Biography
Catherine is Co-Chair of the Immigration practice group and a member of the firm's Labor & Employment Department. For more than 20 years, she has focused her practice exclusively on immigration law, representing clients in nearly all types of business immigration matters.
Catherine's practice primarily comprises representation of employers and professional level workers in:
- Health Care
- Commerce and Industry
- Academia
She assists employers in seeking temporary work statuses for new hires and existing employees such as:
- H-1B temporary workers
- L-1 intracompany transferees
- O-1 aliens of extraordinary ability
- TN professionals
- E-1 Treaty Traders and E-2 Treaty Investors
- E-3 Australians
- F-1 Students with OPT, CPT and STEM issues
- J-1 trainees and interns
- Visitors for business
On behalf of employers and individuals, Catherine also assists in securing US permanent residence through:
- PERM labor certification applications
- National interest waiver I-140 petitions
- Outstanding professor or researcher petitions
- Alien of extraordinary ability petitions
- Multinational executive or manager petitions
In addition, Catherine handles:
- J-1 waiver applications
- Immigration compliance
Before Fox Rothschild
Before joining Fox, Catherine was counsel in the labor and employment practice group at Spilman Thomas & Battle. Her immigration law practice began as the first associate for the former immigration law boutique firm, Deasy & Whitehill PC. Prior to that, Catherine worked in insurance litigation.
Active in community issues, Catherine has:
- Trained volunteer lawyers to represent foreign nationals trying to secure U.S. citizenship
- Helped counsel Muslim individuals from 26 countries who were required to register with the former U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service in the wake of the events of September 11, 2001
- Volunteered to provide pro bono advice as part of the City of Pittsburgh Citizenship Day efforts
Beyond Fox Rothschild
In June 2023, Catherine spoke at the Annual Conference of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) on “Alternatives to H-1B You and Your Client Should Consider.”
From 2010 to 2015, she served on the Athena Award Program Host Committee (Pittsburgh Chapter). In 2012 and 2013, she published an interview with the prior year’s Athena Award recipient in a special Athena program insert in the Pittsburgh Business Times. In addition, from 1998 to 2003, she was a member of the Asian Women's Institute Steering Committee.
Catherine is also a regular speaker and blog author on a variety of immigration topics.
Bar Admissions
- Pennsylvania
- West Virginia
Education
- University of Pittsburgh School of Law (J.D., 1990)
- University of Pittsburgh (B.S., cum laude, 1987)
Memberships
- American Immigration Lawyers Association, Pittsburgh Chapter
- Chapter Treasurer – 2022 – Present
- Chapter Liaison with Social Security Administration – 2020 – Present
- Past – Chapter Chair, Chapter Vice Chair, Chapter Treasurer, First Young Lawyer's Division Liaison, Chair/Member of the Nominating Committee, Coordinator of Celebrate America Writing Contest, Liaison with Local Office of U.S. Customs & Border Protection
- Allegheny County Bar Association
- Chair, Health Law Section - 2020-2021, 2021-2022
- Immigration Practitioner's Committee – 2018 – Present
- International Medical Graduate TaskForce – 2009 – Present
- Physician Immigration Law Institute – 2018 and 2021 Conference Planning Committee
Honors & Awards
- Selected to the "Lawyer of the Year" list for Immigration Law in Pittsburgh, PA by Best Lawyers (2019, 2023)
- Selected to the "Best Lawyers in America" list for Immigration Law in Pittsburgh, PA by Best Lawyers (2010-2026)
- Named the “Most Read Contributor in the United States” by Mondaq (April 2016)
- Named the “Second Most Read Contributor in the United States” by Mondaq (September 2014, January 2015, February 2015, March 2015, April 2015, May 2015)
- Named the “Third Most Read Contributor in the United States” by Mondaq (October 2014, February 2015, April 2016)
- Named the “Fourth Most Read Contributor in the United States” by Mondaq (April 2016, May 2016)
- Named the “Fifth Most Read Contributor in the United States” by Mondaq (May 2015, November 2015)
- Noted as the author of the second most popular Mondaq article for the topic of Immigration Law (May 2015, June 2015, July 2015, August 2015, September 2015)
- Noted as the author of the fourth most popular Mondaq article for the topic of Immigration Law (April 2014)
- Noted as the author of the fifth most popular Mondaq article for the topic of Immigration Law (June 2014, May 2014)
- Noted as the author of the sixth most popular Mondaq article for the topic of Immigration Law (April 2014)
- Noted as the author of the seventh most popular Mondaq article for the topic of Immigration Law (May 2015, July 2015)
