Benjamin T. Kurten chairs Reinhart's Immigration Law Group and is a shareholder in the firm's Labor and Employment Practice. He has more than 12 years of broad-based immigration law experience.

Ben's experience includes assisting large multi-national corporations, small private companies and individual investors successfully navigate the complex U.S. immigration laws in order to meet their business needs through such tasks as: transferring international personnel; hiring foreign-born talent with hard-to-find skill sets to fill professional positions; and establishing new U.S. investment enterprises or branch operations. He regularly works with clients from a variety of different industries, including manufacturing, health care, research, financial services, technology, education, entertainment, professional sports, consumer goods and agriculture.

Ben also helps employers understand as well as develop and implement policies, procedures and training programs to ensure their compliance with workplace related immigration regulations, such as the Form I-9. His experience also includes assisting individuals with bringing their family members to the U.S. through the immigration process and obtaining U.S. citizenship.

Ben has successfully argued cases before the Executive Office of Immigration Review, the Board of Immigrations Appeals and the Administrative Appeals Office. In addition, Ben is a frequent speaker and panelist on the topic of immigration and regularly presents at industry events.

He is listed in Best Lawyers in America, was named as Best Lawyers' 2012 Milwaukee Immigration Lawyer of the Year, is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, has received a peer review rating of BV from Martindale-Hubbell for his high legal ability and ethical standards, has published many professional articles in the field of immigration law, and has edited the Immigration Law chapter of the Wisconsin Attorney's Desk Reference for many years.

Ben enjoys educating his clients about the U.S. immigration process and rules in order to clarify a very complex system, as well as counseling them on how to utilize the many strategies he has developed through his experience to avoid potential pitfalls and frustrations when hiring a foreign worker or sponsoring a relative coming to the United States.

Representative Matters and Experience

• Nonimmigrant employment visa petitions, including
• H-1B (professionals)
• H-2 (seasonal workers)
• H-3 (trainees)
• L-1A (managers and executives)
• L-1B (specialized knowledge)
• O-1 (extraordinary ability)
• P-1 (athletes)
• E-1 (treaty traders)
• E-2 (treaty investors)
• TN (NAFTA workers)
• Blanket L-1 authorization to more easily transfer international specialized knowledge, managerial and executive employees to the United States
• Permanent residency processing through immigrant visas in the Employment-Based First Preference (EB-1) areas of Multi-national Managers/Executives, Outstanding Researchers, and Extraordinary Ability
• Permanent residency processing through the application for foreign labor certification (PERM) processes for immigrant visas in either the Employment-Based Second and Third Preferences (EB-2 and EB-3)
• Permanent residency processing through the National Interest Waiver (NIW) process for immigrant visas in EB-2
• J-1 two-year return and inadmissibility waivers with particular emphasis on waivers for foreign physicians, including Conrad 30 waivers
• Family-based (marriage, fiancé(e), parent-child, sibling) immigrant visa petitions, when the process is faster, easier, or more economical than employment-based
• Adjustment of Status (I-485) applications to obtain permanent resident status
• Diversity Visa Lottery permanent resident processing
• Consular Processing of Immigrant Visas and Nonimmigrant Visas at U.S. Consulates outside the United States
• Post-permanent resident processes such as Reentry Permits, preservation of permanent resident status for naturalization purposes, and naturalization
• Development of employment verification (I-9) system and E-Verify compliance programs
• In-house audits of H-1B and I-9 programs, policy development for Department of Labor and Department of Homeland Security investigations, and investigation defense
• Development of effective anti-discrimination policies related to immigration, including management of Office of Special Counsel (Department of Justice) investigations

Accolades

• Best Lawyers’ 2012 Milwaukee Immigration Law Lawyer of the Year
• Best Lawyers in America (Immigration Law)
• Martindale-Hubbell BV® Distinguished™ Peer Review Rated
• Selected for inclusion in Wisconsin Super Lawyers – Rising Stars Edition (Immigration)

Notable Publications/Presentations 

• Author of Social Security No-Match Letters Resume in 2011, Wisconsin Lawyer (84 Wis. Law. 19-22 (October 2011))
• Co-author of  USCIS to Increase Employer Visits to Deter Visa Fraud, SHRM Online, September 17, 2009
• Co-author of "Clinical J-1 Waivers - A Primer," Immigration & Nationality Law Handbook, 611- 631, American Immigration Lawyers Association eds. 10th ed., 2009
• Editor, Immigration Law chapter of the Wisconsin Attorney's Desk Reference