Minal A. Shah

Partner

D (415) 901-2270F (415) 677-9244mshah@gibney.com Connect
Minal A. Shah

Minal practices immigration and nationality law, concentrating in employment-based immigration. She represents corporate and individual clients before U.S. immigration authorities and federal agencies.  She obtains temporary work authorization and permanent resident status for international personnel, including executives, multinational managers, scientific researchers, professionals, health care workers, students and artists.

Advising companies on the employment of foreign nationals, Minal consults with employers to implement effective immigration policies and compliance procedures.  She has managed immigration matters for established global companies and start-ups in a wide range of industries.

Prior to beginning her immigration practice, she served as Appellate Law Clerk to Chief Justice Ronald T. Y. Moon of the Supreme Court of the State of Hawaii.

education

  • University of California, Hastings College of the Law, J.D., cum laude
  • University of California, Irvine, B.A., cum laude

bar admissions

  • California

court admissions

  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
  • California Supreme Court

Experience

Minal has experience representing:

  • Corporate clients in managing comprehensive immigration and compliance programs
  • Established multinational companies and start-ups in a wide range of industries, including engineering, computer software and information technology, arts, entertainment and media, manufacturing, telecommunications, biotechnology, financial services, healthcare and education
  • Corporations in facilitating their compliance with U.S. immigration regulations and employment verification processes such as E-Verify and I-9
  • Scientific researchers, executives and artists in obtaining permanent residence based on extraordinary abilities and contribution to the national interests of the U.S.
  • Individuals in family-based immigration applications and petitions for lawful permanent residence
  • Non-profit social services organizations and individual clients as pro-bono counsel
  • An organization providing support to victims of domestic violence in filing U visa applications

Memberships & Affiliations

  • American Immigration Lawyers Association
  • Northern California Chapter of AILA, prior leadership positions include the Advisory Council/Board, liaison to the State Workforce Agency and Chair of the Legal Ethics, Unauthorized Practice of Law and Consumer Protection Committees

Community Involvement

  • Minal has worked with various legal aid organizations and immigration clinics in the San Francisco Bay Area to provide legal services to underrepresented groups and individuals.

Articles, Publications & Lectures

Minal has presented continuing education seminars and lectures to human resources personnel and legal counsel on various topics, including:

  • U.S. and Global Immigration: Corporate Compliance in an Enforcement Era
  • E-Verify and Worksite Enforcement
  • Hiring and Retaining International Personnel: Strategies and Emerging Issues in U.S. and Global Immigration
  • Intracompany Transfers:  U.S. and Global Perspectives
  • PERM Labor Certification
  • Immigration Basics for Corporate and In-House Counsel
  • Outstanding or Extraordinary?  How to Prepare a Successful EB-1 Petition
  • Redefining Discrimination: Using Social Cognition Theory to Challenge the Faulty Assumptions of the “Intent Doctrine” in Anti-Discrimination Law

education

  • University of California, Hastings College of the Law, J.D., cum laude
  • University of California, Irvine, B.A., cum laude

bar admissions

  • California

court admissions

  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
  • California Supreme Court