American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA)

The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) was originally founded on October 14, 1946. In 1946, the organization was known as the Association of Immigration and Nationality Lawyers or the AINL.

Today, the AILA is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit voluntary bar association of over 50 national committees and 36 chapters. AILA aims to increase member participation in advocacy before Congress, the Judiciary, the Federal Agencies, and the media, on immigration-related interests for members' clients and society.

AILA focuses on raising the level of knowledge and professionalism in immigration law and helping to foster professional responsibility of its members. AILA offers beneficial resources to over 11,500 attorney members representing U.S. families seeking permanent residence for family members and U.S. businesses in search of talent from the global marketplace. Additionally, AILA provides support for immigration lawyers and law professors in immigration law relating to foreign students, asylum seekers, entertainers and athletes.

AILA provides information regarding professional services, continuing legal education (CLE) and expert advice to help its members create meaningful cases for clients of AILA members, even on a limited funding. AILA national headquarters are located in Washington, D.C.

AILA works to fulfill the needs of its attorney members who focus on visa authorization and permanent residency in the U.S. for their clients. Many times, members of AILA offer legal mmigration law services on a pro bono basis.