Of Counsel

T +1 212 891 7517

F +1 212 480 9930

7 Hanover Square

New York, NY 10004-2756
United States of America

Bar Admissions

New York
New Jersey

Court Admissions

U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey

Education

City University of New York School of Law
,
J.D.
,
1989
Oberlin College
,
B.A.
,
1981

Spoken Languages

Danish
French
Norwegian
Swedish
Spanish
Japanese

Careen Shannon

Careen was a Pro Se Law Clerk at the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and a Staff Attorney with The Legal Aid Society in New York City before entering into the private practice of immigration law in 1992. She also served as a Legal Editor of immigration publications for Matthew Bender & Co. An attorney at Fragomen since 1998, she currently works with the firm's Professional Practices group, which monitors and reports on immigration law developments and provides guidance and input on complex legal issues.

A frequent speaker and writer, Careen has spoken before numerous bar associations, professional organizations and human resources groups, and has written countless articles on immigration law topics for a variety of legal and human resources publications. She is the co-author, with Austin T. Fragomen, Jr. and Daniel Montalvo, of a number of legal handbooks published by Thomson Reuters/West and the Practising Law Institute. Careen is also an Adjunct Professor of Immigration Law at Yeshiva University’s Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York City.

Representative Experience

Managed a large-scale, in-house compliance audit for a major international investment bank.

Advised a large, global consulting firm on the immigration consequences of a corporate spin-off.

Wrote numerous motions to reopen and appeals that successfully overturned adverse decisions of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the U.S. Department of Labor.

Successfully represented a dual U.S.-Danish citizen who was threatened with loss of her U.S. citizenship.

Secured permanent residence in the national interest for an independent Chinese filmmaker who risked her life to make a clandestine documentary about the Tiananmen Square uprising.

Professional Accomplishments

Memberships

Member, American Immigration Lawyers Association (Co-Chair, New York Chapter Website Committee, 1999-2000; Associate Editor, New York Chapter Conference Handbook, 2007)

Advisor, New York State Bar Association, Special Committee on Immigration Representation, Subcommittee on Quality and Standards

Member, American Foreign Law Association

Member, Danish-American Chamber of Commerce

Former Member, American Bar Association, Section of International Law and Practice Steering Committee for Annual Conference, Beyond Globalization: Issues and Opportunities (2003-2004)

Faculty Positions

Adjunct Professor and Director, Immigration Law Field Clinic, Yeshiva University's Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York City

Publications and Lectures

Speaker, numerous bar associations, professional organizations and human resources groups

Writer, articles and book chapters on immigration law topics for a variety of legal and human resources publications

Co-author, Immigration Procedures Handbook, with Austin Fragomen and Daniel Montalvo, Thomson Reuters/West.

Co-author, H-1B Handbook, with Austin Fragomen and Daniel Montalvo, Thomson Reuters/West.

Co-author, Labor Certification Handbook, with Austin Fragomen and Daniel Montalvo, Thomson Reuters/West.

Co-author, Immigration Employment Compliance Handbook, with Austin Fragomen and Daniel Montalvo, Thomson Reuters/West.

Co-author, State Immigration Employment Compliance Handbook, with Austin Fragomen and Daniel Montalvo, Thomson Reuters/West.

Co-author, Immigration Legislation Handbook, with Austin Fragomen and Daniel Montalvo, Thomson Reuters/West.

Co-author, bi-weekly newsletter, Immigration Business News & Comment, with Austin Fragomen, Thomson Reuters/West.

Co-author, Immigration Law and Business, Thomson Reuters/West.

Contributor, Immigration Fundamentals treatise published by the Practising Law Institute.

Author, “Regulating Immigration Legal Service Providers: Inadequate Representation and Notario Fraud,” Fordham Law Review, Vol. 78, No. 2 (Nov. 2009).

Author, “Regulating Immigration at the State Level: A Focus on Employment,” Albany Government Law Review, Vol. 3, Issue 1 (Spring 2010).

Author, “To License or Not to License? A Look at Differing Approaches to Policing the Activities of Non-Lawyer Immigration Service Providers,” Cardozo Law Review, Vol. 33, Issue 2 (Dec. 2011).

Awards

Listed in current editions of Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in American Law and Super Lawyers

Robert Masur Fellow in Civil Liberties (1988-1989)

Oberlin Shansi Memorial Association Fellowship for Teaching/Study in Japan (1981-1983)

American Field Service Scholarship for Study/Homestay in Denmark (1976-1977)

Pro Bono

Obtained political asylum for a student leader from the Ivory Coast who had been persecuted for protesting against the government

Secured entry into the U.S. on a humanitarian basis of the foreign-born children of a victim of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center

Assisted the battered immigrant spouse of a U.S. citizen in self-petitioning for permanent residence

Participant in New York City Bar Justice Center’s Know Your Rights initiative advising detained immigrants

Member, Study Group on Immigrant Representation (convened by Judges Robert A. Katzmann and Denny Chin of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit)