Sponsoring an employee or family member

Sponsoring someone's immigration to the United States, whether it's an employee you want to hire or a family member you want to bring home, is a meaningful commitment. It's also a legal one, with its own rules, timelines, and responsibilities. At Cedar International Law Group, we help sponsors understand exactly what they're taking on and guide them through the process with clarity from day one.

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In immigration law, a sponsor is the person or company that petitions for someone else's immigration benefit and, in most cases, takes on legal responsibility connected to that petition.

Both roles come with real obligations, and both benefit from having an experienced attorney manage the details.

Employer sponsors

Employer sponsors file on behalf of a prospective or current employee for a work visa or employment-based green card.

Family sponsors

Family sponsors file on behalf of a spouse, parent, child, or sibling seeking to immigrate based on their relationship.

Employer sponsorship

Employer sponsorship covers a range of options, from temporary work visas to permanent residency:

Nonimmigrant work visas, such as E-3, H-1B, and L-1, each with its own eligibility rules, wage requirements, and processing timeline.
Labor certification and permanent sponsorship, including PERM and employment-based green cards, which typically involve a recruitment process and Department of Labor filings before a petition can even be submitted.
Compliance obligations that continue after approval, including wage and worksite requirements tied to the visa category.

Representations made by an employer

As the sponsor, your company is making representations to the government about the role, the wage, and the working conditions. We help employers get the position, the paperwork, and the timeline right from the start, so the sponsorship holds up to scrutiny and doesn't create compliance headaches down the road.

Family sponsorship

Family-based sponsorship allows U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents to petition for certain relatives. This generally involves two pieces:

The petition establishing the qualifying family relationship.
The Affidavit of Support, in which the sponsor agrees to financially support the immigrating relative and reimburse the government for certain public benefits they might otherwise receive.

The Affidavit of Support is a binding obligation

That second piece is worth pausing on: signing an Affidavit of Support is a binding legal obligation that generally lasts until the sponsored relative becomes a U.S. citizen, can be credited with 40 quarters of work history, or permanently departs the U.S., not just until the case is approved. Sponsors should go in with a clear-eyed understanding of what they're agreeing to, including the income requirements involved and when a joint sponsor may be needed.

This is a legal commitment, not just paperwork. Sponsorship carries real obligations that don't end the moment a case is approved.
Documentation quality matters. Immigration cases are decided on the strength of the record—accurate, well-organized, well-supported filings make a meaningful difference.
Timelines vary widely depending on the visa or petition category, current government processing volumes, and the specifics of your case.
You don't have to navigate it alone. An attorney who handles the details lets you focus on the relationship or the role, not the regulations.

How Cedar works with sponsors

Cedar International Law Group is led by founder and attorney Lea Nehme, who works closely with each client to understand their situation and build a case around it, not a one-size-fits-all template. We guide sponsors through their responsibilities in plain language, prepare thorough and well-documented filings, and stay with you through every stage of the process.

If you're considering sponsoring an employee or a family member, we'd welcome the opportunity to talk through your situation and what it would involve.