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Senior Administrative Staff
 
Teri A. Simmons
Partner

404.873.8612  direct
404.873.8613  fax
teri.simmons@agg.com



Teri A. Simmons is a Partner with AGG, where she directs the International Business, Immigration and German Business Teams. Professionals in her department focus on the representation of foreign owned business entities and individuals investing in the US in the areas of Corporate, Tax, Real Estate and Employment Law as well as Immigration matters. Immigration professionals manage both immigrant and non-immigrant visa processing for businesses and families (temporary work visas and green cards), immigration consequences of mergers and acquisitions and immigration reform and control act compliance. AGG offers professionals fluent in spoken and written German, Cantonese and Mandarin, French, Russian, Hebrew, Spanish and Korean.
 
Ms. Simmons has been practicing law since 1989, having specialized in immigration and employment law. She has represented companies as large as the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games, for which she managed visa processing for thousands. From 1999 to 2001, she served as Chair of the Atlanta Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). She has also served on the national board of AILA, filling positions including National Director of AILA Chair Education and Director of Mentor Programs. Currently, she is a member of the National Liaison Committee for Customs and Border Patrol. Ms. Simmons has spoken as an expert on immigration matters both in the United States and abroad for AILA, state bar associations and for the United States Department of State. She has been quoted frequently in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Fulton County Daily Report, the Atlantic Times, the Handelsblatt, and in Inc. Magazine. From 2004 onwards, Ms. Simmons has been named a “Georgia Super Lawyer” every year by Atlanta magazine. In 2010, Who’s Who Legal named Ms. Simmons one of the world’s leading corporate immigration lawyers. In 2007, Atlanta magazine named her as one of the top 50 female lawyers in Georgia. Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business has included her for her expertise in immigration law since 2005. She has also been included in Best Lawyers in America for her expertise in immigration.
 
The American Jewish Committee also provided Ms. Simmons with a Project Interchange Scholarship for Georgia Leaders for study in Israel in 2008. She won the Leads Contest of the Metropolitan Atlanta Chamber of Commerce for producing the most leads for new Georgia business. Ms. Simmons received the Federal Republic of Germany Friendship Award in the International Prize of Honor from the City of Nürnberg in December 2008.

