Avi Friedman, a partner in the Santa Monica office, has been selected for inclusion in the 2023 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® and was named both the 2014 and 2016 Los Angeles Immigration Law “Lawyer of the Year” by U.S. News-Best Lawyers®. Mr. Friedman is listed in the 2022 Who’s Who of Corporate Immigration Lawyers (WWL) as a “Thought Leader” and has previously been acknowledged as an “outstanding” lawyer, an “expert on consular issues” and a “highly rated inclusion” to the firm. In the 2021 WWL edition, he was recognized as a Global Leader drawing “widespread praise from market sources for his profound expertise in non-immigrant visa applications and consular issues.”

With 25 years of immigration experience, Mr. Friedman specializes in nonimmigrant visas (including E-1/E-2, H-1B, H-3, J-1, L-1, O-1, and TN) and immigrant visas (including PERM labor certifications, aliens with extraordinary ability, advanced degrees, managers & executives, National Interest Waivers, professors & researchers, & skilled workers). He also handles family-based immigrant visa petitions and adjustment of status, naturalization applications, J-1 waivers for international medical graduate physicians, and immigrant and non-immigrant waivers. Mr. Friedman also assists applicants with visa applications at U.S. consular posts worldwide.

Mr. Friedman is serving his eighth term on the AILA Department of State Liaison Committee and previously served one term as the AILA Canada Chapter Liaison to the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa, Canada. He also served eleven terms as the Consular Affairs Liaison for the Southern California Chapter of AILA. He has authored numerous immigration articles and is also a frequent speaker at immigration conferences.