The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), founded on October 14, 1946, is a voluntary

bar association A bar association is a professional association of lawyers as generally organized in countries following the Anglo-American types of jurisprudence.

of over 15,000 attorneys and law professors who practice and teach

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as Permanent residency, permanent residents. Commuting, Commuter ...

law. AILA member attorneys represent U.S. families seeking permanent residence for close family members, as well as U.S. businesses seeking talent from the global marketplace. AILA members also represent foreign students, entertainers, athletes, and asylum seekers, sometimes on a pro bono basis. AILA is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization that provides continuing legal education, information, professional services, and expertise through its 38 chapters and over 50 national committees. Its national headquarters are in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

History

Originally called the Association of Immigration and Nationality Lawyers, the association was founded on October 14, 1946 by a group of 19 immigration lawyers and professionals in

Manhattan, New York Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. Twelve of the association founders had recently worked for the

Immigration and Naturalization Service The United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) was a United States federal government agency under the United States Department of Labor from 1933 to 1940 and under the United States Department of Justice from 1940 to 2003. Refe ...

, and saw an opportunity to utilize their professional standing "to elevate the standard and reputation of the practitioner appearing before the Immigration Service."Levin, Leslie (2010).
Specialty Bars as a Site of Professionalism: The Immigration Bar Example
''University of St. Thomas Law Journal'', Vol. 8(2), p. 201. Josh Koenigsberg served as the first

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the association with Gaspare Cusumano as

vice president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

, Anita Streep as

secretary A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...

, and Daniel Caputi as

treasurer A treasurer is a person responsible for the financial operations of a government, business, or other organization. Government The treasury of a country is the department responsible for the country's economy, finance and revenue. The treasure ...

.(2006) "About AILA: Sixty Years of Service, Sixty Years of Excellence". ''Immigration Law Today'' Vol. 25(5), p.8. In 1982, the association established a national headquarters in

, and it was renamed the American Immigration Lawyers Association. By 1985, the association had 1,800 members; a three-fold increase from 1975. , there are over 15,000 AILA members spread over 39 chapters in the United States and across the world.

Publications

AILA Publications is the publishing arm of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and is the leading publisher of information and analysis serving the practicing immigration lawyer and those in need of immigration law information. AILA Publications is the publisher of many notable titles—among them are Kurzban's Immigration Law Sourcebook, Immigration Consequences of Criminal Activity, AILA's Asylum Primer, Litigating Immigration Cases in Federal Court, Representing Clients in Immigration Court, and Essentials of Immigration Law.

American Immigration Council

The American Immigration Council is a

–based

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of ...

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

and

advocacy group Advocacy groups, also known as lobby groups, interest groups, special interest groups, pressure groups, or public associations, use various forms of advocacy or lobbying to influence public opinion and ultimately public policy. They play an impor ...

that is a subsidiary of AILA. It was established in 1987, originally as the American Immigration Law Foundation. In 2021, the New American Economy merged into the council. ''Immigration Impact'', "the only news site exclusively committed to covering immigration issues", is a project of the council.

References

External links

*
Immigration Impact
* {{authority control 501(c)(6) nonprofit organizations American bar associations Immigration political advocacy groups in the United States United States immigration law History of immigration to the United States Organizations established in 1946 1946 establishments in the United States