Professional Activities
  • Chair of the Atlanta Sister Cities Commission
  • Co-chair of th Immigration Initiative, Employment Law Alliance (ELA)
  • Atlanta Council of International Relations
  • Board Member of the German American Chamber of Commerce for the Southeastern United States
  • Member, Board, German School of Atlanta
  • Global Council of the Metropolitan Atlanta Chamber of Commerce  
Education
  • J.D., University of Georgia, 1989
  • University of Tubingen, 1985-1986, Post-Graduate Studies
  • M.A., University of Virginia, 1985, German Studies
  • B.A., Furman University, 1983, Mathematics and German
Admitted to Practice
  • State of Georgia, 1989
Awards and Recognition
  • Selection, Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, 2005-2010
  • Selection, “Georgia Super Lawyers,” Atlanta magazine, 2004-present
  • Selection, “Top 50 Female Georgia Super Lawyers,” Atlanta magazine, 2008
  • Selection, “Best Lawyers in America,” BestLawyers.com, 2008 and 2010
  • Member, Who’s Who Legal: Georgia’s leading business lawyers, Corporate Immigration Chapter
  • Who's Who Among Executives and Professionals, Honors Edition, 2008-2009
Additional Information
Publications
  • “U.S. Immigration Law: Employer Compliance”, Teri Simmons and Stephen Pocalyko, Law Firm Partnership & Benefits Report, May 2010.
  • “Atlanta, Georgia Reach Out to India,” GlobalAtlanta.com, June 15, 2009.
  • “Award Energizes Atlanta Sister Cities Partnerships,” GlobalAtlanta.com, May 22, 2009.
  • “Bringing The German Ways To Law,” Atlanta Woman Magazine, December 1, 2008. 
  • “U.S. Changes to the Visa Waiver Program,” German American Trade Magazine, September 2008.
  • “Chinese Cities Seek Atlanta As ‘Sister,'” Atlanta Journal Constitution, July 2008.
  • Goethe Radio Radio Interview regarding the Nürnberg/Atlanta Partnership and its 10 year anniversary.
  • „Broom and Shovel Brigade: Cleaning up Immigration Messes in M&A Transactions before they occur“ Teri A. Simmons, David Grunblatt and Angelo A. Paparelli, Immigration Briefings, June 2005.
  • “Change in Nonimmigrant Visa Status,” American Immigration Lawyers Association Annual Conference Publication, 2001-2002.
  • “B -1 Business Visitors,” American Immigration Lawyers Association Annual Conference Publication, 2005-2006.
  • “B -1 Business Visitors,” American Immigration Lawyers Association Annual Conference Publication, 2006-2007.
  • “Tax and Business Considerations in the Selection of a Business Entity for Foreign Nationals,” Teri A. Simmons and Stephen E. Parker, 1996-1997.
  • „O-1 Extraordinary Ability Nonimmigrant’s & Their O-2 Support Personnel“ Teri A. Simmons and Scott Titshaw, Florida Bar Conference Publication, 2002.
  • „Die wesentlichen arbeitsrechtlichen Risiken, die aufstrebenden Unternehmen von heute und morgen entgegenstehen“ Henry M. Perlowski and Teri A. Simmons.
  • „Aufenthalt und Einwanderung in die USA für ausländische Staatsbürger“ Teri A. Simmons and Wilhelm J. Ziegler; Published in Rudolf Haufe Verlag, 2003.
  • „Einführung in das Einwanderungsrecht der U.S.A.“ Teri A. Simmons and Wilhelm J. Ziegler.
  • „Immigration Act of 1990 – Immigrant Investor Visas“ Teri A. Simmons, John Gornall and Rich Kaye.
Speeches
  • “Current Trends in Business Visa Processing,” Challenges to the International Expat Community: Visa Requirements & Securing Credit, Metro Atlanta Chamber Global Commerce Council, May 2010.
  • Speaker, EB5 Visa: A Tool for Economic Development, Metro Atlanta Chamber Global Commerce Council, May 2010.
  • Moderator, "Creative entrepreneurship," U.S. India Business Summit, May 2010.
  • "Requests for Information in Visa Processing: Investigative Reporting for H-1Bs and L-1s," American Immigration Lawyers Association, 2010 Annual Conference on Immigration Law, July 2010.
  • "Current Trends in Business Visa Processing," Metropolitan Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, Atlanta, Georgia, May 2010.
  • "E-1/E-2; L-1A/L-1B; O and P Visa Processing," Georgia Institute of Continuing Legal Education Conference on Business Immigration Law, April 2010.
  • “E-2/E-1 Visa Processing,” American Immigration Lawyers Association Annual Midwest Regional CLE Conference, Chicago, Illinois, April 2010.
  • “Immigration and employment matters affecting German-owned companies in the United States,” Association of Bavarian Industry, Munich, Germany, February 2010.
  • “Investment in the U.S., Possibilities and Perspectives in the Current Economy,” University of Georgia School of Law, Athens, Georgia, February 2010.
  • “Tax and Financial Issues for Immigration Lawyers,” 12th Annual New York Chapter Immigration Law Symposium, New York, New York, December 2009. 
  • “EB-5 Investor Visas, Program Qualification and Regional Centers,” MACOC, Atlanta, Georgia, October 2009.
  • “EB-5 Case Preparation and Regional Centers”National EB-5 Investors Conference of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, San Francisco, California, October 2009.
  • “Visa and Employment Law in the U.S. - Important Things To Know, Hurdles and Recommendations,” Southeastern Automotive Supplier Forum at the IHK Hannover, April 2009.
  • “US Immigration Law with U.S. Department of State Representatives,” Chamber of Bavarian Industry, U.S. Consulate, Frankfurt, March 2009.
  • “Recent Adjudicatory Trends in Business Immigration,” American Immigration Lawyers Association Midyear Conference, January 2009.
  • “Non-Immigrant Visas: Workshop O-1,” AILA Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana, December 2008.
  • “USA nach der Wahl-Auswirkungen auf den deutsch-amerikanischen Handel,” GlobalConnect – Roundtable Discussion, Stuttgart, Germany, November 2008.
  • “U.S. Immigration and Employment Law,” Frankfurt: U.S. Recht in der Geschäfstpraxis, Wirtschaftsseminare, September 2008.
  • “Recent Developments In Immigration,” Roundtable Discussion, 16th Annual State Bar of Georgia Diversity Program, June 2008.
  • “L-1A Managers of Projects, Functions,” In the Trenches with Intracompany Transferees, AILA Annual Conference, Vancouver, June 2008.
  • “Current Federal Immigration Policy and its Affects on the Indo-Jewish Community,” American Jewish Committee, Oglethorpe University, March 2008.
  • “A Discussion on U.S. Visas for Business,” Department of State, MACOC, Atlanta, Georgia, December 2007.
  • “Immigration Fight Moves to Workplace,” The Atlanta Journal Constitution, May 2007.
  • “Business Law Basics for Immigration Lawyers,” American Immigration Lawyers Association, San Antonio, Texas, June 2006.
  • “Immigration Reform and its Affect on German Investment in the US and the International Movement of Personnel,” International Chamber of Commerce, Hannover, Germany, May 2006.
  • “Immigration Reform and its Affect on Business,” Society for Human Resources Management, Atlanta Global, May 2006.
  • TV Interview on “Economic Development in Atlanta through International Partnership,” Global City, Atlanta, April 2006.
Community Activities
  • Chair, Atlanta Sister Cities Commission
  • Past President, Georgia Indo-American Chamber of Commerce
  • Past Chair, Atlanta Chapter, American Immigration Lawyers Association
  • Member, Board of Directors, German School of Atlanta, Inc., General Counsel
  • Member, Lawyers Club of Atlanta
  • Member, Board of Directors, German American Chamber of Commerce of the Southeastern United States
  • International Law Section, State Bar of Georgia
  • Member, AlabamaGermany Partnership, 2008   
Languages
  • Ms. Simmons is fluent in written and spoken German.


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