Emily Cohen has practiced exclusively in the area of Immigration and Nationality Law since 1989. Her practice includes the full spectrum of business and individual immigration clients, including multinational corporations, information technology companies, healthcare institutions, and academic and research organizations.
Early in her career as a private practitioner, Ms. Cohen established the Immigration Law Center in Philadelphia to serve as a community resource on immigration matters. She has written and lectured extensively on immigration at both the university level and for corporate clients who seek information on the growing implication immigration has on their business and human resource needs. She is a leading immigration lawyer in Philadelphia and consults with clients locally, nationally, and abroad.
Ms. Cohen earned her B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania in Anthropology and Asian Studies and her J.D. from Temple University School of Law in 1988. Prior to joining Green and Spiegel, she was a Partner at Steel, Doebley & Glassman and a founding Partner at Cohen, Fluhr & González, P.C. In her career, Ms. Cohen has also served as a Foreign Student Advisor at Temple University and as an Immigration Caseworker at the Nationalities Service Center in Philadelphia where she was first accredited by the Board of Immigration Appeals in 1982 to represent individuals before the legacy Immigration and Naturalization Service.
Education
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Temple University - James E. Beasley School of Law, Juris Doctor (J.D.),
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University of Pennsylvania, Bachelor’s Degree, Anthropology and Asian Studies, 1981
Affiliations
- American Immigration Lawyers Association
- Philadelphia Bar Association
- Board Member of HIAS and Council Migration Service of Philadelphia
Involvement
- Member, Board of Trustrees for HIAS & Council Migration Service of Philadelphia
- Member, Board of Trustrees for Harmony for Peace Foundation
Blogs
Jul 23, 2021
US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on July 20, 2021 a new policy regarding Change of Status (COS) to the Nonimmigrant Student (F-1) visa classification. The new policy eliminates the need to document maintenance of nonimmigrant visa status up until the approval date of the COS to F-1 student visa status. Learn more in this blog.
Apr 13, 2021
On April 12. 2021 USCIS announced that F-1 students can now file Form I-765 Application for Employment Authorization online when applying for Pre-Completion OPT, Post-Completion OPT, or a 24-month OPT STEM extension. Learn more in this blog.
Mar 01, 2021
On February 26, 2021 USCIS announced flexibilities for certain F-1 students in the filing of Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization (EAD) for Optional Practical Training (OPT). This is due to the substantial delays in issuing receipt notices at certain USCIS lockboxes where these applications are filed. These flexibilities only apply to I-765 forms received by USCIS on or after October 1, 2020 through May 1, 2021. Learn more in this blog.
Jul 27, 2020
On Friday July, 24 the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) once again made an announcement regarding the temporary exemptions for nonimmigrant students taking online courses during the Fall 2020 semester. The March guidelines remain in place for nonimmigrant students who were actively enrolled at a U.S. school on or prior to March 9, 2020. However, nonimmigrant students in new or initial status after March 9th will not be able to enter the United States or enroll in a U.S. school for the fall term if the full course of study is 100% online.
Jul 14, 2020
We previously reported that the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) announced plans to severely modify temporary exemptions for nonimmigrant students taking courses during the Fall semester that would result in international students enrolled in online programs being stripped of their visas, denied entry to the united States, or forced to depart the country if already here. Today the government has agreed to rescind the July 6, 2020 policy and will return to the March 13, 2020 policy which allowed nonimmigrants students to take more online courses than usually permitted by Federal regulations.
Jul 08, 2020
The Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) announced plans to severely modify temporary exemptions for nonimmigrant students taking online courses during the fall semester forcing students enrolled in programs operating entirely online to depart the United States or transfer to another school in order to avoid deportation. Universities across the country were swift to criticize and decry this decision by the Trump administration; and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T) and Harvard have filed a lawsuit against them. Learn more in this blog.
Jul 07, 2020
On Monday, July 6th the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) announced that it has implemented modifications to temporary exemptions for nonimmigrant students taking online courses during the Fall 2020 semester. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a change in policy had permitted nonimmigrant students to take more online courses than usually permitted by Federal regulations to maintain their nonimmigrant status. Learn more in this blog.
May 14, 2020
On May 11, 2020, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a Policy Memorandum introducing temporary policy changes regarding the full-time work requirement for H-1B foreign medical graduates who have received a J-1 waiver of the 2 year foreign residence requirement based on an Interested Government Agency (IGA) or through the Conrad State 30 Program. Learn more.
Mar 30, 2020
A SEVP Guidance Document was updated and provided on March 20, 2020 addressing frequently asked questions related to F and M students and SEVP-Certified Schools in Response to the COVID-19 situation. Learn more in this blog.
Media and Presentations