About Us
At Shirazi Immigration Law, Inc., we have been practicing immigration law exclusively since 2001. We strive to provide our clients with energetic, effective and aggressive representation in all areas of American immigration law. Our representation includes deportation defense, naturalization, political asylum, federal litigation, as well as family and employment-based petitions. Our clients include: fiancés, spouses and other family members; international business persons; Olympic athletes; internationally recognized artists and scientists; and those who unfortunately find themselves in deportation proceedings.
Immigration Overview
What does the term “immigration” mean? If one wishes a strict definition, it means moving to the U.S. to take up a permanent residence. In reality, most people use the term “immigration” to convey a vast array of benefits and visa types available to qualified foreign nationals. To help organize the type of information that most people seek, we provide on these pages a general description of the types of the most commonly sought visas and benefits.
The American Dream is Still Alive!
To begin, you must keep four things in mind…
- First, there are two main avenues for gaining permission to enter or remain in the United States: family or employment.
- Second, within the employment-based avenues, both temporary (known as “non-immigrant”) and permanent (known as “immigrant”) visas exist. Family-based visas are only for immigrants wishing to make their permanent home in the U.S.
- Third, the green card that so many desire is merely a card (no longer green) evidencing lawful permanent residence. Lawful permanent residence is achieved either by changing non-immigrant status to immigrant status in the U.S., known as “adjustment of status,” or by obtaining an immigrant visa at a U.S. consulate abroad, known as “consular processing.”
- Last, most visas are limited in number. This means that a qualified applicant may need to wait for some period of time before receiving the desired visa.
Amna Shirazi
Atlanta Immigration Attorney
Top Atlanta immigration attorney, Amna Shirazi grew up in Atlanta, Georgia and studied for her undergraduate degree at American University in Washington, DC. In 2000, she received a Bachelor’s and Juris Doctor from Georgia State University in Atlanta. She also received her LLM with a focus on Democratic Governance from the Emory University School of Law.
As a well-known community educator, Ms. Shirazi is a constant and reliable source to Atlanta area newspapers who frequently publish her remarks about current immigrant issues and immigration policy. Ms. Shirazi also teaches seminars, writes op-ed pieces on immigration issues and has appeared in televised interviews in both Atlanta and Charlotte. An active member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association since 2001, she has been on panels and done work to assist within her local chapter.
Ms. Shirazi has a successful immigration practice focusing on deportation defense, detention, asylum/human rights, family immigration, domestic violence and consular issues, and handles all manners of appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals as well as litigation in the federal courts. Amna Shirazi has been admitted to the State bar of Georgia; Supreme Court of Georgia; U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia; and the U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit.
Ms. Shirazi is an active member of her community and is on the Steering Committee of the International Rescue Committee, an Advisory Board member of the Department of Religion at Georgia State University and on the Board of Mental Health America. She commits her time to numerous local charitable organizations and political causes. Ms. Shirazi has been awarded several peer reviewed and prestigious awards for her outstanding work in immigration, the Fulton County Daily Report “Rising Star” award, Georgia Trend Magazine’s 40 under 40, Super Lawyers and Georgia Trend magazine’s legal elite.
Ms. Shirazi was elected to be in the 2016 class of Leadership Georgia, one of the nation’s oldest and most respected nominated leadership programs that focuses on selecting future leaders across the state of Georgia. She also teaches immigration law and speaks on educational panels around the state about immigration, especially to other bar associations such as criminal defense bars around the state educating them about the immigration consequences of taking plea deals.
In addition to having a passion for helping immigrants, Ms. Shirazi has a wonderful husband and two children she adores. Cool Fact: Amna went to Sudan as an election monitor with The Carter Center. She is an avid politico and democracy geek.
