The Immigration Lawyers Podcast | Discussing Visas, Green Cards & Citizenship: Practice & Policy

What really happens on the other side of the immigration system? In Episode 498, John Q. Khosravi, Esq. sits down with Nicholas Perry, Esq., a former government attorney who has worked at nearly every corner of the immigration bureaucracy: INS, ICE, USCIS, DHS Office of the General Counsel, EOIR and the State Department Visa Office. Nick shares what it was like to write the STEM OPT regulations, why the 2017 travel ban rollout was chaos from the inside, how the Dates for Filing chart came to life in the Visa Bulletin, and why TRIG exemptions are one of the most underused tools in immigration law. If you've ever wondered how the policies you deal with every day actually get made, this one is for you.

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TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Opening

00:33 Intro

01:21 Immigration Lawyers Toolbox Magazine

02:33 The new ILT Chrome extension

04:12 Meet Nicholas Perry, Esq.

05:03 From tour guide to congressional immigration caseworker

06:02 First job at EOIR

06:45 INS attorney in San Francisco and El Paso during 9/11

07:31 ICE and USCIS national security work

07:57 Seven years at DHS Office of the General Counsel

09:07 Writing the STEM OPT regulations

09:33 How a regulation actually gets made

11:03 Public charge, H-2A, H-2B and EB-5 rules

12:33 The new I-864 and skipping notice and comment

13:04 Working in the State Department Visa Office

13:47 The 2017 travel ban from the inside

15:42 Administrative processing and security advisory opinions

17:11 ILT Community and Constellation

18:37 Nebraska Service Center years

19:43 Changing administrations and early retirement

21:12 Launching Perry Immigration Law

22:36 How the Visa Bulletin works behind the scenes

23:55 Creating the Dates for Filing chart

25:58 How policy decisions reach the Visa Bulletin

26:46 TRIG and Iranian cases

27:25 What TRIG covers under INA 212(a)(3)(B)

28:33 TRIG exemptions and why they're underused

30:58 Final thoughts and how to reach Nick

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In Episode 497 of the Immigration Lawyers Toolbox Podcast, John Q. Khosravi, Esq. sits down with Saman Movassaghi Gonzalez, Esq., a Miami immigration attorney with 23 years of experience who has grown her full service firm from 7 people during Covid to 65 employees today. Saman shares her story, from growing up in East Texas as the daughter of Iranian parents who came to the U.S. on student visas in 1971, to graduating law school at 22, closing her first firm because she wasn't ready yet, and relaunching it in 2009. She explains how she committed to posting a video every day on TikTok for three straight years, why being accessible to clients has been her biggest draw, and how hiring a COO, CFO, IT director and client relations team let her step away from day to day business decisions so she could focus on practicing law. She also talks about her firm's pivot into federal litigation for family based petitions and removal cases going into 2027.

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Timestamps:

00:00 Opening

00:33 Intro

01:56 ILT Chrome Extension: N400 & I751 Calculators, PDF Creator

03:42 Growing Up in East Texas with Iranian Immigrant Parents

04:56 Choosing Immigration Law & Law School in Miami

06:54 NSEERS and the Post 9/11 Crackdown

07:41 Opening (and Closing) Her First Firm at 22

09:21 Relaunching Her Firm in 2009

10:17 Full Service: Every Practice Area Except Adoptions

11:34 How She Posts So Consistently on Social Media

14:52 TikTok, Covid & the Butcher Videos

17:06 ILT Community & Constellation

18:42 Posting Every Day for 3 Years Straight

19:54 Growing From 7 to 65 Employees

21:28 Hiring a COO, CFO & Business Team

24:40 Wearing the Lawyer Hat vs. the Business Hat

25:50 Pivoting to Federal Litigation Going Into 2027

27:42 How to Connect with Saman

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What happens when a law firm has no partners, every lawyer owns shares, and AI prepares the first draft of the petition? In Episode #496 of The Immigration Lawyers Toolbox Podcast, John Q. Khosravi, Esq. talks with Jeff Joseph, Esq., past AILA President and now President of Immigration Strategy at Manifest Law, about how the firm is changing the business of immigration practice. Jeff explains Manifest's two-part structure: a technology company, Manifest OS, and a separate law firm whose attorneys own shares in it. The company raised about $72 million in its Series A at a valuation of over $750 million. He also covers the ABS model, why immigration was the strategic choice, how AI reviews filings and cut human error rates by 15%, the plan to expand into removal defense and family immigration, and what solo and small firms need to do to stay competitive over the next 2 to 3 years.

