Stephen Pattison, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP Photo

Stephen R. Pattison

Special Counsel

Overview

Steve Pattison is nationally recognized in US immigration law, Department of State policy and procedures, and consular operations, and counsels clients on immigration and labor and employment law matters. Steve practiced corporate litigation before moving to Washington, DC to join the US Foreign Service in 1979. He had a distinguished 28-year career with the State Department, during which he served as a consular officer and manager in overseas postings in Beirut, Colombo, Bangkok, Bucharest, Brussels, and Berlin, and in Washington in the Visa Office and the Bureaus of Near Eastern and Inter-American Affairs. Steve retired in 2007 as a member of the Senior Foreign Service from his final posting as Minister-Counselor for Consular Affairs in Berlin and relocated to London to practice US immigration law.

Steve returned to private practice in Washington, DC in 2010, dedicating his time to complex US business immigration law.

Steve is a highly sought-after speaker at national and international conferences on a wide range of topics related to consular processing, business immigration, inadmissibility waivers, and citizenship and passport law and regulations.

Experience

  • Advises law practices and individual attorneys on how to interact effectively with State Department personnel and develop and implement strategies that maximize visa issuances for their clients.
  • Assists individual investors and businesses seeking to establish and grow businesses in the US and move key personnel to their US offices.
  • Counsels corporate and individual clients on business immigration, consular processing, and individual immigration matters.
  • Strategic Consultant on complex consular processing cases for corporations, attorneys, and individual clients.

Accolades

Honors & Recognitions

  • 2013 AILA Sam Williamson Award for mentorship/leadership on behalf of the Rome District Chapter (RDC)
  • Meritorious Honor Award from the Department of State for outstanding performance of duties

Affiliations

Professional

  • Member, State Bar of Texas
  • Member, American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA)

Insights

Events & Speaking Engagements

  • March 2024
    Event
    Presenter
    Consular Processing Issues: Denials, Local Filings of I-130s, and Behind the Scenes in a Consular Section, New York ILG
  • January 18-19, 2024
    Event
    Panelist
    Immigrants Visa Issues for Employers, AILA Mid-Winter Conference

Publications

  • 2017
    Publications
    Consular Red Flags in E and L Visa Adjudications, Practice Pointer for AILA’s Business Immigration Response Team
  • 2017
    Publications
    Unpacking the DS 160 and DS 260 Forms--Tips for Consular Processing Practices, Consular Processing Handbook
  • 2017
    Publications
    Co-author, with Dan Berger
    The National Visa Center and the Kentucky Consular Center, Consular Processing Handbook, 3rd. edition
  • May 2012
    Publications
    The Curious Case of the E Visa, Immigration Briefings, Thomson Reuters
  • Publications
    Co-author, with Andrew T. Simkin
    Consular Processing in India, AILA’s Consular Processing Handbook, Spring 2012 edition
  • November 2011
    Publications
    Behind the Window—How Consular Processing Really Works, Immigration Briefings, Thomson Reuters
  • Publications
    Co-author, with Liam Schwartz, Anastasia Tonello, and Jan Pederson
    99 State Ten Years On—Is the Relationship between Consular Officers and Immigration Attorneys Advancing the Visa Application Process?, AILA Immigration and Nationality Law Handbook, 2009 Edition
  • September 2009
    Publications
    Immigration Reform and the Obama Administration, The In-House Lawyer
  • Publications
    Beyond the Zero-Sum Game: Toward More Cooperative Consul/Counsel Relations, The American Immigration Lawyer’s Association Visa Processing Guide and Consular Posts Handbook, 2008 edition
  • July 2008
    Publications
    On the Record with Stephen Pattison: From Consul to Counsel, profile in Immigration Law Today, magazine of AILA
  • August 2007
    Publications
    US Immigration Reform Derailed in Senate, The In-House Lawyer

Blog Posts

News

Education

JD, The University of Texas School of Law, 1978

BA, Southern Methodist University, 1975

Admissions

District of Columbia

Texas

Government Services

Foreign Service Officer, State Department (1979-2007)

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