Immigration Lawyer Michael A. Harris has had a dynamic career in the field of immigration law since 2000. From small families to multinational companies with over 20,000 employees, Mr. Harris, based in Miami, Florida, has been successful in a wide variety of immigration matters.

Meet Award-winning lawyer and specialist, Michael A. Harris

Mr. Harris is a Board Certified Immigration Specialist, which means that the Florida Bar has determined that he is an expert in the field of Immigration & Nationality Law. He has earned an AV Preeminent Peer Rating, the highest rating available from Martindale-Hubbell, the leading independent attorney rating entity. Mr. Harris also has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America® for his work in immigration law. He has also been named a top attorney by EB5 Investors Magazine. As an attorney practicing federal immigration law, Mr. Harris can represent immigration clients around the United States and world.

In addition to greatly enjoying the practice of Immigration law and living in South Florida, Mr. Harris has deep ties to the community. He is a member of the board of directors and has served as an executive officer of AILA South Florida, one of the largest chapters of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. Mr. Harris also is a member of the Florida Bar Board Certification Committee in Immigration and Nationality Law, for which he is part of a select group of lawyers who write, grade and review other lawyers seeking board certification.

Mr. Harris grew up in Miami Beach as a 1st and 2nd generation American, and graduated high school from Ransom Everglades School in Coconut Grove, FL, one of the nation’s top private secondary schools. He is an active father to two young children, whom he is raising with his wife, a Realtor at one of South Florida’s top real estate sales groups. His mother was born in Lima, Peru, and his father was a World War II Air Force veteran whose parents were born in Eastern Europe in the late-1800s. After college at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL, and during the midst of the Elian Gonzalez crisis, Mr. Harris began work as a paralegal for a board certified specialist in Immigration & Nationality Law. During this time he experienced the Post-9/11 overhaul of the legacy-INS into the Department of Homeland Security, as well as the problems created by the Patriot Act, Special Registration and the transition of immigration procedure into the BCIS (today known as the USCIS).

After several years of work and clerkship in the field of immigration law, Mr. Harris received his Juris Doctor degree from the Nova Southeastern University College of Law in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida in 2007. Prior to earning his law degree, he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and English from the University of Florida in 1999. Further, Mr. Harris studied Political Science for two years at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C. His studies in U.S. federal government and the American political system helped prepare Mr. Harris to work in highly distinguished immigration law firms where he was educated and trained by some of the country’s leading experts, authors and lawyers in the field of Immigration & Nationality Law.

Today, Mr. Harris is recognized as a Florida Bar Board Certified Specialist in Immigration & Nationality Law. Among all attorneys eligible by the Florida Bar, currently only 6% are board certified specialists. This is the highest level of evaluation by The Florida Bar of the competency and experience of attorneys in an area of expertise. Board certification is not required to practice immigration law, but it shows a level of commitment and expertise by lawyers. In fact, among over 96,000 attorneys currently licensed by the Bar, Mr. Harris is 1 of more than 70 attorneys (or less than 1%) who are board certified as experts in Immigration Law.

In support of his record of success, Mr. Harris has significant experience taking part in the representation of highly complex immigration matters, including:

• Business Immigration cases for investors, executives, acclaimed artists and athletes, academic professors, professionals, and multinational industry companies.
• EB-5 Developers for U.S. companies seeking to qualify under the EB-5  Immigrant Investor Program, which allows companies to offer a foreign national an investment opportunity in order to apply for a green card based on minimum qualifying  investment. Mr. Harris has represented EB-5 Regional Center clients and “exemplar” projects in industries such as assisted living; food hospitality; gold and silver mining; and hotel/office construction in all or parts of the states of Alabama, Alaska, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, Pennsylvania, the State of Washington, Washington, D.C., as well as Florida. These EB-5 clients have sought to raise up to $250 million in EB-5 capital through the EB-5 Program. Mr. Harris also represents projects which are utilizing the Direct EB-5 program to pool multiple investors for non-Regional Center projects.
• EB-5 Investors who seek to invest through a USCIS-approved Regional Center, in EB-5 Direct Pooled Investments, or through direct standalone investments in their own U.S. business. Mr. Harris’ expertise in the practice of EB-5 law has been recognized through his invitation to write and speak on EB-5 matters for distinguished EB-5 seminars and online publications. Mr. Harris has been a member of IIUSA, a not-for-profit industry trade association for the EB-5 Regional Center Program, which he has served as a member of its technology committee.  He has also been named one of the Top 25 EB-5 Lawyers in the U.S. by EB5 Investors Magazine.
• Family Immigration matters involving U.S. citizen petitioners and families in complex legalization, abused spouse cases, good faith marriage waivers, hardship cases, and other family immigration issues. Mr. Harris has also served as an expert witness before the State of Florida courts.
• Deportation Defense matters for detained and non-detained clients. Mr. Harris has successfully obtained various forms of relief for his clients, including: Cancellation of Removal, Motions to Terminate, Motions to Reopen, and Release on Recognizance (without Bond) for clients detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. As well, in today’s “crimmigration” world, Mr. Harris has also advised criminal defense attorneys on the immigration consequences of certain crimes and plea deals, such as food mislabeling, theft, and controlled substances offenses.