With over three decades of experience in employment-based immigration law, I assist employers with U.S. immigration processes for professionals needing temporary and permanent visas to work in the U.S. I serve as the Managing Partner at Wizner Law, PLLC, located in Hartford, Connecticut. Wizner Law, PLLC is a boutique law firm catering to businesses, higher education, healthcare, and professional organizations. As a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, I have held the position of past chair of the AILA Connecticut Chapter and am currently a member of Connecticut AILA’s Hartford USCIS Liaison Committee. I am also an active member of the International Medical Graduate Taskforce and a panelist at its Physician Immigration Law Institute. I frequently receive invitations to speak about business immigration law at legal conferences across the nation. Additionally, I am a member of the Connecticut Bar Association, Immigration Law Committee. The Best Lawyers in America has recognized me in the field of immigration law since 2005, and I have been honored as Hartford, Connecticut “Lawyer of the Year” in the field of immigration law for 2013, 2020 and 2024. I am also listed in the 2023 Connecticut Super Lawyers Magazine and the Lexology Index (formerly Who’s Who Legal) Thought Leaders: USA 2025. I earned a bachelor’s degree in Spanish from Georgetown University and a J.D. from Vanderbilt University School of Law.
- Immigration Law
- Citizenship, Family Visas, Green Cards, Marriage & Fiancé(e) Visas, Work Visas
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Rates, Retainers and Additional Information
Wizner Law, PLLC, accepts payment via LawPay.
- Connecticut
- State of Connecticut Judicial Branch
- ID Number: 401141
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- Spanish: Written
- Managing Partner
- Wizner Law, PLLC
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- Partner, Managing Partner
- Leete, Kosto & Wizner, LLP
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- Georgetown University
- B.S. | Spanish
- Honors: Certificate in Latin American Studies (School of Foreign Service) Dean's List, Second Honors Sigma Delta Pi (National Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society)
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- Vanderbilt University Law School
- J.D. (1989) | Law
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- State Bar of Connecticut # 401141
- Member
- Current
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- Connecticut Bar Association
- Member, Immigration Law Section
- Current
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- International Medical Graduate Task Force
- Member, Liaison Committee; Former Member, Physician Immigration Law Institute Conference Planning Committee
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- American Immigration Lawyers Association
- Member
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- Activities: Member, Connecticut AILA-Hartford USCIS Liaison Committe Past Chair, Connecticut Chapter of AILA
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- FY 2021 H-1B Season: Electronic Registration and What You Need to Know, Webinar
- American Immigration Lawyers Association
- This seminar addressed the new H-1B registration rule and the H-1B registration process providing practical guidance to immigration lawyers for engaging with the new online system for the first time in Fiscal Year 2021.
- Exchanging Workers: Issues Unique to the J Visa Exchange Program, 2022 AILA Annual Conference, New York, New York
- American Immigration Lawyers Association
- This panel discussed the history of the J-1 Exchange Visitor Program, its framework, the two-year home residence requirement, the Exchange Visitor Skills List, and the J-1 Waiver process.
- Waiving the J-1 Two-Year Home Residency Requirement under INA §212(e), Webinar via Zoom
- American Immigration Lawyers Association
- Featured Topics: 1. Types of J-1 waivers 2. When to obtain an advisory opinion: Does INA §212(e) really apply? 3. When can consular processing be used as a workaround? 4. Changing nationality: Where is home? What if you can’t go there? 5. Timing issues
- Do I Have to Wave Goodbye? J Waivers, FBA Immigration Law Section National Conference, Crystal City, VA
- Federal Bar Association
- The worst surprise in any case: an old period of J status invoking the two-year home residence requirement. This panel addressed this issue and more: 1) The nature of 212e and how it attaches, 2) Waivers and extension of J status, 3) 212e and the travel myth, no objection “no objection plus” waivers, Hardship, Persecution, IGA, and Strategies to satisfy if no waiver possible.
- J-1 Visas: Bridging Cultures and Career Opportunities (Invited), 2025 Georgia-Alabama AILA Chapter Conference, Atlanta, Georgia
- American Immigration Lawyers Association
- This panel will offer an in-depth introduction to J-1 visas for professionals, including on-the-job training and work options, common pitfalls to avoid, and exposure to American culture.
- Website
- Wizner Law, PLLC
- Q. Does H1b Extension of Stay have to be approved for a new employer to apply for Change of Employment?
- A: USCIS regulations offer the possibility of H-1B portability, meaning that an H-1B worker who is changing employers may start work for the new employer while its petition is in process, provided that the new employer's petition was filed while the H-1B worker is still maintaining status and has not been employed without authorization. 8 CFR §214.2(h)(2)(i)(H). Although the previous employer's petition need not be approved prior to the new employer filing an H-1B petition, USCIS regulations state that USCIS must approve the previous employer's petition before USCIS can approve the new employer's petition unless your previously approved period of H-1B status remains valid. ... Read More
- Q. I am currently a J1 visa holder, subjected to the two year rule. Could you provide some information on how I can alter?
- A: A person may be subject to the two-year residency requirement based on the Exchange Visitor Skills List, government funding or participation in a graduate medical education program. With respect the Skills List, the U.S. Department of State published a Public Notice, dated December 9, 2024, updating the Exchange Visitor Skills List. According to the Public Notice, “J nonimmigrant exchange visitors who were subject to the two-year foreign residence requirement at the time of their admission or acquisition of J status based on designations in a previously published Skills List will no longer be subject to that requirement if their country is not designated”. This means that if you became subject ... Read More
- Q. Can we switch 2 H1 from J1 and do the Waiver later as Indian citizen with Canadian PR? I read that Canadians can do it.
- A: Section 212(e) of the Immigration and Nationality Act prohibits a person who came in J-1 status to the U.S. for graduate medical education from applying for a "nonimmigrant visa under section 1101(a)(15)(H)", which includes H-1B and H-4 visas. Canadian citizens (not Canadian permanent residents) are exempt from the requirement to apply for H-1B and H-4 visas pursuant to U.S. Department of State regulations at 22 CFR 41.2(a). Accordingly, Canadian citizens (not Canadian permanent residents), regardless of their country of birth, may apply for admission to the U.S. in H-1B or H-4 status without obtaining a J-1 Waiver waiving the prohibition of Section 212(e). See Atanackovic v. Duke, ... Read More
