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Bob White, Co-Chair of the firm's Immigration practice, advises and works with companies from a variety of industries on all types of business nonimmigrant and immigrant visas (“green cards”) for their employees, managers and executives. He also represents and defends companies in U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) H-1B Labor Condition Application (LCA) audits, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Form I-9 audits, and advises on avoiding the penalties often incurred in these actions.

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Bob was nominated as the 2022 Lawyer of the Year for Immigration – Chicago by Best Lawyers® national publication.

For the past 10 years, Bob has been re-appointed annually to the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) National’s DOL Committee, and recently nominated as Chair of the Committee. As Chair, Bob will be focusing on issues encountered by other immigration attorneys and employers in the PERM program, the H-1B LCA program and the DOL Wage and Hour Division’s enforcement investigations in the H-1B program.

Bob was also Chair of the Chicago Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), a member of the AILA Board of Governors, a member of AILA National’s ICE Worksite Enforcement Committee, and Chair of AILA National’s Social Security Administration (SSA) Liaison Committee.

An immigration counselor for numerous colleges and universities, Bob has been a member of the leadership team of the National Association of Foreign Student Advisers (NAFSA): Association of International Educators’ Region V for more than 15 years. He is currently Chair of NAFSA Region V which includes colleges and universities located in Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan. He was previously a Regulatory Liaison for NAFSA Region V and was responsible for responding to F-1, J-1, H-1B and PERM immigration policy and procedural questions from colleges and universities. He was also a member of NAFSA National’s Membership Engagement Committee (MEC).

Bob is a very active advocate for the reform of the U.S. immigration system and frequently travels to Washington, D.C. to meet with congressional representatives and their staff. Bob was also a member of the Immigration Reform Taskforce of the Archdiocese of Chicago.

Bob routinely presents workshops at AILA and NAFSA conferences on how to successfully structure and process various immigration applications through the DOL, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and U.S. Department of State (DOS). In addition, Bob has led seminars for the National Association of Computer Consultant Businesses, Federal Bar Association, HR Source and the Illinois Landscape Contractors Association, and routinely conducts immigration seminars for human resource managers at manufacturing, technology and healthcare companies. He also regularly speaks on immigration topics at colleges, universities, trade and professional schools on how international students and faculty can properly maintain their status and obtain employment authorization.

Prior to joining the firm, Bob was an immigration assistant to the former U.S. Senator Alan J. Dixon, and established a business immigration practice in a suburban Chicago law firm.

Practice Areas

Education

  • IIT-Chicago-Kent College of Law, J.D., 1993
  • University of Notre Dame, B.A. Government, with honors, 1990

Admissions

  • Illinois
.
Experience

Experience

Provided advice to companies in obtaining H-1B status for advanced practice nurses and other professions that do not clearly qualify for H-1B classification.
Assisted companies in obtaining working visas (including but not limited to H-2B, O, P, L, E, Q, R and TN status) for individuals who did not qualify for H-1B status.
Guided companies during H-1B and L-1 site visits as part of the USCIS' Fraud Detection and National Security Administrative Site Visit program; helped companies in responding to Notices of Intent to Revoke (NOIR) issued from the USCIS after the site visits.
Advised consulting companies in documenting the employer-employee relationship in the H-1B program.

Recommended to companies how to overcome challenges by the DOL during PERM audit and PERM supervised recruitment stage of the employment-based immigrant visa (green card) process.

Counseled companies about the sufficiency of their recruiting efforts to qualify their labor certification applications for the PERM processing.

Guided companies in documenting for the DOL that their labor certification applications qualify for PERM processing regardless of company and/or industry layoffs.

Assisted individuals in evidencing for the USCIS that they are extraordinary in their fields and thus they avoided the labor certification stage of the employment-based immigrant visa (green card) process.

Provided advice to companies in avoiding significant monetary penalties from the DOL as part of the H-1B Labor Condition Application process and during DOL enforcement actions.
Advised individuals how to obtain family-based immigrant visas (green cards) based upon marriage to a U.S. citizen.
Counseled individuals on the benefits of consular processing vs. adjustment of status during the last stage of the green card process.

Overcame objections by consular officials in issuing visas to clients by appealing to the U.S. Department of State's Visa Office and by responding to NOIR from the USCIS.

