Diane M. Butler

Diane M. Butler

Areas of Practice

Diane M. Butler focuses her practice on business immigration and manages the Firm's immigration practice. Diane graduated with honors from the University of Wyoming. After spending time in Shanghai, China, working for the Canadian law firm of Bull, Housser & Tupper, she received her law degree from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Diane is rated "AV" by Martindale-Hubbell, which identifies a lawyer with very high to preeminent legal ability, recommended by Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, Immigration (2008), and was named as a "Top Business Immigration Lawyer" in Seattle Business Monthly (2008), as well as a "Top Lawyer" by her peers in the 2005 Seattle Magazine poll results. She is a member of the national American Immigration Lawyers Association ("AILA") liaison committee for Customs and Border Protection issues. Her remarks have been quoted in The New York Times, and other publications, and she has been interviewed on KING-5 TV news.

Professional Experience

· Bogle & Gates, 1994-1998

· Tousley Brain, 1993-1994

· McGee, Reno & Whitehead, 1992-1993

· United States Coast Guard, Law Clerk, 1990

· Bull, Housser & Tupper (Shanghai, China office), Legal Assistant, 1988-1989

Representative Clients

Nordstrom, Premera Blue Cross, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and Weyerhaeuser

Representative Practice Areas

· Temporary, Nonimmigrant Work and Business Status

· Employment-Based Permanent Resident Status ("Green Cards")

· Company Compliance with Immigration Laws and Worksite Enforcement

· Naturalization and Citizenship Issues

· Strategizing and Problem Solving - Assessment of issues, development of strategies, and contact with government officials concerning issues including the following:
- Applying for visas U.S. embassies and abroad
- Applying for extensions of stay
- Handling visa denials
- Denial at U.S. border ports of entry
- Waiver of inadmissibility for prior indiscretions or violations
- Response to Request for Evidence from the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services ("US CIS," formerly the Immigration and Naturalization Service "INS")

· Other Immigration Matters
- Re-entry Permits ("White Passports")
- Special Immigrant Visas
- Political Asylum

Recent Publications

· Washington Law & Politics, "On Thin Ice" (The Hamoui Family Political Asylum Story), December 2007

· Contributing author, Thompson's HR Employment Forms, Revised 3rd Ed., 2007

· Seattle Times Op-Ed, "Current Immigration Debate Masks Gap in the Law" August 24, 2006

· "Immigration Enforcement in the Construction Industry," BUILDERnews Magazine, August 2006

Speaking Engagements

· Washington State Bar Association, Annual Labor and Employment Conference,"Immigration Update 2007," November 2007

· TOC Management Services Conference, "Immigration Compliance," September 2007

· AILA Spring Conference, "What Does CBP Know About Your Client," March 2007

· 2010 Games Business Seminar, Organizer, Speaker, "The Games and The Players, North and South of the Border," November 2005

· Lane Powell Employment Law School for Managers: "Don't Get Irked by IRCA Regulations -Immigration and I-9 Compliance for Employers," (Portland and Seattle), June 2004

· Canadians Working in the United States, British Columbia Institute for Studies in International Trade, Vancouver, B.C., May 2004

· Consular Processing Update, American Immigration Lawyers Association Conference, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, April 2004

· Nonimmigrant Status Update, Northwest Regional American Immigration Lawyers Association Conference, Seattle, Washington, February 2004

· Business Immigration Law, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement ("ICE) Attorney Training Session, June 2003

· Immigration Law Basics, Lorman Education Services, May 2003

· Immigration Law, University of Washington Law School, International Tax Law Course, guest speaker, May 2003

· INS Implications for Fishing Vessel Owners, December 1999 and December 2000

· Cross Border Venture Transactions, Washington State Bar Association, December 2000

· Immigration Law Under Homeland Security, Lane Powell Seminar, October 2002

· Immigration Law Basics for Employers, Lane Powell Seminar, October 2001

· Employment Law Conference, The Continuing Legal Education Society of B.C., May 2000

· Various Training Presentations for Companies

Professional and Community Activities

· American Immigration Lawyers Association, Chair, Department of Homeland Security Customs and Border Protection Committee, 2005-2008

· Trade Development Alliance of Greater Seattle, Advisory Committee, 2005-present

· Gage Academy of Art, Advisory Board, 2003-present

Languages

· Mandarin Chinese

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