Surviving the New USCIS: RFE Response Strategies, Enhanced-Vetting Delays, and Denials Without Notice in Employment-Based Adjudications

Ms. Kalmykov earned her J.D. from American University Washington College of Law in 2005, along with an M.A. in International Affairs from American University the same year. She received her B.A. in International Studies, magna cum laude, from American University in 2002. She is admitted to the bars of New York and New Jersey and to the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, and she is fluent in Russian.

Ms. Kalmykov has been ranked in the Chambers USA Guide every year from 2013 through 2026 and listed in The Best Lawyers in America for Immigration Law from 2019 through 2027. Lawdragon has named her among its 100 Leading Immigration Lawyers (2023–2026) and its 500 Leading U.S. Corporate Employment Lawyers (2020–2026), and The Legal 500 United States recognized her in Labor and Employment – Immigration from 2015 through 2022. She was named a New Jersey Law Journal “Woman Attorney of the Year” in 2024, a National Law Journal “Trailblazer” in Immigration in 2018, and a National Law Review “Go-To Thought Leader” in Immigration Law in 2022. Super Lawyers have listed her for the New York Metro region from 2021 through 2025, following Rising Stars selections from 2012 through 2020. Earlier honors include NJBIZ’s “Best 50 Women in Business” (2019), Lexology’s Client Choice Award for New Jersey (2013), the New Jersey Law Journal’s “New Leaders of the Bar” (2012), the American Bar Association Litigation Section’s Outstanding Subcommittee Chair award (2010–2011), and AILA’s Education/Conference Committee Co-Chair of the Year (2007).

Within the American Bar Association, Ms. Kalmykov has co-chaired the Committee on Immigration and Naturalization of the Section of Administrative Law since 2011 and served as Programs Chair of the Immigration Litigation Committee from 2010 to 2012. She is a longtime member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, where she has served on the EB-5 Committee (2017–2018), the Annual Conference Planning Committee (2010–2012), and the Distance Learning Committee (2011–2012 and 2021–2022). In AILA’s New York Chapter she served on the USCIS District Director Liaison Committee (2012–2014), as Secretary (2009–2011), as CLE Committee Chair (2009–2011), and on the Corporate Practice Committee (2008–2014); in the New Jersey Chapter she served on the CBP Liaison Committee (2012–2014). She is a member of the International Bar Association’s Immigration and Nationality Law Committee and sat on Law360’s Editorial Advisory Board for Immigration (2022–2023).

At the ABA’s request, Ms. Kalmykov co-authored “What Every Lawyer Needs to Know About Immigration Law,” and her writing has appeared in ABA immigration practice handbooks, AILA materials, ILW, New Jersey Lawyer, the New York Law Journal, the New Jersey Law Journal, USA Today, GlobeSt.com, and Commercial Observer. She contributes to the EB-5 Insights and Inside Business Immigration blogs, is quoted in outlets including The Wall Street Journal, Law360, and The Real Deal, and has appeared on CNN, the Stoler Report, Vietface TV, and China Business Network. Her civic roles include President of the Council of Jewish Émigré Community Organizations (COJECO) since 2016 and board service with the New Jersey Symphony, Helping Hands for Ukraine, and the Ukrainian Habitat Fund.

Ms. Kalmykov’s practice is known for its handling of complex cases and for responding to Requests for Evidence and Notices of Intent to Deny and pursuing appeals, an approach clients have described as “out-of-the-box thinking, responsiveness and hands-on approach.” She counsels employers on compliance in hiring and retaining foreign talent and on multinational personnel transfers, and she develops temporary and permanent residency strategies for executives, scientists, and IT professionals.

In the EB-5 immigrant investor program, she has worked with developers and funds on Regional Center applications, project structuring, and compliance under the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act; she has represented thousands of investors in obtaining green cards through EB-5 projects and has structured more than $12 billion in EB-5 deals, including the largest offering in the program’s history. She also designs I-9 compliance trainings and E-Verify guidance, defends employers in immigration and Department of Labor audits, and works alongside the firm’s labor, employment, tax, and benefits specialists. She devotes pro bono time to asylum, Temporary Protected Status, and humanitarian parole matters.