“Immigration decisions are often some of the most important that someone makes. I am honored to assist people in making those decisions and to facilitate their transition to the United States. I feel a sense of accomplishment to be able to help an individual to succeed, whether it’s to flee persecution, reunite with a loved one, or start a company that employs U.S. workers.”

Stephen Yale-Loehr’s Story

Stephen’s interest in international issues began during a one-year Rotary Exchange scholarship spent in Japan before attending Cornell University. At Cornell Law School, Steve specialized in international affairs and was editor-in-chief of the Cornell International Law Journal.

After receiving his J.D. cum laude in 1981, he clerked for a federal judge and then joined the international department of a large law firm in Washington, D.C. Through his international trade practice, Steve also started doing immigration cases. He grew enamored with helping real people as opposed to large multi-national organizations, and decided to focus his practice on corporate immigration.

Starting in 1986, Steve became managing editor of Interpreter Releases and executive editor of Immigration Briefings, two leading immigration law publications. Through this experience, he was exposed to many other parts of immigration law. In 1990 Steve moved back to his hometown of Ithaca, NY, and started the immigration law group at Miller Mayer, a local law firm. The group now includes six attorneys and seven paralegals. In 1994 Steve became co-author of Immigration Law and Procedure, the leading multi-volume treatise on immigration law. In addition to this, Steve co-wrote a bi-monthly article for the New York Law Journal for ten years.

Steve also teaches immigration and asylum law at Cornell Law School as an adjunct professor and is the 2001 recipient of the American Immigration Lawyers Association’s (AILA) Elmer Fried Award for excellence in teaching.

Steve is one of the leading specialists for EB-5 immigrant investors. After receiving an inquiry years ago from a foreign investor, Steve started to educate himself on the complexities and intricacies of the EB-5 program. In 2005, he founded Invest in the USA, a trade association for EB-5 regional centers.

Since starting his immigration practice, Steve has been on or chaired an American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) committee each year. He currently is the Vice Chair of the AILA Business Immigration Committee. Additionally, he was involved with Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) for twenty years and chaired AIUSA’s Refugee Steering Committee for three years. In 2004, Steve’s commitment to advancing the practice of immigration law was recognized as he received AILA’s prestigious Edith Lowenstein Award. Whether he’s teaching students or assisting a human resources representative with a foreign employee’s visa, Steve is constantly reminded of the reason he practices immigration law: to help an individual enter and stay in the United States.