Paul Soreff

Paul Soreff, with over 35 years of immigration practice, has extensive experience in all aspects of immigration law. He opened Soreff Law in 1999. He has been an Adjunct Professor of Immigration Law at Seattle University School of Law, and Chairperson for the Washington and MidSouth Chapters of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). Paul has particular experience in:

• Family petitions,
• Deportation,
• Waivers,
• Litigation,
• Asylum claims for various countries,
• H, L, O, & TN petitions,
• Labor certificates,
• Employment based immigrant applications (EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3),
• I-9 Compliance, Employer Sanctions; strategy and defense,
• EB-5 investment cases, and
• Other nonimmigrant and immigrant visas for foreign personnel.

Paul has held many leadership positions within AILA. His previous positions include: National Board of Governors, National Investment Committee, Chairperson for the Washington and MidSouth Chapters, Washington State Executive Committee, Washington State Continuing Education Chair, Washington State Citizenship and Immigration Services Chair, and Kentucky State Coordinator.

In 2012, he worked with Jorge Baron of the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP) to recruit and train almost two hundred volunteer lawyers in the Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. These lawyers volunteered their services at joint AILA/NWIRP DACA clinics to help unauthorized immigrant children obtain legal status in the U.S.

In 2001, he started Citizenship Day, an innovative program in Washington State. On Citizenship Day, lawyers, paralegals, and members of the community throughout Washington State volunteer their time to assist lawful permanent residents to apply to become U.S. citizens. Paul then helped AILA organize Citizenship Day nationally. Currently, over 30 states participate in AILA’s Citizenship Day helping thousands of people become citizens every year.

Paul has received many awards and recognition for his excellent services and volunteer leadership, including:

• Outstanding Immigration Lawyer, Best Lawyers in America, 1999 – 2014,
• Pro Bono Lawyer Awards from AILA National, AILA Washington Chapter and the America Bar Association for his work on behalf of thousands of low-income immigrants, and
• Trial Lawyer of the Year, awarded by the Lawyers for Public Justice, in recognition of Mr. Soreff’s contribution as co-counsel in the case of Ortiz v. Gramaho.

Paul testifies as an expert witness on immigration law before administrative law judges at Unemployment Compensation Hearings and has provided immigration law training for the administrative law judges. He organizes and regularly lectures at Continuing Legal Education Seminars and enjoys giving talks on immigration to the public.

From 1976 to 1991, he was the managing partner of a small law firm in Louisville, KY. In 1992, his wife took a position at the University of Alabama in Birmingham and they moved to Birmingham. In Alabama, he had a private immigration practice and served as an Adjunct Professor of Immigration Law at the University Of Alabama School Of Law. In 1998, Paul and his wife moved to Seattle, WA where he now heads Soreff Law, a small firm specializing in immigration law.

Paul is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild. When not practicing immigration law, he can frequently be found riding his bike with the Cascade Bike Club as a Ride Leader or cross country skiing.