Ashley Foret Dees

Dedicated Louisiana Immigration Lawyer

Ashley Foret Dees is the managing attorney at Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP, where she practices immigration law in southwest Louisiana.

She represents employers and individuals through the complex immigration process. Her practice includes business clients as well as individuals processing through USCIS and EOIR, as well as many agricultural and seafood processing employers.

She represents those businesses through the immigration processes including H-2A, H-2B, H-1B and PERM. She regularly speaks at the American Immigration Lawyers Association's (AILA) annual conferences and the AILA MidSouth Chapter conferences regarding H-2B and H-2A visas.

Mrs. Dees serves as the Louisiana State Bar’s Annual Immigration Law Seminar chair and speaker and has served on the AILA National Pro Bono Committee. She currently serves as H-2 Chair on the AILA National Dept. of Labor Liaison Committee which she joined in 2016. She is also founder and chair of the Louisiana State Bar Immigration Law Section.

Bar Admissions

• Louisiana
• Texas

Education

• Paul M. Hebert Law Center, Louisiana State University
  • J.D. - 2008
• Vanderbilt University
  • B.A. in English Creative Writing; Spanish Literature - 2004

Professional Achievements

• American Immigration Lawyers Association, National Department of Labor Committee Member and H-2 Subcommittee Member: 2016 – Present
• American immigration Lawyers Association, National Pro-Bono Committee Member, 2014-2015
• State Bar of Texas, Immigration and Nationality Section, Vice President of Asylee and Refugee Issues, 2014-2015
• State Bar of Texas, Immigration and Nationality Section, Vice President of Conference Planning, 2015-2016
• Louisiana State Bar Association, Immigration Law Section, Founder, Past-Chair and Member, 2014-Present

Learn More About Our Attorney

What sets Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP apart from other firms in the area?

• Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP Is one of the only full-scale immigration firms in the state of Louisiana that encompasses all area of immigration law, including work with many employers on specialized H-2A and H-2B employment visa options for workers across the country. Our attorneys are also skilled in family immigration cases, including defense of removal, asylum, DACA, family petitions, fiancée visas as well as many types of employment options for employers and employees. We pride ourselves in efficiently representing our clients before a very quickly changing immigration landscape.

Why did you choose to become an Immigration Attorney?

• I traveled a lot during my college years and lived in Madrid, Spain, for over a year before returning to the U.S. for law school. I was interested in immigration law before I attended law school and it became my passion after working on political asylum cases as a law clerk and continuing work on immigration law soon after law school.

What is the first thing that you do when you take on a new case?

• Our office sets up the case in our software management system and immediately sets reminders and important deadlines in every one of our client files. This helps us prepare a case for filing efficiently. Our organization and commitment to the case itself help us navigate the changing landscape of immigration law and prepare our clients.

What advice do you give to most of your clients?

• We try to advise clients to be prepared that immigration laws can change drastically and that they should be prepared for changes in their processes.

What is a case that you are particularly proud of?

• We are so proud of all of our cases: on the business side, we work hard every day to assure our employer clients are in compliance with changing federal regulations. On the family side, we are so proud to stand by immigrant families and asylum seekers to help them pursue their life here in the U.S.