees• Systemization of immigration documentation, including naming conventions, document destruction scheduling, and storage/retrieval• Control of annual immigration budget, including ETA 9089 recruitment, education evaluations, and expert opinion evaluationsCAREER HIGHLIGHTS:• Immigrant visa long-term planning, including year-long coordinating of all Form I-140 and ETA 9089 process aspects such as recruitment efforts, recruitment report, and audits, incorporating batch ETA 9089 applications and PWDs for multiple positions• Strategy advisor for all of corporation’s and affiliates’ legal decisions: H-1B, ETA 9089, and I-140 filings with USCIS and DOL, chiefly, including researching, drafting, and finalizing all support letters, RFE and NOID responses, MTRs, and appeals to AAO and BALCA• PAF Compliance Auditor of employees and affiliates’ employees, including H-1B dependent companies and exempt employees Show less

  • Acting Director of Immigration Affairs

    Feb 2021 - now

  • Chief Immigration Architect

    Sept 2019 - Feb 2021