H-1B, L-1 & Strategic Visa Planning in a High-Scrutiny Era

Karen-Lee Pollak, Managing Attorney | Pollak PLLC

Karen-Lee Pollak is the Managing Attorney of Pollak PLLC, an immigration law firm with offices in Dallas, Texas, and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She provides comprehensive immigration counsel to multinational corporations, small and mid-sized businesses, investors, families, and individuals on a broad range of employment- and family-based immigration matters. Her practice encompasses immigrant and nonimmigrant visa petitions, corporate immigration compliance, immigration policy development, and federal immigration litigation under the Administrative Procedure Act. As an immigrant herself, Ms. Pollak understands that immigration decisions are both legal and deeply personal, and she works closely with clients to deliver practical, timely, and strategic solutions.

• Education & Credentials

Ms. Pollak earned her law degree from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, where she studied law from 1987 to 1993. She was admitted to the Supreme Court of South Africa before immigrating to the United States in 1995 and subsequently qualified to practice law in both California and Texas. She is a member of the State Bar of California and the State Bar of Texas.

• Recognition & Leadership

Ms. Pollak has been consistently recognized as one of Texas’s leading immigration attorneys. She has been ranked by Chambers and Partners in the Global Guide to the World’s Leading Lawyers (USA) since 2021 and was included in the Chambers Regional Spotlight Guide (Texas) in 2025. She has also been recognized in D Magazine’s Best Lawyers in Dallas for Immigration Law annually from 2014 through 2025 and has been selected to Texas Super Lawyers each year from 2018 through 2025. Earlier in her career, she was named a Texas Rising Star (2009), received the Dallas Top 50 Women Lawyers Award from the Texas Diversity Council (2018), was recognized by Corporate INTL Magazine as Immigration Law Firm of the Year in Texas (2013), and was featured in Newsweek’s Leaders in Immigration Law Showcase (2012). Before founding Pollak PLLC, Ms. Pollak served as Chair of the Immigration Practice in the Dallas office of one of the world’s largest law firms, where she led a nationally recognized immigration practice.

• Professional Involvement

Ms. Pollak is an active member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the Dallas Bar Association, where she serves on the Community Involvement Committee, and the Texas Women Lawyers Association. She is committed to pro bono service through Genesis Women’s Shelter Pro Bono Immigration Services and the Military Assistance Project. In addition to her professional and community involvement, Ms. Pollak is a frequent speaker and author on immigration law and publishes When Immigration Matters, a blog that provides commentary, practical guidance, and updates on developments in immigration law, policy, and practice.

• Experience

Ms. Pollak represents clients in a wide range of employment-, investment-, family-, and litigation-based immigration matters. Her federal litigation experience includes Administrative Procedure Act cases involving delayed immigration adjudications, wrongful denials of naturalization applications, and permanent residency matters.

Her corporate practice includes advising businesses on employment-based immigration strategies, corporate compliance, and securing visas for multinational executives, investors, and skilled professionals. She has successfully represented publicly traded companies, entrepreneurs, researchers, professional athletes, writers, entertainers, and families seeking immigration benefits through employment, investment, extraordinary ability, and family-based pathways. Her experience spans numerous visa classifications, including L-1, O-1, P, E, EB-2, and EB-3 matters, as well as complex family-based immigration cases.

SESSION 1 – H-1B, L-1 & Alternative Visa Strategies in a High-Scrutiny Environment | 1:00pm – 2:00pm

This session provides a practical framework for advising employers and foreign national employees on nonimmigrant visa strategy in today’s heightened adjudication environment. Participants will learn how to evaluate available visa options, anticipate adjudication challenges, and strengthen petitions through proactive planning and effective responses to agency scrutiny.

BREAK | 2:00pm – 2:10pm

SESSION 2 – Strategic Immigration Planning for Employers | 2:10pm – 3:10pm

This session focuses on helping employers develop long-term immigration strategies to support hiring and retaining international talent. Participants will explore practical approaches to planning future visa needs, managing immigration-related risks, and advising clients as employment-based immigration policies and adjudication practices continue to evolve.