“I help immigrants, their families, and employers, navigate the immigration process, so they can focus on the rest of their lives.”
Laura Shepard Attorney
Life is stressful as is, but add in immigration complexities, and normal life experiences such as getting married, raising children, and changing jobs take on a whole new level of stress. While I am a born U.S. citizen from Eastern Kentucky, I have experienced my own life challenges and have learned from over 15 years of immigration experience what my clients endure as immigrants in this country. Our leaders seem to have spent years finding ways to pick at supposed “loopholes” in the system and make the lives of immigrants more difficult. And after the excitement of a new administration settles down, we still see essentially the same immigration system that has existed for the past 20+ years. Clients want someone knowledgeable, trust worthy, patient, and kind but also someone fast and affordable to successfully navigate this system. I want to provide this for the clients that I choose to work with to give you a few less things to worry about.
I do not run a traditional or typical law firm. I am fortunate that I have recurrent corporate clients with whom I have worked for many years and an excellent reputation with current and former clients to receive on-going cases and referrals. Other attorneys seem to constantly be looking for ways to get more clients and increase profits. I just want to continue to do what I do well, keep my overhead low, and earn a reasonable living for my family. On one hand, you will speak directly to me oftentimes more quickly than you will speak to most other attorneys who often charge a high consultation fee to do so and I personally work with you instead of using legal assistants; on the other hand, I only accept a few new cases each week with priority given to referrals and local clients depending on my workload and I refer the rest to trusted colleagues in the area. There are many types of cases that I do not handle, but the ones I do handle, I do very well.
I became an attorney to help people solve problems with a desire to teach and communicate. When I first joined one of the oldest and most well-known immigration firms in Indianapolis, I did not know anything about immigration law. It was not the hot field it is today. I joined the firm at the perfect time. The area was becoming more complicated, and they needed someone young to step in and handle a growing volume of cases. I learned so much in those first years. I had successes, I had losses, but the losses taught me invaluable lessons. But my own personal needs and work philosophy changed, and I started my own office in 2018 to provide more personalized attention to clients. I have spent years handling the processing side of immigration—preparing and filing petitions and applications to obtain immigration benefits for individuals and companies. I work closely with the USCIS local offices and service centers, the National Visa Center, and the many US Consulates and Embassies.
I have focused my practice areas on family and marriage petitions, adjustment of status and local USCIS interviews, consular processing from all over the world, naturalization for permanent residents and citizenship for children, and I-601 waivers of inadmissibility. I have successfully filed over 1000 waiver cases in my career. I have also worked closely with large and small corporations, employees, and new graduates just starting out with their careers. My old firm used to represent some of the largest and most well-known corporations in the region, so I learned from one of the best.
I find myself to be one of the few immigration practitioners with a concentration in both family and employment immigration. I know how to handle lots of paperwork, analyze the full range of the law, offer creative solutions, and write persuasive arguments. One day, I’m helping keep the parent of a disabled little girl in the U.S.; the next day, I’m immigrating her doctor. These experiences have taught me that I want to take care of this process for you. I don’t want you left with questions, confused about what paperwork to collect, unclear on fees, unable to reach anyone when you need answers, and charged for little tasks. I hope you will give me the opportunity to help you along your way. Below are the highlights of my education and accomplishments over these years:
- Licensed 10/2005 by the Indiana Supreme Court
(As immigration is federal law, I can practice immigration law for clients who do not live in the State of Indiana) - Juris Doctor 05/2005 University of Kentucky College of Law
-Lexington, KY - Bachelor of Arts 12/2001 Major Sociology,
-Minor English Literature Marshall University Huntington, WV
-Graduated summa cum laude - Member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association since 2006
- June 2018 to Present Shepard Immigration Law Attorney and Owner
Fishers, Indiana - 2005 to June 2018 Attorney – Family and Employment Based Immigration Gresk & Singleton, PC
Indianapolis, Indiana - Lead a team of support staff in the preparation and filing of a wide array of family-based immigration petitions and applications in a high volume practice including I-130 relatives, I-129F fiancés, I-485 adjustment of status, N-400/N-600 citizenship, I-751 joint and waiver, VAWA I-360s, U visas, DACA, and other related benefits.
- Brought significant growth to practice from successfully filing hundreds of I-601/I-601A waivers for unlawful presence, misrepresentation, and criminal offenses, and I-212 applications for admission after deportation and the “permanent 9(c) bar.” Won appeal to the AAO for improper denial of an I-601 waiver application.
- Represent numerous individuals during domestic USCIS adjustment of status and naturalization interviews. Successfully challenged denials on bona-fide marriage, Child Status Protection Act, Section 245(i), criminal convictions, and other complex grounds of inadmissibility.
- Extensive experience advising and handling issues before USCIS service centers, the National Visa Center, and various consulates and embassies abroad, including Central and South America, Asia, and Africa.
- Analyze and advise client cases on criminal, deportation/removal, and complex legal and immigration histories. Prepare employment sponsored immigrant and nonimmigrant petitions for companies and individuals including H-1B specialized knowledge professionals for both cap and cap-exempt employers; L-1A/L-1B intracompany transferees; H-3 trainees; O-1 aliens of extraordinary ability; E-2 investors; R-1 religious workers; PERM labor certifications and audits; I-140 immigrant petitions for professionals, skilled workers, multi-national managers / executives, and aliens of extraordinary ability; and I-360 special immigrant religious workers.
- Won appeals to the AAO for I-140 ability to pay and I-360 religious occupation issues.
- Speak about immigration law to groups such as the Indianapolis International Woman’s Association and the Indianapolis Bar Association Bench and Bar Retreat and as a special guest on the Abogado Pablo radio broadcast.
I am originally from Eastern Kentucky and moved to the Indianapolis area after meeting my future husband in law school. He was later employed as a government attorney in Indianapolis, and I relocated here after I graduated. We have celebrated more than ten years of marriage and are the parents of two young and active children. I am a member of the American Immigration Lawyer’s Association, and also attend Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church in Noblesville.
I believe my best qualities are relating to my clients personally, creativity, ability to explain complex issues in understandable ways, and solving problems. I enjoy spending time outdoors and playing with my children, cooking and planning healthy meals for my family, British murder mysteries, learning about technology and marketing, and expanding my writing skills.