“I have a great passion for helping immigrants and using the law to achieve fairness and justice. Immigration law is result-oriented and makes a direct impact on people in their lives, both at the corporate and individual level.”

Cyrus Mehta’s Story

An immigrant, himself, Cyrus was interested in immigration law long before becoming an immigration lawyer. After receiving his Bachelor’s Degree from St. Xavier’s College, Bombay University, he moved to the United Kingdom to attend Cambridge University and later to New York to receive his LLM from Columbia Law School. Cyrus always kept himself updated on developments in the immigration field, even though his intentions were to embark on a career in corporate law. While working in a small firm, he started to take on immigration matters, and this soon became his niche. In late October 1993, he founded Cyrus D. Mehta & Associates, PLLC, where he has a diverse practice, not only handling business immigration matters, but also individuals in deportation and removal proceedings, family matters, and naturalization cases. What makes his days interesting is the wide variety of people who come to his office each day. Whether it’s a celebrity, a battered spouse, or a human resources representative of a large corporation, Cyrus enjoys being able to assist everyone who comes through the door of his New York City law firm. From 1997 to 1998, Cyrus was the Chair of the American Immigration Lawyers Association’s Young Lawyers Division, winning the Joseph Minsky Young Lawyers Award in 1997 for outstanding contributions in the immigration field.

In addition to managing his law firm, Cyrus has a passion for public service. He was the Chair of the Committee on Immigration and Nationality Law of the New York City Bar Association from 2000 to 20003, which was a very interesting experience after the 9/11 attacks. Through this, he organized many projects and programs for immigrants affected by its repercussions. He was also the Chair of the Board of Trustees of the American Immigration Council from 2004-06 where he addressed immigration policy concerns and impact litigation issues for the bar. He is the past Chair of AILA’s Pro Bono Committee and former Co-Chair of the AILA-NY Chapter Pro Bono Committee, where he was involved in organizing the Know Your Rights project at the Varick Street Immigration Court in New York, which conducts removal hearings for detained immigrants. Cyrus continues to be active in coordinating pro bono projects and received AILA’s 2010 President’s Commendation for Leadership of AILA’s Pro Bono efforts. In 2011, he received AILA’s Michael Maggio Memorial Award for his outstanding efforts in providing pro bono representation in the immigration field. Cyrus is very interested in ensuring that immigration lawyers can reach out to the most vulnerable immigrants through pro bono projects, including those in detention who are often not represented by counsel. Cyrus is also an Adjunct Professor of Law at Brooklyn Law School, and in 2010, he was reappointed Special Counsel on immigration matters to the Departmental Disciplinary Committee, Appellate Division, First Department, New York.

Newspapers and television constantly seek Cyrus out for his expert opinions on immigration law and policy. He is regularly quoted in mainstream, ethnic and foreign newspapers. Furthermore, Cyrus speaks, debates and conducts training workshops on various immigration topics, including ethics, under the aegis of non-profits and universities. He is also a featured speaker at immigration seminars of the Practising Law Institute (PLI), and has been the Program Chair of PLI’s Annual Basic Immigration program in recent years. Cyrus is also the author of several influential articles that have appeared in professional publications such as Bender’s Immigration Bulletin, Interpreter Releases, Immigration Briefings, and AILA’s Immigration and Nationality Handbook, as well as frequent articles that appear on the firm’s website, and The Insightful Immigration Blog. You can also follow Mr. Mehta’s insightful immigration posts on Twitter.

In addition to all of these activities, Cyrus is passionate about playing the violin. Cyrus’s sincere interest in immigration law and his concern for others have directly impacted many immigrants throughout the years.