The New Reality of Employment Authorization: EAD Processing, Compliance, and Strategy

Anne Rowley | Grossman Young & Hammond

Anne Rowley is an immigration attorney who counsels clients on a variety of employment-based visa categories. Anne has over a decade of experience representing foreign nationals and employers in a range of immigrant and nonimmigrant matters, and has supported clients in various industries, including financial services, retail, entertainment, heavy machinery, clean energy, communications technology and computer software, semiconductors, and athletics, among others.

Prior to her current role, Anne practiced at the world’s largest business immigration provider in the firm’s Boston and San Diego offices, at a boutique immigration firm focusing on employment-based work, and for the immigration department of a Fortune 500 company.

Anne enjoys providing pro bono legal services through various citizenship and naturalization clinics. She also has worked on pro bono cases provided through the Transgender Law Center, as well as the American Immigration Lawyers Association’s Military Assistance Program, where she assists active duty and recently retired members of the U.S. military with immigration-related legal questions and cases. Her pro bono experience has included representing clients with disability waivers for naturalization applications, facilitating preparation and submission of Temporary Protected Status applications for foreign nationals requesting immigration relief, and supporting naturalization applications. Anne has also assisted several pro bono clients with provisional unlawful presence waivers, asylum, and Special Immigrant Juvenile
matters.

Beyond her role at GYH and participation in pro bono legal services, Anne actively contributes to thought leadership through publications, speaking engagements, and mentorship, emphasizing the critical role of immigration in shaping communities. Anne loves the opportunity to provide mentorship and to speak with learners at all education levels about immigration and its impact in our communities and country, especially sharing immigration insights with international students at institutes of higher education. Recognized by Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® since 2023, which gives recognition to lawyers in earlier career stages for their outstanding professional excellence, Anne is committed to advancing excellence in immigration law, guided by the belief that it is not just a privilege, but also a right and responsibility to protect and defend the Constitution and the rule of law.

Nikki Whetstone | Grossman Young & Hammond

Nikki Whetstone is a Managing Attorney at Grossman Young & Hammond where she represents corporate and individual clients on a broad variety of employment-based and family-based immigration matters, including nonimmigrant and immigrant visas, consular processing, PERM applications, Adjustment of Status, and citizenship. She specializes in researching, analyzing, and developing case strategy for complex business immigration cases.

Before joining the firm, Nikki served as a business immigration attorney at Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy, LLP representing some of the world’s largest firms within the financial services and technology industries.

During law school, Nikki served as an editor of the International Law Society Digest and Program Coordinator of the Courtroom Advocates Project where she trained and supervised law students advocating for survivors of domestic violence in Family Court.

I. Recent DHS and USCIS policy changes affecting EAD issuance, renewal, and validity | 1:00pm – 1:20pm

II. The end of automatic EAD extensions and resulting compliance challenges | 1:20pm – 1:40pm

III. Impact on key EAD categories and interaction with underlying immigration status | 1:40pm – 2:00pm

Break | 2:00pm – 2:10pm

IV. Form I-9 reverification requirements and managing work authorization gaps | 2:10pm – 2:30pm

V. Employer liability, enforcement trends, and discrimination risk mitigation | 2:30pm – 2:50pm

VI. Best practices for tracking EADs, audits, and employer compliance strategies | 2:50pm – 3:10pm