With more than 30 years of experience in the field, Mr. Ruthizer is recognized as one of the country’s leading immigration lawyers.

Mr. Ruthizer is a past president and general counsel of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. He is a Lecturer in Law at Columbia Law School, where he teaches an advanced seminar in immigration law and policy. He is a former co-chair of the Immigration Law Committee of the New York Bar Association.

Mr. Ruthizer is a frequent lecturer on business immigration law and has authored or co-authored many publications in the field, including: “Don’t Curtail L-1s,” The National Law Journal, August 2, 2004; Co-author: “The H-1B Straightjacket - Why Congress Should Repeal the Cap on Foreign Born Highly SkilledWorkers,” The Cato Institute, March 3, 2000, reprinted in Immigration Briefings, No. 00-5, May 2000; “Administrative Appeals of Immigration Decisions: A Practitioner’s Guide,” Immigration Briefings, No. 88-1, January 1988; and “Decision Making by the Administrative Appeals Unit of the Immigration and Naturalization Service Concerning H-1 and Third Preference Professionals,” Interpreter Releases, May 17, 1985. Mr. Ruthizer was also the recipient of the Legal Aid Society’s 2003 Award for Outstanding Pro Bono Service, and Legal Services NYC’s 2008 Pro Bono Award.

Mr. Ruthizer is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (Past President and General Counsel, Lifetime Member Board of Governors), the New York State Bar Association (Past Chair, Immigration Law Committee), the New York City Bar Association, the International Bar Association and the ABA Section of International Law. He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America, The International Who’s Who of Corporate Immigration Lawyers, Chambers Global and Chambers USA – America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, and The Top 100 New York Super Lawyers. Mr. Ruthizer was selected as one of the 2009 Top 10 Immigration Lawyers in the U.S. by Human Resource Executive and Lawdragon.

J.D., Columbia Law School, 1972
B.A., with honors, Lafayette College, 1969

New York, 1973

U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York

Lecturer in Law, Columbia Law School, 1995-present
Fellow, New York Bar Foundation
Recipeint, Legal Services NYC's Pro Bono Award, 2008
Guest Lecturer in Business Immigration Law, Harvard Law School, 2007
Recipient, Legal Aid Society’s 2003 Award for Outstanding Pro Bono Service
Recipient of American Immigration Lawyers Association’s Edith Lowenstein Memorial Award, 1998

American Immigration Lawyers Association – Past President and General Counsel, Lifetime Member Board of Governors
International Bar Association, Immigration and Nationality Committee
American Bar Association, International Law Section
NY State Bar Association – Past Chair, Immigration Law Committee
New York City Bar Association