Visual Artists' Immigration Clinic
Co-hosted by the Center for Art Law
Tuesday, November 9, 3:30-6pm ET
RSVP for Zoom link
A refundable $10 fee is required to reserve a 1:1 consultation
The Visual Artists' Immigration Clinic is designed to guide emerging and established international visual artists through the process of obtaining a visa to the United States. The first 30 minutes of the clinic will be open to the public and devoted to a Keynote Address by Rakhel Milstein providing general insight into the visa/immigration process. Following this, from 4-6pm ET, participating artists will be paired with a Volunteer Attorney for a confidential 15-minute consultation. A refundable $10.00 fee is required to reserve a spot for consultations. Artists will receive a refund after the consultation. If the artist is a no-show, the $10 fee will not be returned.
Sessions will be hosted on Zoom and the consultations take place in breakout rooms to ensure confidentiality. Please be sure to read the following information and to refer to our FAQ below to ensure that you come fully prepared for the Clinic.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Who may register?
We encourage participation by visual artists who wish to build and strengthen their case for employment-based visa applications over the next 6-12 months.
The 1:1 consultations that occur at the Clinic are not suitable for artists with urgent immigration issues. However, all visual artists are welcome to attend and listen to the presentation.
The Clinic best serves those artists which have no attorney and are seeking a first-time legal consultation. If you already attended a session of the Visual Artists’ Immigration Clinic, we encourage you to reach out to the attorney(s) you already met with (contact information is in the handouts distributed at the session).
How do I register?
Pre-registration is mandatory.
You may register to reserve a consultation (Keynote Presentation included) for a refundable $10 reservation fee, which will be reimbursed after your consultation. If you do not show up for your consultation, the $10 fee will not be returned.
You may register for the Keynote Presentation only for free or any amount you would like to donate.
Registration takes place through Eventbrite, where you will need to fill out a confidential intake form.
Dial-in details and other instructions will be emailed once registration has been confirmed; be sure to check your emails in the days leading up to the Clinic.
How do I prepare for the Clinic?
Make sure that you have the following documents on your computer:
A passport showing your current visa;
CV or resume;
List of exhibitions and media publications about your work.
What happens after the Clinic?
The Center for Art Law will be providing immigration law guides and the contact information of the Volunteer Attorneys participating in each session. If you wish to pursue the conversation with the Volunteer Attorneys participating in the session, you should reach out to them directly!
VERY IMPORTANT:
Attending this legal clinic does not create an attorney-client relationship.
The information provided during the individual strategy session does not constitute legal advice.
All the information shared during the Clinic will be kept confidential.
If you have any further questions, please write to clinic@itsartlaw.org.
Volunteer Attorneys:
Rebecca Lenetsky is an Immigration Attorney with focus on employment-based immigration, including the full range of non-immigrant visa (H-1B, L-1, O-1, E-2, R-1, etc.) and immigrant petitions, including PERM, EB-1, and EB-5. Ms. Lenetsky's clients have ranged from multinational financial corporations to tech startups to individual entrepreneurs, artists and more. Experienced at guiding companies and individuals through short- and long-term strategic immigration planning, Ms. Lenetsky has managed caseload of 500+ active cases and supervised and trained junior attorneys and paralegals.
Rakhel Milstein, Founder & CEO of Milstein Law Group, has been practicing immigration law for nearly two decades, focusing on “extraordinary ability” visas and green cards. While she also handles all types of immigration matters, including standard work visas/green cards and family based cases, she has extensive experience resolving complex immigration cases in federal court, as well. She prides herself on finding creative solutions for her clients to allow them to live, work and/or train in the U.S. Rakhel is admitted to the bar in New York, the District of Columbia, United States District Court, Southern District of New York, Eastern District of New York, District of Colorado, District of Nebraska and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. She is a member of the American Bar Association, New York State Bar Association and American Immigration Lawyers Association.
Teresa Woods Peña, Principal at Woods Law Group, P.C., is an experienced immigration attorney who has worked on applications before USCIS, zealously advocating for clients seeking to remain in the United States. She has appeared in immigration court on behalf of clients. Previously a consultant for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) she has taught Asylum and Refugee Law at Yeshiva University's Cardozo Law School, where she obtained her LLM. She holds a J.D. from St John’s University School of Law and is fluent in Spanish, holding a B.A. from Purchase College. She represents artists and innovators looking to make the United States their home.
Alejandro Filippa, Esq. is a founding partner of the law office of Lehach Filippa. Alejandro has spent over a decade focused exclusively on immigration law. He began his career working with the New York Association for New Americans, a non-profit dedicated to providing legal services to the most underserved immigrant communities in the city. Later, Alejandro consulted for a few private law offices in Midtown Manhattan where he learned the inner workings of business immigration and first dreamed of starting his own office. By 2006, Alejandro was in business for himself, continuing his passion for immigration law and narrowing his focus to facilitate work visas for creative professionals seeking to share their artistic talents in his hometown of New York City. In 2011, Alejandro partnered with fellow colleague and immigration attorney, Michael Lehach, to form an immigration law firm focused on facilitating artist visas and residence applications for creative professionals. Today, Lehach Filippa is one of the most recognized and fastest growing law practices for immigration and naturalization law in New York.
The Center for Art Law is a Brooklyn-based research and education nonprofit that offers resources and programming for the advancement of a vibrant arts and law community. Through its website and monthly Art Law Blast newsletter, the Center disseminates information and keeps readers updated on art- and law-related news, events, cases, and publications. The Center facilitates conversations by hosting and participating in programs including conferences, workshops and clinics for visual artists, film screenings, and more. Today a world-renowned asset to the art law field, the Center serves artists, attorneys, students and scholars of both disciplines, art market professionals, and members of the general public.