Email: jlp@allen-pinnix.com
Phone: 1.919.755.0505
Fax: 1.919.829.8098
Address: P.O. Drawer 1270
Raleigh, North Carolina 27602

John L. Pinnix, Director

John L. Pinnix is a founding member and the senior immigration attorney in the Raleigh, North Carolina law firm of Allen & Pinnix, P.A. For over 35 years he has limited his practice of law to immigration and nationality issues. Mr. Pinnix served as the national president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), and was among the very first attorneys in North Carolina to practice immigration law. He was a founding member of the Carolinas Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, and twice served as Chapter Chair.

A nationally-recognized authority on immigration law and policy, Mr. Pinnix has successfully represented thousands of individuals in virtually every area of immigration law, including, but not limited to: non-immigrant classifications; Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA); employment authorization; family reunification; lawful permanent resident status; employer-based immigration for foreign national workers; investors; and citizenship. He has also been involved in complex cases involving deportation/removal and asylum on both the administrative and appellate levels.

Mr. Pinnix has served as an Adjunct Professor at North Carolina Central University School of Law and Elon University School of Law and as a Senior Lecturing Fellow at Duke University School of Law. Since 1991, he has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America in the Immigration Law category and in North Carolina Super Lawyers (2006-2014).

Education

• University of North Carolina at Greensboro, M.A.
• Wake Forest University School of Law, J.D.
• University of North Carolina at Greensboro, B.A.

Admissions

• North Carolina Bar
• District of Columbia Bar
• Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts, U.S. District Court
• Fourth Circuit, U.S. Court of Appeals
• U.S. Supreme Court

Selected Experience

• Since 1978, represented thousands of clients on immigrant, non-immigrant and citizenship matters, covering every immigrant and nonimmigrant visa classification, including visas for the Information Technology industry, for teachers and other academicians, medical professionals, religious workers, multi-national Executives and Managers, and other professionals; as well as for investors, performers, and non-credentialed essential workers.
• Handles labor certifications (PERM) and represents multinational Executives and Managers, extraordinary ability professionals, persons eligible for national interest waivers, outstanding scientists, and immigrant investors seeking green cards. He provides employment authorization documentation counseling for I-9 and related work place issues.
• First AILA president installed after 9-11; his watch saw the abolition of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security (USCIS, ICE, BCP). Since 1993, he has continuously served on AILA’s national Board of Governors.
• Author of foreword and commentary for “The Impact of Immigration on the Legal Community in North Carolina,” Campbell Law Review, 2007.
• N.C. Board Certified Immigration Specialist and a former member of the North Carolina State Bar Board of Legal Specialization’s Immigration Law Specialty Committee.

Leadership & Public Service

• Past national president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, 2002-2003; AILA Executive Committee, 1997-2003; Board of Governors 1987-88, and 1993-present.
• Member of the Founding Board of the American Immigration Council (AIC) and a former Director and Trustee Emeritus. AIC promotes public understanding of immigration law and policy through education, policy analysis, and support to litigators.
• Published scores of articles on immigration. He is a frequent lecturer at law schools, continuing legal education courses (in California, New York, North Carolina, and Texas), and before professional, civic, and ethnic organizations.
• Speaker, moderator, or panelist at every AILA Annual Conference since 1993.
• Chaired the North Carolina Bar Association Immigration and Nationality Law Committee.
• Member of the American Bar Association (ABA) and the North Carolina Bar Association.

Honors

• Recipient of the University of North Carolina-Greensboro Alumni Association’s Distinguished Service Award.
• Named “Tar Heel of the Week” by the Raleigh News and Observer.
• The second recipient of the AILA Service Excellence Award, 2008.
• Editor in chief of “Ethics in a Brave New World—Professional Responsibility, Personal Accountability, and Risk Management for Immigration Practitioners,” the most widely distributed book in AILA’s 63-year history.
• Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America in the Immigration Law category since 1993.
• The 2006 edition of Who’s Who Legal called Jack “outstanding” and said he “possesses a quite phenomenal legal mind.”
• The 2007 edition of Who’s Who Legal noted that Jack “once again emerges as the state’s ‘most highly nominated individual'” in the corporate immigration category.
• Recognized in North Carolina Super Lawyers, 2006-present.
• Rated AV® by Martindale-Hubbell®.*

* CV, BV, and AV are registered certification marks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell® certification procedure’s standards and policies.