Susan is a nationally recognized immigration lawyer. As Chair of Mintz’s Immigration Practice, she works with corporate clients to address their immigration challenges. Susan is very active in the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and has contributed to federal and state immigration regulations. She is frequently quoted in the media. She is also an editor of Mintz’s Immigration Law blog and has been recognized as a “Top Author” by JD Supra. Susan helped to lead a Mintz team that worked with the ACLU of Massachusetts and others to obtain a temporary restraining order on the 2017 Travel Ban. Through her pro bono work, she has helped many immigrants obtain asylum.
Susan is the founder and Chair of the firm’s Immigration Practice, which is composed of 12 attorneys and 18 immigration specialists and assistants who service the immigration needs of Mintz’s existing corporate and individual clients, and of new clients who choose the firm precisely for its knowledge in the field of immigration and nationality law.
Susan is actively involved in the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and has chaired and co-chaired a wide range of national AILA committees, including the National Planning Committee for AILA’s Annual Immigration Law Conference. She has also served on the review board for AILA periodicals and has served as the ABA’s liaison to the Department of Labor on immigration-related issues. She is a frequent panelist at AILA, ABA, and other immigration-related conferences, and a contributor to AILA, ABA, and other immigration-related publications.
Susan was involved in contributing to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) regulations implementing the Immigration Act of 1990, the Department of Labor regulations implementing changes to the H-1B visa category as a result of the American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act of 1998, and the Department of Labor PERM labor certification regulations issued in 2004. Susan also advised the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in drafting the legislation which resulted in the Massachusetts Global Entrepreneur in Residence (GEIR) program.
Susan has won awards for her political asylum work from the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, the Political Asylum/Immigration Representation (PAIR) Project, the Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, and Mintz.
During law school, she served on the Cardozo Law Review.
More Legal and Business Bylines From Susan J. Cohen
- New J-1 Visa Provisions Effective January 5, 2015 - (Posted On Tuesday, December 23, 2014)
- Employment-based Visa Petitions: Why Dun and Bradstreet Can Make or Break a Petition - (Posted On Friday, December 12, 2014)
- President Obama’s Executive Immigration Reform: Shining a Spotlight on Reforming Optional Practical Training “OPT” - (Posted On Wednesday, December 03, 2014)
- Immigration Developments for Highly Skilled Workers: Changes the Business Community Can Expect as a Result of President Obama’s Executive Action on Immigration Reform - (Posted On Monday, November 24, 2014)
- President Obama Announces Executive Action on Immigration - (Posted On Friday, November 21, 2014)
- Recent Changes in US Immigration Processes and Technology - (Posted On Tuesday, November 18, 2014)
- Keeping Immigration Site Visits Civil and Focused - (Posted On Monday, November 17, 2014)
- U.S. Immigration Policy Catches Up with Assisted Reproductive Technology - (Posted On Wednesday, October 29, 2014)
- It’s Time to Register with the U.S. Department of State for the 2016 Diversity Lottery! - (Posted On Tuesday, September 30, 2014)
- 6 Little Known Facts About H-1B Visas - (Posted On Thursday, September 11, 2014)
Susan J. Cohen is an immigration attorney and a founding chair of the Immigration Practice at Mintz. She was chosen as a National Law Review Go-To Thought Leader for her articles on the changing immigration landscape in US Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) and Department of Labor (DOL) regulations, the H-1B visa process and political asylum. Ms. Cohen's insight into the complexities involved in employment immigration help National Law Review readers gain more accurate perspective from both the employee's and employer's sides of these important issues.