Memberships

Memberships

American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA)
NAFSA - Association of International Educators
Professional Activities
Legal Updates/Client Advisories
FY2025 H-1B Quota Registration Opens on March 6 With Changes to The Registration Process
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that the Fiscal Year 2025 (October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025) H-1B…
Record Number of Green Cards Available in 2022
The U.S. Department of State (DOS) recently announced that a record number of employment-based immigrant visas (aka green cards) will be…
Form I-9: New Form Issued and Must Be Used
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released a new version of the Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9. Prior…
Speaking Engagements
American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Virtual National Day of Action – Meeting Leader for Several Congressmen and Senator Meetings, April 22, 2021
4.22.21
American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Spring CLE Virtual Conference – Led Panel on "Compliance Open Forum: Current and COVID Developments," April 15, 2021
4.15.21
Presented at 2021 NAFSA Chicago Roundtable - Immigration Update Webinar, April 8, 2021
4.8.21
Conducted an Immigration Workshop for the International Students and Faculty of the Illinois Institute of Technology, March 31, 2021
3.31.21
Led NAFSA Virtual New Member Orientation, October 7, 2020
10.8.20
Presented at AILA Agora Web Seminar, Trends in PERM and BALCA Cases, September 15, 2020
9.16.20
Presented at AILA Chicago Chapter Virtual Monthly Meeting, PERM Overview/Audit Update, September 14, 2020
9.14.20
Participated on an All Things PERM Labor Certification Session Panel during the Federal Bar Association Immigration Law Conference in Austin, TX, May 17-18, 2019
5.18.19
American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Annual Conference – "PERM BALCA and FAQ Review" Led Panel, June 13-16, 2018
6.15.18
Participated on a DOL PERM Issue Identification and Resolution Panel during the AILA PERM Conference in Seattle, WA, August 18, 2017
8.18.17
Participated on an Immigration Attorney Training Panel on F-1 International Student Issues during the AILA Annual Conference in New Orleans, LA, June 21-23, 2017
6.23.17
One of three immigration attorneys invited from AILA who attended a special meeting with the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) to discuss H-1B enforcement issues, June 16, 2017
6.16.17
WHD Headquarters in Washington, DC
Participated in the USCIS Update Panel and the DOL PERM/Prevailing Wage Panel with USCIS National Officials and a DOL National Official, May 29 - June 2, 2017
5.29.17
NAFSA: Association of International Educators' Annual Conference in Los Angeles, CA
Conducted two Immigration Seminars for the International Students and Faculty of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI, April 28, 2017
4.28.17
Conducted an Immigration Seminar for the International Students and Faculty of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago, IL, April 20, 2017
4.20.17
Keynote Lunch Speaker at Chicago International Student Career Fair held at Devry University Chicago Campus in Chicago, IL, April 12, 2017
4.12.17
Invited Leader on an Immigration Trivia Panel at the International Educators of Illinois (IEI), April 7, 2017
4.7.17
Taught international educators from numerous colleges and universities throughout Illinois on F-1, J-1 and H-1B issues
Participated in the AILA National Day of Action (Lobby Day) in Washington, DC and visited various Congressional Offices to educate and advocate for business immigration issues, April 6, 2017
4.6.17
Invited Panelist on an Labor Condition Application (LCA), I-9 and Immigration Verification Panel at the AILA Midwest Regional Conference in Chicago, IL, March 13, 2017
3.13.17
As a member of the AILA Department of Labor (DOL) Liaison Committee, attended DOL Quarterly Stakeholder's Meeting, March 7, 2017
3.7.17
Participated in a discussion on PERM and Prevailing Wage (PW) issues in Atlanta, GA
Invited Panelist on a PERM Processing Trends and Transition Panel, March 3, 2017
3.3.17
American Immigration Lawyers Association's (AILA) New England Chapter's Annual Immigration Conference in Boston, MA
Participated in two panels at the annual MFEM Immigration Seminar in Arlington Heights, IL, February 24, 2017
2.24.17
