Claudia Jocelyne Kokaz Muslu is an immigration and citizenship law attorney with Muslu Law Firm.

Immigrants need an attorney who can relate to their unique immigration situation and who can guide them through the complexities of the immigration system. This is where I can help you. My name is Claudia Jocelyne Kokaz Muslu. I am an immigrant and an immigration attorney.

I have a law degree from the University of Istanbul in Turkey; a Master of Law from Cornell University, Ithaca, New York and a Master of Business Administration from Simmons College Graduate School of Management in Boston, MA. I am fluent in English, Turkish and French. I know basic Spanish, Italian, and Greek.

I started my legal career as a corporate and transactional law attorney at the offices of White & Case, Istanbul, Turkey.  I was licensed in Turkey and I worked on international business transactions assisting many US and European multinational companies with their inbound and outbound investments in Europe for four years. In Boston, I worked for a high tech start-up as well as Morgan Stanley, an investment bank.

When I moved to Boston, MA in 1999, I started to experience the many facets of the US immigration system. As I dealt with the immigration system, I became very frustrated. During 14 years, I was on many different types of visas. Firstly, I was a student on an F-1 student visa, and the wife of a medical doctor with a J-1 waiver subject to the two year home residency requirement. Then, I was the winner of DV diversity visa lottery who was not eligible to get it. Afterwards, I had an H-1B visa teaching law in Virginia. Finally, in 2013, I became a naturalized US citizen. This long and bumpy adventure in the US immigration system sparked my interest to learn and practice US immigration law. Until I became a naturalized US citizen, I received wrong advice more than once. I ended up questioning and researching every immigration issue I faced and was convinced that it is possible to give better immigration services.

First, I studied the theory of immigration law in depth. Then I taught immigration law, at the Appalachian School of Law in Virginia. When we transferred to Ohio, I started the immigration practice at a suburban Ohio law firm. I practiced business and family immigration and international and local business transactions in Ohio. After relocating to Atlanta, I managed citizenship cases under a United States Citizenship and Immigration Services grant, consular processing, fee waivers, and family immigration matters at Catholic Charities. I also volunteer as an immigration attorney. I have volunteered for Jewish Family Service of Springfield, MA and for Connecticut Institute for Refugees and Immigrants. I currently volunteer for the Mayor’s Office for Immigrant Advancement in Boston, MA.

Throughout my career, I have been serving the needs of immigrants from many different places including Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Africa and South America. In the summer of 2016, during my trip to Turkey, I faced a lot of immigration related questions. This urgent need in Turkey, with my previous personal and professional experiences led me to start my immigration practice.

I have expedited many immigration cases; I have won a very hard motion to reopen case for an F-1 student and his family who was going to be sent to Turkey and kept them in the USA. I reunited many families through consular processing and adjustment of status; won waivers at Embassies; obtained student and business visas; preserved green cards with specific strategies; and helped with humanitarian situations. I have published articles and given presentations in the United States and in Europe regarding immigration and international law matters. I am a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and I am a licensed attorney in Ohio and in Massachusetts.

I will focus on achieving your immigration goals rather than telling you what cannot be done. My goal is to guide and lead you honestly and effectively in your journey to the USA with detailed attention and individualized research for your specific case. Every case is unique, and you have a story to tell. As your advocate, I will present your case to immigration authorities helping you achieve your immigration goals.

 

Publications

”The Law and You” book published by the Ohio State Bar Association, section titled; “Different legal systems in the world”, 2012.

”How can you live and work in the USA?” ABA Section of International Law, Immigration Law Summer 2011 Newsletter.

“Beware: Your small-medium business may be subject to enforcement under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act”, International Business Transactions Newsletter published by the ABA December 2009.

“Different legal systems in the world” and “Comparison of civil law and common law” for “The Law and You” book to be published by the Ohio State Bar Association in 2011.

Presented “ Preventing international terrorism: Can multinational corporations offer a fresh new perspective?” at the 13th Annual Meeting of the International Executive Police Symposium titled Local Linkages to Global

Security and Crime: Thinking Locally and Acting Globally at Ayvalik, Turkey on May 2006(www.ipes.info), in front of an international audience comprising of 100 different nationalities. 

“Piercing the corporate veil: A comparative analysis”, Annales des la Faculte de Droit d’Istanbul, March 1996.

“Merchant ships’ navigational rights and obligations under the law of the sea” 1994 co-author/ translator.