Emily Hariharan Walsh

Practice Areas

Emily Hariharan Walsh is a Partner at Spar & Bernstein and an experienced immigration attorney whose practice focuses on family-based immigration, deportation defense, removal proceedings, immigration appeals, VAWA petitions, waivers of inadmissibility, citizenship and naturalization, and employment-based immigration. She represents individuals, families, and employers before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Immigration Courts, and the Board of Immigration Appeals in complex immigration matters involving green card applications, family petitions, adjustment of status, consular processing, removal defense, immigration litigation, and humanitarian immigration relief. Emily is particularly recognized for her work in deportation defense, immigration court representation, VAWA cases, unlawful presence waivers, immigration appeals, and cases involving the immigration consequences of criminal convictions.

Career

Emily Hariharan Walsh has devoted her legal career to helping immigrants secure lawful immigration status, permanent residence, and U.S. citizenship while defending individuals facing deportation and removal from the United States. As a Partner at Spar & Bernstein, she represents clients in family-based immigration, employment-based immigration, deportation defense, immigration appeals, VAWA petitions, adjustment of status applications, waivers of inadmissibility, and citizenship matters. Her experience in criminal law and family law provides unique insight into complex immigration cases involving criminal convictions, inadmissibility issues, immigration waivers, and removal proceedings. Emily regularly appears before Immigration Courts and the Board of Immigration Appeals and has successfully developed legal strategies for clients facing some of the most challenging immigration obstacles.

Professional Memberships

Emily Hariharan Walsh is an active member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), the leading national organization for immigration attorneys and immigration law professionals. She is also a longstanding member of the New York County Lawyers Association, where she has served on both the Young Lawyers Committee and the Immigration and Nationality Committee. Through her involvement in these organizations, Emily remains engaged in developments affecting family-based immigration, employment-based immigration, deportation defense, removal proceedings, immigration appeals, VAWA petitions, immigration waivers, citizenship and naturalization, and evolving immigration policy. She previously served by appointment of the New Jersey Supreme Court on the Hudson County District Ethics Committee, where she participated in matters involving attorney ethics and professional responsibility. Through her immigration litigation, deportation defense, and appellate practice, she regularly collaborates with attorneys, advocates, and organizations serving immigrant communities and remains committed to advancing effective representation for individuals navigating the U.S. immigration system.

Publications

Emily Hariharan Walsh is a published author on immigration-related legal issues and co-authored "Consular Officers and the Vienna Convention," which appeared in the January 2015 edition of Verdict. She has also presented on immigration law issues to representatives of multiple Latin American consulates in New York City and has provided educational programming regarding immigrants' legal rights, consular protections, and developments in U.S. immigration law. Her thought leadership focuses on immigration enforcement, immigrant rights, consular processing, and the intersection of immigration and international law.

Personal

Emily Hariharan Walsh has built her career around helping immigrants and their families overcome complex immigration challenges and achieve lawful immigration status in the United States. Her practice focuses on family-based immigration, green card applications, citizenship and naturalization, deportation defense, immigration appeals, VAWA petitions, and immigration waivers. Known for her compassionate yet strategic approach, Emily regularly represents individuals facing removal proceedings, inadmissibility issues, and immigration consequences arising from criminal convictions. Her background in criminal law and family law enables her to provide comprehensive legal solutions in cases where immigration, family, and criminal law intersect, making her a trusted advocate for clients facing some of the most difficult immigration obstacles.

Clients

Emily Hariharan Walsh represents individuals, families, employers, foreign nationals, students, and humanitarian applicants seeking immigration benefits in the United States. Her clients frequently require assistance with family-based immigration, marriage-based green cards, adjustment of status, citizenship and naturalization applications, VAWA petitions, immigration waivers, employment-based immigration, deportation defense, removal proceedings, and immigration appeals. She also represents individuals whose immigration matters involve criminal convictions, inadmissibility concerns, or complex procedural issues before USCIS, Immigration Courts, and the Board of Immigration Appeals.

Work Highlights

Emily Hariharan Walsh has successfully represented clients before Immigration Courts throughout the United States and before the Board of Immigration Appeals in complex deportation defense and removal proceedings cases. She has secured approvals for family-based green cards, citizenship applications, adjustment of status cases, VAWA petitions, waivers of inadmissibility, and humanitarian immigration benefits. Emily has successfully assisted clients in overcoming immigration barriers arising from criminal convictions and has developed innovative legal strategies that have enabled individuals to avoid deportation, preserve lawful status, and obtain permanent residence in the United States. Her work spans family immigration, immigration litigation, removal defense, immigration appeals, and humanitarian immigration relief.

Industry Sector Expertise

Emily's practice focuses on family-based immigration, employment-based immigration, deportation defense, removal proceedings, immigration court litigation, Board of Immigration Appeals cases, VAWA petitions, adjustment of status, consular processing, waivers of inadmissibility, unlawful presence waivers, citizenship and naturalization, immigration appeals, green card applications, humanitarian immigration relief, and immigration consequences of criminal convictions. She regularly represents clients before USCIS, Immigration Courts, and appellate tribunals in matters involving family reunification, immigration litigation, deportation defense, and complex immigration waivers.

Expert in these Jurisdictions

Emily Hariharan Walsh practices in the area of U.S. federal immigration and nationality law, representing clients before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Immigration Courts nationwide, the Board of Immigration Appeals, and U.S. consulates abroad. She is admitted to practice in New York and New Jersey, as well as the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Languages Spoken

English

Experience

As a Partner at Spar & Bernstein, Emily Hariharan Walsh focuses her practice on family-based immigration, deportation defense, removal proceedings, immigration appeals, citizenship and naturalization, VAWA petitions, immigration waivers, and employment-based immigration matters. She regularly represents clients before USCIS, Immigration Courts, and the Board of Immigration Appeals in cases involving green cards, adjustment of status, family petitions, deportation defense, and humanitarian immigration relief. Drawing on her experience in criminal and family law, Emily also advises clients on the immigration consequences of criminal convictions and develops legal strategies to preserve lawful immigration status and prevent removal from the United States.

Education