Obama to the Trump Administration and its Effect on Immigration Policy & Procedures and Employment Issues Available for F-1 Students
Attended the NAFSA: Association of International Educators' National World Leadership Meeting (WLM) in Washington, DC, January 27-29, 2017
1.27.17
Events
2018 Annual Complimentary Immigration Law Update Seminar
3.2.18
8:00 am - Registration and Breakfast 8:30-11:30 am - Presentations Continental breakfast will be provided
News
Masuda Funai Hosts 2024 Immigration Seminar
Masuda, Funai, Eifert & Mitchell, Ltd. hosted its annual Immigration Seminar on Thursday, February 29, 2024, at the DoubleTree Hotel in…
Masuda Funai Hosts 2023 Immigration Seminar
Masuda, Funai, Eifert & Mitchell, Ltd. hosted its annual Immigration Seminar on Thursday, February 23, 2023, at the DoubleTree Hotel in…
Masuda Funai Ranked as Best Law Firm and Three Attorneys Selected as Best Lawyer for 2022 by U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers recently released the 2022 “Best Law Firms” rankings and gave Masuda, Funai, Eifert & Mitchell…
Bob White Named 2022 Best Lawyers® "Lawyer of the Year" for Immigration Law in Chicago
Bob White of Masuda, Funai, Eifert & Mitchell, Ltd. was recognized by Best Lawyers® as the 2022 “Lawyer of the Year” for Immigration Law in…
Bob White Appointed Vice Chair of AILA DOL Liaison Committee
Masuda, Funai, Eifert & Mitchell, Ltd. is pleased to announce that Bob White has been appointed Vice Chair of the American Immigration…
Bob White Conducted an Immigration Workshop for the Illinois Institute of Technology
On Wednesday, March 31, 2021, Bob White, Principal of Masuda Funai's Immigration Practice Group, conducted an immigration workshop for the…
Bob White Co-Paneled NAFSA's Quarterly New Member Orientation
On Thursday, February 25, 2021, Bob White, Principal of Masuda Funai’s Immigration Practice Group, co-paneled the National Association of…
Four Masuda Funai Lawyers Named to the 2021 Super Lawyers List
Masuda Funai is proud to announce that three lawyers have been selected to the 2021 Illinois Super Lawyers list and one lawyer has been…
Masuda Funai Ranked as Best Law Firm and Seven Attorneys Selected as Best Lawyer for 2021 by U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers recently released 2021 “Best Law Firms” rankings and gave Masuda, Funai, Eifert & Mitchell, Ltd…
Bob White Spoke at NAFSA Region V 2020 Virtual Conference
On Thursday, October 22, 2020, Bob White, Principal of Masuda Funai’s Immigration Practice Group, spoke at the NAFSA: Association of…
Bob White Presented at the AILA 2020 Virtual Midwest Regional Conference
On Friday, October 9, 2020, Bob White, Principal of Masuda Funai’s Immigration Practice Group, presented with two other experts during the…
Bob White Led NAFSA New Member Orientation
On Wednesday, October 7, 2020, Bob White, Principal of Masuda Funai’s Immigration Practice Group, led the National Association of…
Bob White Presents During AILA Agora Web Seminar
On Tuesday, September 15, 2020, Bob White, Principal of Masuda Funai's Immigration Practice Group, presented with three other experts…
Bob White Presented at AILA Chicago Chapter Virtual Monthly Meeting
On Monday, September 14, 2020, Bob White, Principal of Masuda Funai's Immigration Practice Group, presented at the American Immigration…
Bob White Led Discussion at AILA Annual Conference
On July 20, Robert S. White, Principal of Masuda Funai’s Immigration Practice Group was a discussion leader at the American Immigration…
Masuda Funai Hosts 2020 Immigration Seminar
Masuda, Funai, Eifert & Mitchell, Ltd. hosted its annual Immigration Seminar on Wednesday, February 12, 2020 at the DoubleTree Hotel in…
Masuda Funai Hosts 2019 Immigration Seminar
Masuda, Funai, Eifert & Mitchell, Ltd. hosted its annual Immigration Seminar on Friday, February 15, 2019 at the DoubleTree Hotel in…
Bob White Quoted in Bloomberg Law Article
Bob White was Quoted in a Bloomberg Law Article "Employers Seeking Visas May Tangle With Labor Dept. Over Wages" Key Takeaways: Uptick in…
Masuda Funai Hosts 2018 Immigration Seminar
Masuda, Funai, Eifert & Mitchell, Ltd. hosted its annual Immigration Seminar on Friday, March 2, 2018. Approximately 100 executives…
Distinctions

Distinctions

  • Leading Lawyers, 2003-2024
  • Illinois Super Lawyers, 2019-2024
  • Who's Who Legal: Corporate Immigration, 2010-2023
  • The Best Lawyers in America, 2018-2024
  • Best Lawyers® Lawyer of the Year for Immigration in Chicago, 2022