Matt is a member of the firm’s Labor and Employment Practice Group and serves as the leader of the Immigration Service Team. With a background in employment law and trial work, and over 20 years of business immigration experience, Matt offers clients a unique, comprehensive approach to global workplace and migration issues. His practice focuses on employment-based immigration, which includes temporary work visas, green cards, I-9 compliance, and work site enforcement, with an emphasis in the health care and sports and entertainment industries. Matt has dedicated his entire career to representing corporate clients in sophisticated legal matters with an efficient, strategic, and proactive approach that ensures business decisions are well-informed, timely, and cost-effective.
Represents regional healthcare organizations and physician practices in visa matters, green card sponsorships, and J-1 physician waivers.
Conducts leading-edge work with cap-exempt H-1B visa petitions for hospitals, nonprofit healthcare organizations, and for-profit physician practices.
Assists foreign national physicians in obtaining O-1 extraordinary ability work visas, J-1 visa waivers, H-1B visas, and green cards (PERM, NIW, EB-1). Also assists healthcare providers and business professionals with O-1s, H-1Bs, TNs, and green cards.
P-1 visas for athletes and essential support personnel in the IndyCar and NASCAR auto racing series and in e-sports.
O-1 and P-1 visas for world-renowned competitive sailors and coaches, including for the U.S. Olympic team.
O-1 visas and green cards for artists and entertainers.
L-1, H-1B, and O-1 visas and green cards for business executives and multinational managers.
E-2 visas for foreign investors and their employees.
H-1B, E-3, and L-1 work visas for specialized knowledge workers in information technology, consulting, hospitality, manufacturing, and many other industries.
Handles administrative appeals and federal court litigation in cases where government agencies (e.g. U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) have wrongfully denied an immigration benefit.
Provides day-to-day counseling for employers with difficult I-9 and E-Verify scenarios, trains HR staff on I-9 law and procedures, and assists with internal audits and remediation.
Defends companies in government I-9 investigations and enforcement proceedings, against allegations of citizenship status discrimination, and in wage and hour investigations.
Obtained temporary restraining orders, preliminary injunctions, and favorable settlements for companies victimized by departing employees’ misappropriation of trade secrets and violations of noncompetition, non-solicitation, and other restrictive covenants.
First-chaired jury trials and administrative hearings against alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), accusations of workplace defamation, and alleged race and sex discrimination, including a defense verdict in one of the first jury trials under the ADA to involve the “cat’s paw” theory of liability after the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2011 decision in Staub v. Proctor Hospital.
University of Notre Dame Law School, J.D., 2000
Michigan State University, B.A., 1996
U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit, 2004
U.S. District Court, Northern District of Ohio, 2002
U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio, 2002
Chambers USA, Immigration, 2023-2024
“Best Lawyers for Immigration,” Columbus CEO, 2022
The Legal 500 US, Recommended in Immigration (2017 to Present)
American Immigration Lawyers Association
American Bar Association
Columbus Bar Association
Advocating Opportunity: Pro Bono Legal Services Provider for Victims of Human Trafficking
Worthington Youth Boosters: Travel Soccer and Basketball Coach
Southeast Health Care Services: Former Board President
Judicial Release Coalition: Pro Bono Legal Services Provider
May 23, 2024 | Publications
USCIS Increases Automatic Extension of Certain EADs On April 4, 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigrati...
April 11, 2024 | Publications
H-1B Lottery Results and Next Steps On April 1, 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USC...
October 10, 2023 | Publications
Labor Shortage? Many U.S. Employers Could Benefit from the H-2B Visa Program The H-2B visa program...
July 27, 2023 | Publications
On August 1, 2023, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will permit certain em...
July 17, 2023 | Publications
Along with the end of the national emergency surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic comes an end to Form ...
February 21, 2023 | Publications
USCIS Announces FY 2024 H-1B Cap Registration Dates The H-1B program allows companies in the United ...
February 13, 2023 | Publications
In an unpublished decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed a National Lab...
January 25, 2023 | Publications
USCIS Issues Proposed Rule to Significantly Increase Filing Costs for Employers On January 4, 2023, ...
December 21, 2022 | Publications
USCIS Progress Report FY2022 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently released a p...
October 27, 2022 | Publications
U.S. Department of Labor Processing of Prevailing Wage Determinations and Labor Certification Applic...
September 27, 2022 | Publications
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Continues Push to Approve Employment-Based Green C...
May 19, 2022 | Publications
H-1B 2022 Cap Lottery Registration Update It was a record-breaking year for new H-1B visa cap submis...
April 12, 2022 | Publications
FY 2023 H-1B Cap Season Update The FY 2023 H-1B cap season is well underway. The H-1B registration p...
March 11, 2022 | Publications
H-1B Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Cap Electronic Registration Starts March 1, 2022 USCIS started accepting ...
March 4, 2022 | Press Releases
Member Matt Hoyt has joined Frost Brown Todd’s (FBT) Columbus office as the new head of the firm...