Timestamps

00:00 Opening

00:33 Intro

03:05 Welcome Jeff Joseph, Esq.

03:11 From his own firm to BAL to Manifest

03:37 What is Manifest Law?

04:46 Two companies, one mission: Manifest OS and the law firm

05:28 Attorney-led marketing

06:23 How Manifest attorneys earn: salary, origination and production credits

07:11 Two disruptions: AI and the ABS model

07:55 Why Manifest chose immigration

08:41 W-2 vs. 1099: B2C and B2B attorneys

09:31 Inside the technology: an H-1B case walkthrough

11:01 Is USCIS using AI too?

11:12 ILT Community and Constellation

12:58 AI reduced human error by 15%

13:21 Jeff's role: President of Immigration Strategy

13:59 Growth strategy heading into 2027

15:02 Expanding into removal defense and family

15:14 How cancellation of removal compares to an O-1

16:33 EOIR and ICE attorneys are using AI in court

16:50 Will Manifest license its technology?

17:22 The next 2 to 3 years for solo and small firms

18:28 Guardrails, and letting AI take the work lawyers hate

19:32 Stepping away from case work

20:07 Immigration practice keeps reinventing itself

20:51 How to connect with Jeff

21:21 Outro

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Ruby Powers, Esq. returns to the Immigration Lawyers Toolbox Podcast to talk with John Q. Khosravi, Esq. about running an immigration practice today. They cover why many law firm owners find they are the bottleneck in their own firm, how to build a team culture that actually uses the tech you pay for, and how AI can help lawyers digest long regulations and compare new form versions. They also get into vicarious trauma and resilience, the lasting effects of detention, Federal Tort Claims Act claims, growing processing delays and when mandamus makes sense, USCIS denials without RFEs, and the move toward online filing.

Timestamps:

00:00 Opening

00:33 Intro

03:22 New DOS FOIA request form for community members

04:13 Ruby Powers joins the show

04:40 Inside the Denver law firm retreat

07:04 The big lesson: owners are the bottleneck

08:46 Tech stacks and tools firms aren't fully using

10:23 Small tech wins and building a kaizen culture

12:54 Keeping up with sudden policy changes

13:38 Form changes: I-864, I-485, I-539, I-765

14:19 Using AI to read regulations and compare form versions

16:19 AI and confidentiality concerns

17:04 AILA Fall Conference in Atlanta

18:26 AILA Texas chapter fall conference in Santa Fe

19:41 Wellness talk: saunas, steam rooms, and acupuncture

22:15 ILT community page and Constellation Marketing

23:49 Self care in a high-stress practice

24:46 AI and legal marketing: GEO vs. SEO

25:52 Tracking leads and marketing ROI

26:42 Why law firm owners should be on LinkedIn

28:52 Vicarious trauma and vicarious resilience

31:38 The trauma of detention and reentry

35:25 Federal Tort Claims Act claims

36:26 I-130 delays and mandamus

37:42 Immigration court and pending I-130s

38:55 The real cost of detention: habeas and bond

39:33 Voter registration and voting plans

41:33 Naturalization and adjustment delays

42:01 Myth: mandamus leads to retaliation

44:09 USCIS denials without RFEs

45:02 Moving to online filing

49:01 Outro

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On this episode of The Immigration Lawyer's Toolbox Podcast, host John Khosravi sits down with Beatriz (Trillos) Ballerini, Esq., a Houston based immigration attorney, AILA Region 4 Director, and immediate past chair of the Texas AILA Chapter, to talk about the 54% NIW denial rate and why she's stopped taking new NIW cases, the growing uncertainty around adjustment of status and I-130 processing times, how she's rebuilt her retainer agreements for this administration, what's ahead for the Texas AILA Chapter including its November 18 to 20 conference in Santa Fe, the political shift underway in Colombia, and her own family's immigration story from Cali, Colombia to holding three passports today.

