Sean Richard Olender

Sean Olender is a State Bar certified specialist in immigration and nationality law.  As of late 2022, there are only four other certified specialists in immigration and nationality law in Santa Clara County and one other in Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties.  You can reach Sean's office in San Jose at and in Santa Cruz.  For timely and interesting articles on important immigration and employment law topics, visit.

California attorneys who are certified as specialists have taken and passed a written examination in their specialty field, demonstrated a high level of experience in the specialty field, fulfilled ongoing education requirements and have been favorably evaluated by other attorneys and judges familiar with their work. The one day examination includes four hours to complete eight essays and 2.5 hours to complete 75 multiple choice questions.  The examination is difficult because it may test on any immigration law question from labor certification and EB-5 investor visas to deportation defense, the immigration consequences of criminal convictions... anything.

Sean also served as an adjunct professor of law at the University of San Diego School of law from 2012 to 2015 where he taught a three unit upper division class on immigration law.

Sean has practiced immigration law for more than 17 years and has experience in all areas of immigration law from business immigration, H-1Bs, EB-5, PERM labor certification to J-1 waivers, unlawful presence waivers, cancellation of removal, family immigration, asylum, withholding of removal, circuit court appeals, mandamus, parole-in-place, humanitarian parole, DACA, and many other areas.

Olender has a paperless office with superb systems to streamline case processing and reduce data processing errors.

Sean Olender also practices employment law and has represented both employees and employers in employment litigation areas including wage and hour disputes, sexual harassment, age discrimination, race discrimination, retaliation and whistleblowers.  Sean has found that employment law complements immigration law because many immigration law issues have employment law issues and vice versa.  Often individual and corporate customers have questions or problems that involve both immigration and employment law issues and Sean brings together knowledge of both to offer wholesome solutions to difficult problems.