Ellen Freeman arrived in Pittsburgh from Odessa, Ukraine in 1993. She went on to earn a JD and a Master’s in International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh, along with a separate Master’s Degree in Russian. By the time she founded Ellen Freeman Immigration Law Group, PLLC in 2019, she had accumulated 25 years of employment-based immigration practice, been elected to the American Immigration Lawyers Association Board of Governors, chaired the AILA Global Immigration Section serving more than 1,000 attorneys, and received consecutive Lawyer of the Year designations from Best Lawyers in America in 2022 and 2024.
Overview
Ellen Freeman Immigration Law Group, PLLC is a Pittsburgh-based immigration law firm established in 2019, with a staff of ten legal professionals. The firm practices exclusively in business and employment immigration, with services extending to individual immigration, family-based matters, and specialized visa categories for the arts and entertainment industry.
Ellen Freeman holds an AV-Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell, which is the highest peer-review rating the system awards. She was named a Thought Leader in Who’s Who in Corporate Immigration and received the Lexology Client Choice Award. The firm has received Best Law Firms recognition from U.S. News and World Report for immigration law. It is certified as a woman-owned small diverse business by WBENC and the Pennsylvania SBC.
Freeman serves on the editorial board of Law360’s Immigration Law section, serves as Pennsylvania Ambassador for the American Immigration Council and AILA Ambassador Program, and is a member of the Welcoming Pittsburgh Advisory Council, appointed by the Mayor of Pittsburgh. She speaks at AILA CLE programs regularly.
The firm has more than 70 five-star reviews on Avvo.
Practice Areas
Ellen Freeman Immigration Law Group handles immigration exclusively, with particular depth in employment-based and business immigration.
Employer immigration services cover the primary nonimmigrant visa categories used by U.S. employers to bring international workers to the United States: L-1A and L-1B visas for intracompany transferees in managerial, executive, and specialized knowledge roles; H-1B visas for specialty occupation workers; TN visas for Canadian and Mexican professionals under trade agreements; E-1 and E-2 treaty trader and investor visas; E-3 visas for Australian nationals in specialty occupations; and O-1A and O-1B visas for workers with extraordinary ability in business, sciences, arts, and athletics.
Permanent residence pathways include PERM labor certification under the EB-2 and EB-3 employment-based preference categories, EB-1 extraordinary ability petitions, multinational manager and executive classifications under EB-1C, and National Interest Waivers under EB-2 NIW for individuals whose work benefits the United States to a degree that justifies bypassing the labor certification process.
I-9 compliance and IRCA services address the employer obligations under the Immigration Reform and Control Act, including proper employment eligibility verification procedures, audit preparation, and correcting existing I-9 deficiencies.
Entrepreneur and investor immigration covers visa options for foreign nationals seeking to do business in the United States, including treaty investor and entrepreneur categories.
Individual and family-based immigration encompasses family petitions, adjustment of status for individuals already in the United States, consular processing, and J-1 waivers. The J-1 waiver practice is particularly focused on foreign medical graduates who complete medical training on J-1 exchange visitor visas and need a waiver of the two-year home-country presence requirement to remain in the United States for clinical practice.
Arts and entertainment immigration is a specialized component. The firm regularly secures O-1 and P-1 visas for musicians, conductors, actors, singers, and large entertainment groups seeking to perform in the United States. P-1 visas cover internationally recognized groups and artists, including visa support for full touring ensembles.
Attorney Profiles
Ellen Freeman is the founder and managing partner. She holds a JD and Master’s in International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh, as well as a Master’s Degree in Russian. She is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and New York. She has more than 25 years of experience in employment-based immigration.
Her professional distinctions include: AV-Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell; Lawyer of the Year 2022 and 2024 from Best Lawyers in America; Lexology Client Choice Award; elected to the AILA Board of Governors (2018-2021); Chair of the AILA Global Immigration Section, which includes more than 1,000 attorneys; Pennsylvania Ambassador for the American Immigration Council and AILA Ambassador Program; editorial board member for Law360 Immigration Law; and Thought Leader designation in Who’s Who in Corporate Immigration. She was appointed by the Mayor of Pittsburgh to the Welcoming Pittsburgh Advisory Council.
She holds Russian as a language credential through her master’s degree.
The firm’s staff of ten includes case managers, paralegals, and support personnel. Case Manager Claire Mokry, Manager of Paralegals Genevieve Dunlap, and Chief Marketing Officer Kenneth Freeman are identified staff members.
Location and Service Area
The firm’s primary office is at 4551 Forbes Avenue, Suite 200, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. A secondary Pittsburgh address is also listed at 301 Grant Street, 37th Floor, Pittsburgh, PA 15219. Phone: (412) 822-6500. Online scheduling is available through the Setmore system on the firm’s website.
The firm serves clients nationwide. Its client base includes U.S. companies, nonprofit organizations, and academic institutions across the country. The Pittsburgh headquarters does not limit the firm’s geographic scope, as employment-based immigration is a federal practice that extends to any employer in the United States.
Client Focus
Ellen Freeman Immigration Law Group serves employers who need to bring international talent to the United States and individuals navigating their own immigration status and path to permanent residence. Specific client categories include U.S. businesses sponsoring employees for nonimmigrant work visas and green cards, academic and research institutions sponsoring foreign scholars, nonprofit organizations with immigration compliance needs, and performing arts organizations and entertainment groups seeking U.S. tour visas.
Ellen Freeman speaks Russian, which is relevant to serving clients from Russian-speaking backgrounds in the immigration context.
The firm is certified as a woman-owned small diverse business. Consultation scheduling is available online through the firm’s website at freemanimmigration.com/ or by phone at (412) 822-6500.
FAQ
What types of employment-based visas does the firm handle?
The firm handles L-1A, L-1B, H-1B, TN, E-1, E-2, E-3, O-1A, and O-1B nonimmigrant visas for employers. For permanent residence, it handles PERM labor certification, EB-1 extraordinary ability, EB-1C multinational manager, EB-2 National Interest Waivers, and EB-3 skilled worker and professional categories.
Does the firm handle immigration for musicians and performers?
Yes. Arts and entertainment immigration is a specific area of practice. The firm regularly secures O-1 and P-1 visas for musicians, conductors, actors, singers, and entertainment groups seeking to perform in the United States, including large touring groups.
What is a J-1 waiver and who needs one?
Foreign medical graduates who complete clinical training in the United States on J-1 exchange visitor visas are typically subject to a two-year home-country presence requirement before they can remain in the United States in another immigration status. A J-1 waiver allows them to apply for this requirement to be excused. The firm handles J-1 waiver applications for foreign medical graduates.
Does the firm serve clients outside Pennsylvania?
Yes. The firm serves employers and individuals nationwide. Immigration law is federal, so the firm’s Pittsburgh location does not limit its ability to represent clients across the United States.
What is the AILA Global Immigration Section and what was Ellen Freeman’s role?
AILA is the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the primary professional organization for immigration attorneys in the United States. Its Global Immigration Section includes more than 1,000 attorneys focused on international business immigration. Ellen Freeman served as Chair of this section, in addition to her earlier service as an elected member of the AILA Board of Governors from 2018 to 2021.
Closing
Ellen Freeman Immigration Law Group brings a specific combination of biographical depth and professional standing to employment immigration practice: a founding attorney who arrived in the United States as an immigrant from Ukraine, holds advanced degrees in international affairs and Russian, has chaired the largest section of the country’s primary immigration bar association, and has been recognized twice as Lawyer of the Year in her field. For companies and individuals navigating the complexity of U.S. business immigration, that combination of practitioner credential and personal perspective is not common.