Maria M.
Mihaylova

Maria Mihaylova is a Senior Associate with the Firm’s Philadelphia office and works closely with both corporate and individual clients on a wide range of business and family-based immigration matters.

An immigrant herself, Maria is well-attuned to the needs of foreign nationals who are evaluating and planning out their immigration options in the United States. Her extensive and versatile experience advising and representing start-ups as well as small, mid-sized and large businesses employers has enabled her to develop a thorough understanding of employers’ needs and concerns and has largely defined her client-centric approach to addressing and resolving immigration issues.

Maria has considerable experience processing and obtaining employment-based non-immigrant visas for professional employees, individuals of extraordinary ability and foreign entrepreneurs alike. She has successfully processed a wide range of visa matters involving H-1B, H-1B1, H-3, E-3, E-1/E-2 investor visas, L-1A/L-1B, J-1, TN, O-1, and P-1 visas.

With respect to immigrant petitions (green cards), Maria has successfully worked with multinational executives and managers, professors and researchers, and people of extraordinary and exceptional abilities alike. She has assisted married and engaged couples through their respective family-based processes. She possesses a comprehensive knowledge of the PERM Alien Labor Certification process and regularly advises and works with corporate clients to ensure regulatory compliance throughout the process.

As a former international student, Maria is passionate about helping F-1 international students understand and plan their futures in the United States. She makes herself available to discuss maintenance-of-status issues and has successfully assisted out-of-status international students through the F-1 reinstatement process. 

She has successfully processed no objection J-1 waiver applications for Fulbright scholars and exchange visitors who are subject a two-year home residency requirement under the Department of State’s Skills List. Maria has also gained experience with J-1 physician waivers through the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Pennsylvania Department of Health, and the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC).

Maria received her Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from Seton Hall University School of Law in 2012, where she served as an Editor for the Circuit Review, graduating magna cum laude, Order of the Coif. In 2008, Maria also received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social and Behavioral Sciences, summa cum laude, from Seton Hall University. She is currently admitted to practice in New Jersey and New York and is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. Maria is fluent in Bulgarian.