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Ian R. Macdonald Co-Chairs the firm’s Labor & Employment Practice’s International Employment, Immigration & Workforce Strategies group. He focuses his practice on developing, assessing and managing global mobility programs for multinational companies on a range of challenges affecting the movement of people capital domestically and internationally, including secondment agreements, benefits transferability, local host country employment concerns and immigration.

Ian and his team work closely with companies to manage and modify, where needed, corporate immigration programs to maximize efficiency, service and regulatory compliance levels. He is experienced with the full range of business immigration sponsorship categories (visas and permanent residence), anti-discrimination rules to reduce or eliminate risk of employment litigation, employer sanction cases, and I-9 and E-Verify compliance. Ian assists clients with establishing risk-based performance standards (RBPS) and Department of Homeland Security protocol, providing risk assessment assistance to corporations subject to Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) and assisting clients with ITAR/Export Control compliance within the immigration context.

Ian has developed strategic relationships abroad that he utilizes when working with clients to ensure compliance with foreign registration requirements. He is experienced with analyzing complex global mobility opportunities on country-specific matters to facilitate the transfer of personnel. Ian is also experienced in counseling employers on immigration strategy as well as immigration consequences of mergers and acquisitions, reduction in workforces, and furloughs.

Prior to joining the firm, Ian worked for the United Nations, various non-governmental think tanks and corporate law firms in London, Washington, D.C., New York and Atlanta.

U.S. consulates across India have begun cancelling and automatically rescheduling H-1B and H-4 visa appointments (often 90 to 120 days later) due to the new online presence and social media vetting rules taking effect Dec. 15, 2025. Although the Department of State (DOS) has not issued a formal announcement, all major posts, including Chennai, Hyderabad…

In a new procedural development, U.S. consular posts have started forwarding B-1 in lieu of H-1B visa applications to the Department of State (DOS)’s Visa Office in Washington, D.C., for final review and approval before issuance. This additional review step represents a more centralized approach to evaluating such applications and reflects growing attention to how…

On Sept. 19, 2025, President Donald Trump signed a proclamation establishing a new $100,000 payment requirement for certain H-1B filings, effective Sept. 21, 2025. While U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has since issued clarifying guidance, inconsistent enforcement by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is creating questions and, in some cases, improper denials…

The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has added additional countries to the list of nationals subject to the visa-bond pilot program (as reported in our previous blog pieces on Zambia and the Gambia). Beginning Oct. 23, 2025, nationals of Mali, Mauritania, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Tanzania will be required to post a refundable…

USCIS has released new implementation guidance on the $100,000 supplemental fee established under the Sept. 19, 2025, Presidential Proclamation “Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers.” The update provides clarity for U.S. employers and their HR and legal teams: most domestic H-1B filings will not be subject to the new fee, while exceptions for overseas…

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has announced updates to the Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) data validation requirements for commercial air carriers. These updates follow the implementation of Executive Order 14168, “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” issued in January 2025. The changes primarily affect how…

On Oct. 16, 2025, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a final rule in the Federal Register establishing a new $1,000 immigration parole fee required by the H.R. 1 Reconciliation Act. That same day, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) confirmed immediate implementation for some individuals who are granted parole, re-parole, or parole…

The federal government shutdown is disrupting some immigration functions. Most significantly, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)’s FLAG system is down, preventing the filing of LCAs, prevailing wage requests, and PERM applications. While U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the U.S. Department of State (DOS) remain operational due to fee-based funding, employers should prepare…

The Department of State (DOS) has expanded the visa bond pilot program under Section 221(g)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to include The Gambia, effective Oct. 11, 2025. This follows the recent designation of Zambia and Malawi on Aug. 20, 2025. Nationals of these three countries who are otherwise eligible for a B-1/B-2…