Biography
Michael was hired by the U.S. Department of Justice out of law school through the Attorney General Honors Program as a law clerk for the Executive Office for Immigration Review at the U.S. Immigration Court in New York. From 1997-2003, Michael was an Assistant District Counsel for the Immigration and Naturalization Service representing the government in deportation and removal proceedings. With the creation of the Department of Homeland Security in 2003, Michael was assigned to the Enforcement Law Division within the headquarters of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement focusing on customs and other law enforcement matters.
Michael opened the Law Offices of Michael Kohler, PLLC in 2008 to assist individuals and businesses with their immigration law needs. Since that time, Michael is proud to have worked with clients from more than 80 countries and territories throughout the world embodying the spirit of Crosby, Stills & Nash in their song, Wooden Ships: "If you smile at me, I will understand, cause that is something everybody everywhere does in the same language."
Michael is married with three children, is a past-president of Midway Jewish Center in Syosset, NY and is a proud member of the Plainview Fire Department.
Education
Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, J.D., 1996
State University of New York at Albany, B.A., 1992
Professional Accomplishments
Member, Past Chair, Immigration Law Committee, Nassau County Bar Association (NCBA)
Member, American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA)
Frequent Lecturer and Contributor, NCBA and AILA continuing legal education courses and publications
Pro Bono
AILA Military Assistance Program – providing free legal services to immigrant relatives of U.S. military members
Nassau County Coalition Against Domestic Violence – assisting immigrant victims of domestic violence obtain immigration benefits
Trial Judge, NYS Bar Association Mock Trial Tournament
Bar Admissions
New Jersey, 1996 (Inactive)
New York, 1999
United States District Court for the Districts of New Jersey, Southern District of New York, Eastern District of New York
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Recent Blog Posts
New Public Charge Ground of Inadmissibility effective December 23
It's a mess
Words (Still) Matter
Words Matter
No Furlough at USCIS, but Delays Forecast
Recommendations
- Hi Michael I want to ensure you that your good deeds have not gone undone, and I am eternally grateful for your help and going above and beyond the call. You definitely have given honor to the profession, and I admire your compassion, tenacity, but most importantly, your true desire to seek justi...
- Like you right now, we want looking around for reviews and immigration lawyers. We interviewed with 3 lawyers, including Michael. The first one just seemed wishy washy, not organized, didn't ask good questions. The second one was an former immigrant from the same country as my spouse. We really w...
- Glad to mention, I just received my Green Card. My husband and I cannot thank you enough Mr. Kohler for the excellent job. The knowledge, advise and expertise you have is outstanding. Thank you so much! I will see you again in few years for the Citizenship application.
- Michael,I wanted to let you know that I had my oath ceremony on Friday. It was a little long but it was really exciting to finally be there. Everything went pretty well and I received my certificate. I also applied for my passport and I'm expecting to receive it soon.Thank you so much for all you...
- Hi Mr. Kohler!I can't tell you how grateful I feel for the work that you did to help us. I know that if it had been anyone else the outcome would have been very different. It sounds trite to say that I can't thank you enough but it is true.
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