Michael W. Held

From helping businesses recruit foreign talent, to reuniting families, to formulating strategies to secure an individual’s future admissibility into the U.S. Michael is dedicated to obtaining the most favorable outcomes for his clients.

His concentration on immigration law provides indispensable support to clients on a broad range of matters including employment-based visas, inadmissibility issues, and family-based processes.

Committed to staying up-to-date with the latest developments in immigration law, Michael combines his legal expertise with compassion and understanding, ensuring that his clients receive the highest level of representation and support throughout their immigration journey. He provides valuable guidance to companies and executives seeking proper work authorization in the U.S. and has experience in preparing visa applications for individuals with specialty occupations, treaty traders and treaty investors, intracompany transferees, and individuals with extraordinary ability or achievement.

Prior to joining Phillips Lytle, Michael served as an Assistant District Attorney in the Felony Trials Bureau, Justice Courts Bureau, and Buffalo City Court Bureau for the Erie County District Attorney’s Office. During his tenure as a prosecutor, Michael was actively engaged with defense counsel on several matters that entailed severe immigration consequences. His experience handling criminal-based inadmissibility waivers as an immigration attorney and criminal cases as a former prosecutor has provided Michael with the foundation and expertise required to analyze a variety of inadmissibility matters.