Sophie Raven, Esq.
Sophie Raven has been practicing U.S. immigration law since 2005 representing clients in business and family immigration matters. Prior to establishing her own practice in January 2014, Ms. Raven worked for Satterlee Stephens LLP (now part of Duane Morris LLP), and previously, with Goldstein & Lee, P.C.
She is experienced in advising clients on issues relating to the full range of training visas, employment-based visas, including investor visas, and family-based (including fiancée) visas, both temporary (nonimmigrant) and permanent, visas for lawful permanent residence (“green cards”, including attending adjustment of status and “Stokes” interviews), and U.S. citizenship. Ms. Raven is also experienced in the intricacies of U.S. consular processing abroad both for temporary (nonimmigrant) visas and immigrant visa applications.
Education
Ms. Raven graduated with distinction from Barnard College, Columbia University with a Bachelor of Arts degree. She spent one year of her undergraduate studies at l’Université de Paris VII and Reid Hall, Columbia University in Paris where she studied Japanese and French literature.
She earned her law degree (J.D.) from New York Law School and was awarded a Public Service certificate upon graduation. Ms. Raven is fluent in French, and proficient in Spanish and Japanese.
Notable Events and Appearances
Ms. Raven is an active member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), having previously served on the AILA New York Chapter Citizenship Day Committee.
She is also a past member of the Immigration and Nationality Committee of the New York City Bar Association and chaired its Business Immigration Subcommittee from 2014-2016. Ms.Raven is also a member of the French American Chamber of Commerce, the French American Bar Association (FABA), the Association of European Attorneys (AEA), Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, and the Barnard Business Professional Women Association.
She also actively volunteers in New York Law School’s Safe Passage project, assisting children in Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) with applying for green cards.
Ms. Raven actively participates in the US Immigration legal community
On April 24, 2026, Ms. Raven will be serving as speaker on the panel “Scaling to Great Heights” where she will discuss O-1 visas of extraordinary ability for an audience of experienced US immigration lawyers as part of the 2026 AILA RDC EMEA Conference to be held in Geneva, Switzerland.
On October 3, 2025, Ms. Raven participated as Mentor in an advanced business immigration class at New York Law School.
On March 21, 2025, Ms. Raven was quoted in Le Point, a prominent French periodical, about the increased scrutiny of foreign nationals at the U.S. border as part of the article “Was the deported French Researcher in possession of confidential information?” (“Le Chercheur Français expulsé des États-Unis, était-il “en possession d’informations confidentielles” ?)
On October 29, 2024, Ms. Raven was a speaker on the panel “Jeg Elsker Dig: The Romantic Side of U.S. Immigration Law” where she spoke about marriage-based green cards as part of the 2024 AILA RDC EMEA Conference held in Copenhagen, Denmark.
On September 28, 2024, Ms. Raven participated as Mentor in an advanced business immigration class at New York Law School.
In September of every year from 2021-2024, Ms. Raven was a speaker on a US immigration panel online as part of French Morning’s annual “Salon Bien Vivre” targeting French expatriates in the U.S.
In September 2020, Ms. Raven headlined a panel of U.S. visas at the French Consulate in New York as part of French Morning’s annual “Salon Bien Vivre” targeting French expatriates in the U.S.
In November 2019, Ms. Raven headlined the U.S. immigration law portion of an Expatriation Fair for professionals in Paris, France seeking to invest or move to the U.S. called the Salon des 24 heures Chrono de l’International hosted at the Palais de la Porte Dorée in Paris, France.
On April 22, 2017, Ms. Raven participated in the French weekly radio program “L’Amérique et Vous” (America and you) with John Lyndon which airs on the radio station VOA Afrique (Voice of America Africa) every Friday. The topic on April 22, 2017 was about the latest U.S. executive order on immigration: “Putting American Workers First”.
On October 26, 2016, Ms. Raven organized and participated in a lecture entitled “Guiding Foreign Investors through U.S. Laws” which was co-sponsored by The Center for International Law at New York Law School, Le Mouvement des Français de l’Étranger (MDFDE) French and Francophones Abroad and the New York Law School International Law Society. Ms. Raven discussed investor visas and spoke alongside a corporate lawyer and an international financial manager.
In May 2016 and previously in April 2014, in her capacity as Chair of the Business Immigration Subcommittee of the NYC Bar Association, Ms. Raven organized and participated in an event catering to foreign consular officials in which she and the other panelists discussed various U.S. visa categories and fielded questions foreign consular officials had about the U.S. visa categories most often used by their nationals.
In April 2014, as part of New York Law School’s Alumni weekend, Ms. Raven co-presented a CLE on business immigration with Professor Lenni Benson, U.S. Immigration Professor at New York Law School, entitled “What Is Broken In The U.S. Immigration System And Why Can’t We Fix It? An Overview of the Business Immigration Visas and Shortages in Visas for Qualified Workers”.
In 2011, Ms. Raven contributed to updating Immigration Law & Procedure (by Stanley Mailman and Stephen Yale-Loer), the leading immigration law treatise.
In May 2009, Ms. Raven lectured before an audience of immigration practitioners on “Transferring Pains – What Makes a Multinational Function Manager under EB-1-3.”