Timestamps:

00:00 Opening

00:33 Intro

03:58 Welcoming Beatriz to the show

04:20 Growing up in Houston and finding immigration law

04:49 Her earlier career litigating international plane crashes

06:31 Launching her own practice in 2006

08:14 From family cases to 80% business immigration

10:18 Firm size, staffing, and long-tenured team members

12:11 Why NIW cases are so stressful right now

13:04 Adjustment of status and detention risk uncertainty

16:00 Managing client expectations and putting it in writing

16:26 Retainer updates with ethics counsel Craig Dupzyk

18:08 AILA's lawsuits pushing back on policy changes

18:34 Her role as AILA Region 4 Director

19:26 Leading the Texas AILA Chapter

20:12 Texas Chapter conference, November 18 to 20 in Santa Fe

23:05 Coordinating a chapter spread across Texas, Oklahoma & New Mexico

27:44 A growing chapter and mentoring new members

29:20 What's stressing Beatriz: the 54% NIW denial rate

30:00 Worrying about approved EB-1A clients stuck in limbo

31:00 Colombia's political shift under President de la Espriella

32:13 Direct filing I-130s at consulates for exceptional circumstances

34:10 USCIS's overseas offices and the new Ethiopia unit

34:43 Deportations to third countries and the human toll

36:07 Increased ICE activity around Houston

37:14 Holding three passports and dual citizenship through marriage

38:22 Her family's immigration story from Colombia

39:15 Discovering her own immigration history through a FOIA request

40:52 Her father's decision to naturalize after being strip searched

41:13 Comparing notes on growing up in immigrant families

43:08 The unpredictability of 30 day RFE deadlines

44:33 Where to find and follow Beatriz Ballerini

44:50 Closing thoughts

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In this episode, John sits down with Judy Wong, Esq., a Bay Area business immigration attorney for tech companies, to talk about the EB-1A hype nobody wants to admit is hype, the uncertainty H-1B and L-1 employees are living with right now, and what happens when a reduction in force derails a case that's been years in the making. Judy also shares her path through AILA NorCal leadership and her role helping plan the AILA California Chapters Conference this November in San Francisco.

Timestamps:

00:00 Opening

00:33 Intro

02:46 Welcome Judy Wong, Esq.

02:56 Judy's background: growing up in LA, child of refugees

03:33 Law school in San Francisco and discovering immigration law

04:35 Why she left LA for the Bay Area

05:38 Commuting and remote work since COVID

06:17 Public charge scrutiny and the affidavit of support memo

07:57 H-1B and L-1 uncertainty around adjustment of status vs. consular processing

09:01 ICE picking up people with pending cases at airports

09:24 Judy's practice: corporate tech immigration clients

10:06 Reduction in force and its impact on the PERM process

11:35 Sponsor: ILT community page and Constellation partnership

13:09 Rising RFEs, NOIDs and denial rates

13:39 The EB-1A and EB-2 NIW marketing hype problem

14:23 How Judy got involved with AILA NorCal

16:24 AILA NorCal structure: liaisons, coordinators, advisory council

17:33 CBP's continued engagement with AILA liaisons

18:15 California Chapters Conference planning update

19:07 Conference dates, location and program tracks

19:54 How to connect with Judy Wong

20:49 Outro

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It's the monthly case law roundup fans keep coming back for: John Q. Khosravi, Esq. sits down with Kevin A. Gregg, Esq. to unpack the federal circuit court decisions reshaping immigration practice right now, from a major 4th Circuit win on vacated convictions to a widening circuit split on bond hearings for people who entered without inspection, a big post-Riley v. Bondi ruling on withholding-only proceedings, and the real-world fallout from the government's abrupt shutdown of consular visa processing worldwide. Along the way, John and Kevin get candid about the human toll of the current enforcement climate, the history behind mandatory detention law, and why this may be the most consequential year for immigration case law either of them has covered. Whether you're an immigration attorney, paralegal, or just trying to keep up with what's changing, this is the episode to catch up on.

