Senior Associate
Elizabeth Cleveland Wakefield
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Languages
- English
- Spanish
Contact information
Elizabeth is a Senior Associate at Fragomen’s Houston office, where she primarily advises clients on employment-based immigration matters. She partners with in-house counsel, human resources and executives to implement and execute strategies to meet clients’ most pressing U.S. immigration challenges. Elizabeth provides immigration solutions to businesses regarding temporary work visas, immigrant petitions and naturalization, as well as compliance and corporate restructuring issues. She has advised companies of all sizes in mergers, acquisitions and other corporate reorganizations, ensuring successful immigration compliance efforts.
Elizabeth is a regular public speaker and author. Her thought leadership has been showcased in numerous forums and spans a variety of topics—from the green card process to the impact of COVID-19 on U.S. immigration. Additionally, Elizabeth prioritizes community outreach and pro bono work in her practice. She currently serves as Fragomen Houston’s pro bono ambassador, helping to funnel public service work to the Houston office and its staff.
Prior to joining Fragomen, Elizabeth worked for another full-service immigration firm, where she represented corporate clients ranging in size from Fortune Global 100 corporations to family businesses. She also served as a Legal Fellow with the Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores, where she researched and composed memoranda analyzing U.S. immigration law for the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Education
- University of Houston Law Center, J.D., 2012
- Sewanee: The University of the South, B.A., 2008
More from Elizabeth
Admissions
Bar Admissions: Texas
Practice Limited to Federal Immigration & Nationality Law
Awards
Named to Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch (Woodward/White, Inc.), 2024
Named to Houston Business Journal’s 2023 Women Who Mean Business Awards (American City Business Journals), 2023
Public Interest Fellowship Award, University of Houston Law Center, 2010
Wilkins Academic Merit Scholar, Sewanee: The University of the South, 2004-2008
Order of the Gownsmen, Sewanee: The University of the South, 2006 to 2008
Professional accomplishments
Member, American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA)
Member, Houston Bar Association
Member, Houston Young Lawyers Association
Member, Texas Bar Association
Member, Asia Society
Publications and lectures
Co-Author, “Work Within the Water.” World Pipelines, Volume 23, Number 8, Pages 35-38, August 2023.
Speaker, “Hiring Foreign Nationals in the U.S.: What HR Needs to Know.” 2023 Gulf Coast Symposium on HR Issues, Houston, Texas, 13 July 2023.
Speaker, “’Right on the Money’ by Alan Jackson: Wage issues and processing updates.” AILA Texas Spring Conference, Austin, Texas, 31 March 2023.
Speaker, “Global Mobility Executive Houston Roundtable.” Global Mobility Executive Leaders Exchange, Houston, Texas, 30 March 2023.
Co-Author, “White Paper: Immigration in the Offshore Energy and Maritime Industry.” Fragomen, 15 March 2023.
Speaker, “T’Expat Panel – Everything An Expat Needs To Know.” British American Business Council Texas, Webinar, 28 February 2023.
Co-Author, “Don’t Let a Lack of U.S. Immigration Due Diligence Derail Corporate Reorganization.” Texas Lawyer, 14 September 2022.
Speaker, “Career Planning and Immigration: What HR Professionals Need to Know.” SHRM Gulf Coast Symposium, Houston, Texas, 28 July 2022.
Speaker, “T’Expat Panel – Everything An Expat Needs To Know.” British American Business Council Texas, Webinar, 5 April 2022.
Speaker, “T’Expat Panel – Everything An Expat Needs To Know.” British American Business Council Texas, Webinar, 17 March 2022.
Speaker, “911! An HR Toolkit to Prevent and Address U.S. Immigration Emergencies.” SHRM Gulf Coast Symposium, Houston, Texas, 3 August 2021.
Speaker, “Immigration Family Planning: What HR Professionals Need to Know.” SHRM Gulf Coast Symposium, Houston, Texas, 3 August 2021.
Speaker, “The Impact of COVID-19 and Presidential Proclamations on U.S. Immigration.” Association of Corporate Counsel Houston, Houston, Texas, 18 June 2020.
Speaker, “COVID-19 and U.S. Immigration.” SHRM HR Houston June General Meeting, Houston, Texas, 18 June 2020.
Elizabeth’s insights
October 10, 2024 | Conference
August 19, 2024 | Awards
