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Debra A. Schneider
Shareholder
Email: dschneider@fredlaw.com
Office: 612.492.7214
Assistant: Lori Sommer, 612.492.7771

PRIMARY SERVICES
ADDITIONAL EXPERTISE
FEATURES
Overview
Debra provides advice on complex immigration matters to help employers and employees in their shared quest for work authorization and a long term future in the United States.
Debra is an attorney and shareholder in the Immigration Group at Fredrikson & Byron, P.A. She leads the department’s extraordinary ability practice, guiding universities, global companies, and innovative startups on how to retain top professors, scientists, physicians, and business leaders through the immigration process.
Debra provides clear and well-researched advice to a diverse client base that includes multi-national corporations, individual entrepreneurs, universities/hospitals/clinics as well as scientists, professional athletes and artists. She is a national speaker on complex immigration issues, and enjoys helping her clients navigate the legal nuances and successfully achieve their immigration goals. She advises and frequently presents on I-9 compliance/audits and corporate immigration policy. Whether she’s securing lawful permanent residence, litigating appeals in federal court, navigating difficult entry issues or advising on how to sponsor new employees,
Debra offers compassion with her counsel. With Debra, clients know they have entered a true legal partnership as they work together to strengthen businesses, advance careers, improve lives and bring families from around the world together. Debra holds her J.D. from the University of Minnesota.
Experience
REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE
Business and Industry
- Medical devices and technology
- Hospitals and clinics
- IT consulting
- Energy
- Multi-national corporations
Sports and Entertainment
- Advertising agencies
- Musicians, dancers, artists
- Pro baseball, hockey players and coaches
K-12 and Higher Education
- University faculty and researchers
- Charter/public school teachers
Entrepreneur
- Business start-ups
- Scientists, inventors, developers
- Investors
Individuals and Families
- Marriage (including GLBT)
- Asylum
- Naturalization
- Deportation defense
Articles & Presentations
PUBLICATIONS & PRESENTATIONS
- Co-Presenter, “What Do the 2020 Election Results Mean for U.S. Immigration?,” Fredrikson & Byron Immigration Webinar, November 17, 2020
Co-Presenter, “Travel in the Time of COVID-19,” Fredrikson & Byron Immigration Webinar, July 29, 2020 - Co-Presenter, “Preparing for the 2021 H1B Lottery,” Fredrikson & Byron Immigration Webinar, January 14, 2020
- Co-Presenter, “What to Do When ICE Shows Up at Your Clinic or Hospital,” Fredrikson & Byron Health Law Webinar Series, September 11, 2019
- Co-Presenter, “The New Normal for Business Immigration Under ‘Hire American,’” Fredrikson & Byron Immigration Seminar, May 8, 2019
- Co-Presenter, “Immigration Alerts – What Every Employer Should Know,” MRA Federal and Minnesota Employment Law Update, March 14, 2019
- Co-Presenter, “Immigration Options for Health Care Practitioners,” Fredrikson & Byron Webinar, March 13, 2019
- Co-Presenter, “2018 Employment Law Trends,” Fredrikson & Byron’s 34th Annual Employment & Labor Law Seminar, November 1, 2018
- Co-Presenter, “Immigration Issues for Employers Under the Buy American and Hire American Executive Order,” Fredrikson & Byron’s 34th Annual Employment & Labor Law Seminar, November 1, 2018
- “A Bridge Over Troubled Waters: The High-Skilled Worker Rule and Its Impact on Employment-Based Immigration,” co-authored with Robert Aronson, Mitchell Hamline Law Review, Vol. 44, Issue 3, Art. 5, 2018
- Speaker, “Managing and Winning RFEs and NOIDs,” 2018 AILA Annual Conference, June 13-16, 2018