Timestamps:

00:00 Opening

00:33 Intro

03:09 Kevin Gregg joins the show

03:41 How wild 2026 has been for case law (8 decisions in one week)

07:43 Getting into this month's cases

08:10 Honorable mention: 11th Circuit on Matter of Lozada compliance

09:31 Case 1: 4th Circuit takes down Matter of Pickering on vacated convictions

17:29 Case 2: 9th Circuit rules EWI entrants get a bond hearing

22:33 Sponsor: ILT private community

23:36 Back to the show: mandatory detention under INA 236(c) vs. 235

29:54 Case 3: 4th Circuit on withholding-only proceedings after Riley v. Bondi

33:05 Honorable mention: 75-country travel ban pause and the consulate shutdown

33:50 A client caught in the consulate shutdown

36:52 The affidavit of support form change

39:47 Outro

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Immigration attorney John Q. Khosravi, Esq. breaks down a packed week of immigration law changes on episode 491 of The Immigration Lawyer's Toolbox Podcast covering a surprise new I-864 edition that requires sponsors to unlock their credit reports for USCIS, the elimination of the 60-day work visa grace period, a federal contempt ruling against DHS over the removal of asylum-seeking minors, a wrongful deportation of a U.S. citizen, a major DACA advance parole ruling on the 3/10-year bar, DACA renewal delays, a massive marriage fraud bust, faster RFI turnaround times affecting I-751 divorce waiver strategy, and more, plus a practical AI tip for A/B testing your firm's marketing.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Opening

00:33 - Intro

02:36 – New Form I-864 Edition: Credit Report Authorization & Filing Deadlines

05:19 – Consular Processing Delays: Why You Must Follow Up With Embassies

06:00 – State Department to Close Smaller Consulates

06:22 – DHS Held in Contempt Over Deporting 107 Asylum-Seeking Minors

06:44 – U.S. Citizen Wrongfully Deported

07:00 – Birthright Citizenship Executive Orders & Birth Tourism Crackdown

07:49 – Courts Block Travel Ban — But State Department Halts Visa Processing Anyway

08:21 – Diversity Visa Lottery Lawsuit & Risk for This Year's Winners

08:51 – Grace Period Eliminated for Terminated Work Visa Holders

09:40 – New Public Charge Bond System at DOS & USCIS

10:15 – DACA Advance Parole & the 3/10-Year Bar Ruling

11:15 – DACA Renewal Delays & "Last In, First Out" Processing

11:40 – Massive Marriage Fraud Bust (1,000+ Couples)

12:33 – BIA's New 10-Day Rule to Secure Counsel

12:54 – Faster I-864 RFIs (33 Days) & I-751 Divorce Waiver Strategy

14:56 – ILT's Private Community for Immigration Lawyers

15:28 – Using AI to A/B Test Newsletter Subject Lines

17:12 – Reflecting on the State of Immigration Law

18:56 – Why Consistent Marketing Matters for Your Firm

21:18 – Closing Thoughts

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On this episode of The Immigration Lawyer's Toolbox® Podcast, host John Khosravi sits down with returning guest Roman Zelichenko, J.D. to unpack what's really happening in the growing wave of immigration law firm M&A: how firms are actually valued, why some attorneys inflate their revenue numbers with filing fees, the difference between a true acquisition and a "merger" that's really more of a hire, why clean books can make or break a deal, and what private equity's track record in dentistry, HVAC, and plumbing suggests about where legal consolidation is headed. Whether you're thinking about selling, buying, merging, or just want to run your firm like it's sellable, this episode is full of practical insight on the business side of immigration law. Sponsor: Get a free website (first 10 sign-ups) and special pricing on marketing for your firm from Constellation at http://immigrationlawyerstoolbox.com/Constellation.

Timestamps:

00:00 Opening

00:33 Intro

04:24 How hard is it for practitioners to value and sell their firm?

