“As an 11 year old, I was interested in government,
politics, history, foreign affairs, foreign languages and writing,” Suzanne
says. “So naturally, I was drawn towards a career in law. I made a commitment
to myself that I would go to law school and become a lawyer – and if I make a
promise, I have to keep it!”
Suzanne joined Dickinson Wright last year in large part
because the firm’s goals and values were aligned with her own. Suzanne is an
immigration lawyer who primarily represents multinational corporations of all
sizes in securing employment-based work visas, advises employers on compliance
issues and develops creative short and long-term immigration strategies and
solutions for companies and their workforce across several industries. Over the
years, Suzanne has developed a niche expertise in a highly-sophisticated area
of immigration law, foreign direct investment and investor visas, as well as
the intracompany transfer of workers.
As an immigration attorney, Suzanne is at the cross-section
of just about everything. Immigration law touches several areas of the law
including corporate, employment, education, entertainment, tax, family,
criminal, and litigation, to name a few. “I am fortunate to have a full and
diverse practice, work with clients from around the world, and build upon my
knowledge and expertise in different subject matters,” says Suzanne.
Suzanne’s favorite cases are the ones that center on a team
effort, particularly projects that require legal expertise in more than one
area of the law. For example, she enjoys working on EB-5 foreign direct
investment cases, where a foreign national invests $1 million into a U.S.
commercial enterprise that creates at least 10 jobs for U.S. workers. In these
cases, Suzanne collaborates with corporate, securities, real estate and tax
attorneys as well as project developers, financial experts, and the foreign
investors. These projects have a positive outlook as they create jobs for Americans
and help stimulate the U.S. economy.
In terms of what the future holds for immigration law,
Suzanne says that 2015 is shaping up to be a big year. At the end of 2014,
President Obama announced his “immigration accountability executive action,”
which included measures towards reforming the outdated immigration system. The
executive actions present an opportunity to address the estimated 5 million
unauthorized people living in this country; new policies that support U.S.
high-skilled businesses and workers; expands opportunities for foreign
investors, researchers and founders of start-up enterprises to conduct research
and development and create jobs in the U.S.; enhanced efforts to coordinate
immigration enforcement and benefit policies across agencies; and attempts to
use immigration as a tool of economic and social change. However, the question
remains if we will see these changes or progress made in the form of
legislative reforms by the U.S. Congress.
Besides her work, Suzanne is heavily involved in her
community. She is an Officer and Member of the Board of Directors of the Women
Lawyers Association of Michigan, as well as, the American Arab Chamber of
Commerce, where she also serves as Chair of the American Arab Professionals
Network and Mentorship Committee. She is also involved in pro bono work
including a memorable case where she helped a family of 5 orphaned Iraqi
refugee children obtain permanent residence status in the U.S.
“I’m fortunate to be actively involved in my community and
provide mentorship and support to other professionals and students,” says
Suzanne. “It makes me very happy when I see our youth work hard and achieve
their goals. So I feel that it’s important to not only celebrate their success,
but to continue to offer support and mentorship as they grow.”
Outside of the office, Suzanne spends as much time as
possible with her family, including her three young daughters, which as the
eldest of seven children and the daughter of immigrants is very important to
her. Suzanne is still the same person she was as an 11 year old when she
decided during a school discussion of careers that she would become a lawyer to
help people and she has kept her promise to this day.