- Co-Presenter, “What Now? What Next? Hiring Foreign Nationals in Uncertain Times,” Fredrikson & Byron Immigration Seminar, May 9, 2018
- Speaker, “Latest Developments in H-1B RFEs, Other H-1B trends and FDNS Worksite Enforcement,” AILA MN/DK Chapter, April 2018
- Speaker, “Fighting a Denied Employment Based Petition: Refile, Appeal, Sue,” 2018 Upper Midwest Immigration Conference, March 2018
- Co-Presenter, “Employer Immigration Update,” Fredrikson & Byron’s 33rd Annual Employment & Labor Law Seminar, November 3, 2017
- Co-Presenter, “Employment Immigration Update,” Fredrikson & Byron Webinar, March 13, 2017
- “Travel, Advocacy and Employee Rights,” Fredrikson & Byron’s Immigration Podcast, January 2017
- Co-Presenter, “The New Form I-9: Tips for Completion, Compliance and Audits,” Fredrikson & Byron Webinar, January 24, 2017
- Speaker, “Retention EB1, EB2, EB3 and Immigrant Workers and Program Improvements Affecting High Skilled Nonimmigrant Workers,” AILA MN/Dakota Chapter, January 13, 2017
- Speaker, “EB1 and NYSDOT,” Physician Immigration Law Institute, Washington D.C., December 2016
- Co-Presenter, “Work Visa Options and Immigration Trends,” Fredrikson & Byron’s 32nd Annual Employment & Labor Law Seminar, October 26, 2016
- Speaker, “Working With Foreign Nationals: Employment Sponsorship, Immigration Compliance and Community Integration,” Fredrikson & Byron Immigration Seminar, Minneapolis, MN, September 22, 2016
- Speaker, “10 Questions you will be asked about immigration – and the answers!,” Strategic Solutions for Solo & Small Firms 2016, St. Paul, MN, July 2016
- Presenter with Loan Huynh, MSBA The Complete Lawyer Series: Immigration Law, July 2016
- Speaker, MSBA Busy Lawyer’s Summer Series: Immigration Law 2016: New Developments and Practice Tips, July 2016
- Co-Presenter, “Hiring and Work Visa Strategies for Foreign Nationals,” Fredrikson & Byron’s Annual North Dakota Employment Law Seminars, October 15-16, 2015
- Presenter, “Making Immigration Work for Physician Recruitment and Retention,” Fredrikson & Byron’s Health Law Webinar, October 14, 2015
- Presenter, “Common Misconceptions Clients Have in Non-PERM Cases,” American Immigration Lawyers Association National Conference, Washington D.C., June 2015
- Presenter, “Navigating the Immigration Landscape: A Guide for Employers,” Fredrikson & Byron Immigration Seminar, May 5, 2015
- Presenter, “Beyond H1B – More Options for Work Visas,” Upper Midwest Immigration Law conference, Minneapolis, MN, April 2015
- Presenter, “Business, Legal, and Tax Issues for US Companies Doing Business in Canada Seminar,” Consulate General of Canada, Minneapolis, MN, February 10, 2015
- Co-Presenter, “I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification and Compliance,” Fredrikson & Byron’s Annual Employment Law Seminar, Fargo and Bismarck, ND, October 16-17, 2014
- Speaker, “Overcoming Difficult I-9 Issues,” Fargo/Moorhead Human Resource Association, Fargo ND, May 6, 2014
Honors & Education
EDUCATION
- University of Minnesota Law School, J.D., 2001, magna cum laude
- University of Amsterdam, graduate course work, 1995
- University of Nebraska, B.A., History, 1994, magna cum laude
BAR ADMISSIONS
- Minnesota, 2001
- U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota
- Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals
HONORS
- Minnesota Super Lawyers, Rising Star
- Minnesota State Bar Association, North Star Lawyer, 2012-2017
- Cancer Legal Line Advocate Award, 2013
- Fredrikson & Byron’s Volunteer of the Year Award, 2006
Professional Activities
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
- Minnesota State Bar Association
- Board, Loan Repayment Assistance Program, present
- Board President, Vice President, Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota, 2005-2014
- Member, American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), MN/Dakotas, 2001-present