Farshad Owji

Biography

Farshad Owji, an immigration attorney whose practice is based in San Francisco, California, was elected as the association's Secretary for the 2018-2019 term. Mr. Owji is the managing attorney of Owji Law Group, a boutique firm in the Jackson Square historic district of downtown San Francisco that specializes in business immigration as well as family-based cases and removal defense. Mr. Owji's areas of expertise include investment visas, consular processing of family- and employment-based immigrant and nonimmigrant visas, and business litigation. Specifically, he guides start-up companies in making intelligent immigration decisions for a firm's establishment and successful growth in the U.S.

Born in Tehran, Iran, Mr. Owji received a law degree from Ankara University in 1994, and directly after law school, accepted an internship, and soon after a position, at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Branch Office in Ankara, Turkey. Later he obtained his J.D. and LL.M. from University of Florida Fredric G. Levin College of Law in 2000. Mr. Owji held a position as Senior International Associate at Deloitte, LLP, and in 2002, he opened his immigration practice in the Financial District of San Francisco.

Mr. Owji is a current member of the Florida, Minnesota, and District of Columbia bars, as well as the Istanbul Bar Association in Turkey. He is also admitted to practice before the Federal Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the Federal Court for the Middle District of Florida. He was previously the AILA Northern California Chapter Chair and the Asylum and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) liaison, and he currently serves as a member of both the AILA National Department of State Liaison Committee and the Future of Immigration Law Task Force. Mr. Owji is also an elected member of AILA's Board of Governors.

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Expertise:
Family, Business, Asylum, General