04:53 B2B/corporate vs. B2C firms: why recurring revenue is valued higher

05:30 The filing-fees-in-revenue trick that inflates valuations

06:36 What sellers actually want: fair price vs. emotional attachment

07:54 How clean (or messy) books affect due diligence

09:43 Bookkeepers, GMI Rocket, and staying on top of your numbers

11:29 Mergers vs. acquisitions: when a "merger" is really a hire

13:12 Larger firm mergers and fade-out deal structures

13:52 New fee memos, attorney burnout, and the push toward litigation

16:13 Consolidation, specialists, and the rise of AI-native law firms

19:00 Lessons from private equity roll-ups in dentistry, HVAC, and plumbing

20:17 Community page & Constellation SEO/marketing sponsor break

21:20 Back to the show: will the free market self-correct?

21:33 Envoy Global: an example of PE-backed immigration firms done right

24:19 Scaling without sacrificing service quality

26:15 The M&A trend among solo and small firm owners who want out

29:01 Creative deal structures, equity, and the "Built to Sell" mindset

33:13 Why QuickBooks and clean numbers drive better marketing and growth decisions

36:26 Outro

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On this episode of the Immigration Lawyer's Toolbox Podcast, host John Khosravi sits down with Jeff Goldman, Esq., founder of Goldman & Partners Immigration and co-founder of Build Talent Labs, for a candid look at how a "serendipitous" career turn into immigration law became a 30+ year, 32-person firm built almost entirely on referrals from the client who talked him into immigration law after a real estate closing, to the EB-1A case for an MIT researcher that opened the door to a decade of extraordinary-ability petitions, to how he set (and steadily raised) his fees at Testa, Hurwitz & Israel and beyond. Jeff also breaks down his current work at Build Talent Labs, the cap-exempt H-1B, J-1, and O-1 agent sponsorship model he co-founded with his daughter Danielle, his eight years as immigration advisor to the Governor of Massachusetts, and what it's really like working with CBP at Logan Airport, including a firsthand story of getting a client released after 48 hours in secondary inspection. Connect with Jeff Goldman, Esq.: 🔗 Goldman & Partners Immigration 🔗 Build Talent Labs 🔗 LinkedIn: Jeff Goldman Sponsor: Get a free website (first 10 sign-ups) and special pricing on marketing for your firm from Constellation at http://immigrationlawyerstoolbox.com/Constellation.

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Timestamps

00:00 – Opening

00:33 – Intro

03:42 – Welcome, Jeff Goldman

03:45 – Jeff's background: growing up near Boston

04:06 – Deciding to go to law school (the LSAT "dare")

05:20 – The client who talked Jeff into immigration law

06:04 – Jeff's first immigration CLE course (1993, right before IRIRA)

07:02 – The neighbor who became his first referral source

08:22 – Filing his first H-1B petitions

09:04 – Hanging a shingle as a solo immigration attorney

09:53 – The Russian EB-1A client who changed everything

11:39 – Landing MIT and Chinese postdoc EB-1A clients

12:47 – Building a 32-person immigration firm

13:17 – Office hours at Harvard Business School and MIT Sloan

13:47 – How do you price a case like an EB-1A?

14:06 – Joining Testa, Hurwitz & Israel's immigration group

15:51 – The urgent phone call that led to a job offer

16:20 – When the firm imploded (and Jeff kept the $2.5M immigration book)

17:29 – Setting fees at a big law firm

18:38 – Going solo again — and raising his fees

19:15 – Toolbox community: our private Circle page

20:08 – Sponsor: Constellation (legal marketing & web design)

21:42 – Back to the interview

22:11 – Why clients pay for reliability, not just price

22:40 – Career advice: build referral relationships with corporate lawyers

24:02 – Lesson from the Global BIO Conference

25:26 – A day in Jeff's life today

25:56 – Build Talent Labs: the cap-exempt H-1B model, explained

27:30 – Eight years as immigration advisor to the Governor of Massachusetts

27:52 – Jeff's relationship with CBP at Logan Airport

30:35 – When a client was detained 48 hours — and what Jeff did next

31:59 – Proactively coordinating with CBP before a client travels

33:11 – How to reach Jeff Goldman

33:30 – AILA mentorship and LinkedIn presence

35:42 – Build Talent Labs: J-1 programs and O-1 agent sponsorship

36:30 – The O-1 agent documentation risk lawyers overlook

36:52 – Closing & outro

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