Hon. L. Batya Schwartz Ehrens

Hon. L. Batya Schwartz Ehrens, Former Immigration Judge, brings more than two decades of experience spanning government service and private practice. She provides business-focused immigration counsel tailored to each client’s goals, serving companies, entrepreneurs, and professionals.

Judge Schwartz Ehrens previously served as an Immigration Judge with the Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review in New York City. Her background positions her to bridge the worlds of business immigration strategy and removal defense.

She advises corporate and individual clients on sophisticated immigration planning and compliance, as well as how such strategies may be scrutinized in removal contexts. Judge Schwartz Ehrens also offers strategic consulting to attorneys and law firms for removal proceedings, equipping attorneys with insight into removal defense strategies in light of how immigration judges evaluate cases before EOIR.

A recognized thought leader, writer, and speaker on a broad range of immigration issues, Judge Schwartz Ehrens has written and co-edited leading resources, including The Immigration Compliance Book, EB-5 Regional Center: A Guide for Developers and Business Innovators, and The EB-5 Book. She has also taught and developed immigration law curriculum as an Adjunct Professor at the City University of New York and regularly guest lectures at law schools.

Reflecting her longstanding commitment to pro bono advocacy, Judge Schwartz Ehrens advises DREAMers and DACA recipients on employment-based immigration pathways. She has held numerous leadership positions within the American Immigration Lawyers Association and the American Immigration Council. She currently serves as an emeritus Board Member of the Hebrew Immigration Aid Society and is a member of the Round Table of Former Immigration Judges.