Rishi P. Oza

Attorney Rishi P. Oza is a Partner with Brown Immigration Law and leads the firm’s practice in North Carolina. Rishi focuses the majority of his practice on employment-based immigration, including nonimmigrant and immigrant visa filings on behalf of corporations and individuals. He also helps to oversee the firm’s family-based and litigation practices, as well as its overall operations throughout the country.

As the son of immigrant parents from India and Tanzania, Rishi has nearly two decades of experience in immigration law, joining the firm in 2006. Prior to his work at BIL, Rishi was a member of Teach for America, as a 7^th and 8^th grade teacher in Baltimore, MD. He also taught English Immersion for one year in Shimabara, Japan.

Rishi is a member of five different US Circuit and District courts and a member of the Ohio and North Carolina Bar Associations. He has been asked to speak on a variety of immigration-related topics at numerous professional conferences and present speaks regularly with students at Duke University and at his alma mater, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in both Public Policy Analysis and Political Science. He also has a Masters of Arts in Teaching from the Johns Hopkins University and his Juris Doctorate from Case Western Reserve University School of Law.

Rishi has built his practice on creativity and problem-solving and seeks to bring a multi-disciplined approach to resolving cases successfully. His expertise in all aspects of the practice area (employment, family, removal defense and compliance) has given Rishi a wide range of expertise and a unique skillset that he is able to offer clients of the firm. He enjoys serving as a resource to both clients and to the firm’s newer attorneys to ensure successful outcomes.

Licenses

• State of Ohio
• United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
• State of North Carolina
• United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
• United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
• United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
• United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio

Employment History

• Brown Immigration Law, Partner (2006 – Present)
• Cuyahoga County Public Defenders Office, Law Clerk (2004 – 2006)
• Japanese Exchange in Teacher, High School English Immersion Instructor (2002 – 2003)
• Teach for America Corps Member, 7^th and 8^th Grade Social Studies and Mathematics Teacher (2000 – 2002)

Education History

• Cleveland, OH, Case Western Reserve University Law School
  • J.D.; Honors: CALI Award for Excellence in Trial Tactics
• Baltimore, MD, The Johns Hopkins University
  • M.A.T.
• Chapel Hill, NC, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • B.A. Public Policy Analysis and Political Science; Honors: With Honors; Honors: Dean's List

Languages

• English
• Gujarati

Memberships

• University of North Carolina General Alumni Association
• Craven-Everett Inn of Court
• Federal Bar Association
• American Immigration Lawyers Association

Honors

• American Institute of Legal Counsel, 10 Best Attorney - Immigration Law Division, 2017

Notable Media & Thought Leadership

• DACA-Based Advanced Parole, Attorney at Law Magazine (July 2017) - https://attorneyatlawmagazine.com/public-articles/immigration/daca-based-advanced-parole
• Change Continues to Jolt America’s Immigration System, Attorney at Law Magazine (November 2019) - https://attorneyatlawmagazine.com/public-articles/immigration/change-continues-jolt-americas-immigration-system
• How the Immigration System has Responded to COVID-19, Attorney at Law Magazine, June 2020 - https://attorneyatlawmagazine.com/public-articles/immigration/how-the-immigration-system-responded-to-covid-19
• COVID-19s Impact on H-1B Visa Holders, Saathee Magazine, April 2020
• Why George Floyd Matters, Saathee Magazine, June 2020
• Rapid Fire Changes Come to the World of Immigration, Saathee Magazine, July 2020
• Waiting Will Now Have a Cost, Saathee Magazine, August 2020
• Running on a Record: Forecasting a Biden or Trump Presidency, Saathee Magazine, September 2020
• An October Surprise for Employment-Based Workers, Saathee Magazine, October 2020
• The Courts Have Started Stepping In, Saathee Magazine, November 2020
• Immediate Actions Promised by President-Elect Biden, Saathee Magazine, Decemeber 2020
• The Impact of Sudden Wage Changes Announced from the DOL and DHS, Saathee Magazine, December 2020
• Trump’s H-1B Immigration Changes that Biden May Keep, Saathee Magazine, January 2021
• Biden Overturning Many Trump Initiatives, Saathee Magazine, February 2021
• Congress Unveils President Biden's Immigration Reform Legislation, Saathee Magazine, March 2022
• Biden's Migrant Crisis and the Impact on Immigration Reform, Saathee Magazine, April 2021
• Power of the Writ of Mandamus, Saathee Magazine, March 2022
• How Much Can Immigration Help Alleviate Our Current Economic Issues, Saathee Magazine, June 2022 - https://saathee.com/how-much-can-immigration-help-alleviate-our-current-economic-issues/
• I have DACA - Can I get a Green Card, Saathee Magazine, July 2022
• The Complexities of Politics during an Immigration Crisis, Saathee Magazine, October 2022 - https://saathee.com/the-complexities-of-politics-during-an-immigration-crisis/
• Will the Midterms Impact US Immigration Policy, Saathee Magazine, November 2022 - https://saathee.com/will-the-midterms-impact-us-immigration-policy/
• Immigration Challenges in the Summer of 2023, Saathee Magazine, May 2023 - https://saathee.com/immigration-challenges-in-the-summer-of-2023/
• Modern Day Catch Me If You Can, Saathee Magazine, August 2023 - https://saathee.com/modern-day-catch-me-if-you-can-new-problems-in-the-h1-b-world/
• Mr. Biden's Border Problem, Saathee Magazine, October 2023 - https://saathee.com/biden-administrations-border-problem/
• A Primer on Non-Immigrant Visa Classifications, Saathee Magazine, November 2023

CLE Talks

• Fraud: The Spice of Your Immigration Practice (May 2019)
• Anatomy of Removal Proceedings, North Carolina Farmer Workers Institute (2019)
• Immigration 101: The Basics on Family, Employment and Removal Defense (2023)
• Immigration Practice for Paralegals

Media Interview

• News and Observer (Raleigh, NC)
• Daily Tarheel (Chapel Hill, NC)

Keynote Addresses

• TechniCLE Speaking, Technology and Immigration Panelist (2015)

Community Activities

• Duke University – Pratt School of Engineering – Frequent Presenter