Zeenat Phophalia knows firsthand the challenges immigrants face when moving to a new country. As she says, it is “a life-altering decision that often entails its share of rewards, challenges, and self-discovery.” Through her own experiences, she has developed an empathic approach to helping others to achieve their mobility goals. “Being a part of that process that helps toward realizing someone’s aspirations and dreams,” she says, “has been truly enriching and fulfilling for me.”
In her practice, Zeenat advises clients on multiple visa categories including H-1B, L-1, EB-1, E-2, and O visas. Zeenat possesses an in-depth understanding of the legal landscape: She has represented clients in consular matters, naturalization, and waivers of inadmissibility. In addition, she has represented corporate clients including large and medium-sized companies and startups across sectors such as IT, consulting, consumer goods, manufacturing, and telecommunications. Zeenat has worked closely with multi-national companies and their employees to facilitate the transfer of key personnel and their dependents to the U.S.
Zeenat earned her Master of Laws (LL.M.) from the University of Georgia, United States, and a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from the University of Mumbai in India. In her past role, she was an associate partner at a leading immigration law firm in India where, in addition to advising on U.S. immigration law, she also assisted clients on Indian commercial and employment law matters, and spearheaded the firm’s content creation process. Zeenat has also authored immigration-related articles for major Indian newspapers – The Economic Times and the Times of India. In addition, she has also been a frequent contributor of immigration articles to Mondaq – a global platform that curates and publishes legal, regulatory, and financial information for professional services firms. She is also a member of many organizations including the New York State Bar Association, the Law Society of England and Wales, the Bar Council of Goa and Maharashtra (India), and the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
In her spare time, Zeenat likes to read and write poetry. Asked to summarize her approach to immigration law, she says, “no matter how good of an immigration counsel I may be, if my services are devoid of empathy, I do not think my clients would be well-served. The human aspect is deep seated in the practice of immigration law.”