Elizabeth Van Arkel

Practice Areas

Elizabeth is a bilingual shareholder with experience in several areas of immigration, family, and criminal law. Clients benefit from her wide-ranging experience.

Elizabeth’s passion is helping foreign nationals navigate the U.S. immigration system, whether coming to the U.S. for a visit, work opportunities, family-based immigration, or escape from domestic violence or dangerous conditions in their home countries. Elizabeth offers guidance in an often changing and complicated system and guides her clients through the entire immigration process, from preparing and submitting the forms and application, through consular processing and scheduling visa appointments at the consulate.

She relishes the opportunity to help bridge the cultural divide between U.S. employers and their foreign-born employees. Companies trust Elizabeth to manage their talent needs by assisting with the recruitment and hiring of foreign nationals through non-immigrant petitions for H-1B workers and H-4 dependents, R-1 (religious workers), and TN workers based on the trade agreement between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Elizabeth further counsels employers on worksite compliance, including I-9 compliance, navigating the F-1 student OPT and STEM OPT programs, J-1 visas and J-1 visa waivers, and employment authorization (EADs).

Her work with companies continues as they navigate the process to keep vital members of their team in the U.S. for good. Elizabeth assists employers and foreign nationals with the permanent residence process including immigrant petitions for PERM labor certifications and immigrant worker petitions to provide a path to a green card. These processes include I-140 applications as well as specialized applications for physicians in the Physician National Interest Waiver (PNIW) and I-360 applications for religious workers.

Individuals currently in the U.S. facing deportation rely on Elizabeth’s defense in U.S. Immigration Court as well as in Iowa criminal courts when a criminal conviction could impact immigration status. Elizabeth has successfully handled Cancellation of Removal cases in removal proceedings and has successfully closed deportation proceedings for those eligible to adjust status to lawful permanent residence.

Elizabeth also advises individuals present in the U.S. in their affirmative and defensive asylum applications and arrived refugees pursuing more permanent status. Also included are those seeking fiancé visas (K-1), spousal visas (K-3), Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS), Temporary Protected Status (TPS), Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), U-Visas for victims of violence, I-601A and I-601 Waivers, I-751 Removal of Conditions, J-1 Waivers, Change of Status to F-1 Student, I-539 Change of Status, consular processing, green card renewals (I-90), and N-400 Naturalization applications.

Elizabeth has counseled numerous families bringing relatives to the U.S. through family-based immigration as well.