Matthew Virkstis is an immigration attorney living and working in Washington D.C. He currently serves as the chief compliance officer and general counsel to LCR Capital Partners. Virkstis assists the firm in legal matters and governmental affairs.
Prior to joining LCR, he was working in the business immigration and compliance practice group of Greenberg Traurig, LLP, Northern Virginia office. His practice was focused on business immigration regulations and laws that impact international and U.S. companies. He also has expertise in related oversight, political, and policy issues.
Attorney Virkstis has extensive experience advising clients on the EB-5 program, with such clients including development companies and trade associations. He has also advised on matters related to immigration petition adjudication to obtain financing for major infrastructure projects. Throughout his career, Attorney Virkstis has been involved in a number of significant legal representations. Such roles include, but are not limited to: supervising counsels during the Senate consideration and Judiciary Committee markup of S.744; and leading the staff negotiation and drafting of legislation resulting in the enactment of S.3245 (which extended the EB-5 program and other expiring immigration programs).
From 2005 to 2008, Attorney Virkstis served as counsel to Senator Patrick Leahy of the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, and then served as senior counsel from 2008 to 2014. Attorney Virkstis has served as the lead counsel for oversight of the Department of Homeland Security for Senator Leahy. He has also advised Senator Leahy on civil justice matters such as legal reform, consumer protection, civil liability, federal preemption, bankruptcy policy, and more.
After earning his bachelor’s degree with honors from the University of Vermont, Attorney Virkstis went on to obtain his Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the Vermont Law School. During law school, he worked on the Vermont Law Review. More recently, he has authored articles for publications such as the National Law Review, has been featured as a panelist at EB-5 industry events, and has also been featured in the National Journal as one of the “5 Senate Staffers to Watch on Immigration.” Attorney Virkstis is an active member of the Vermont State Bar.