Meet the Founder

With experience working for both the federal government and private firms, Emily brings a perspective you know you can trust.

Emily C. Brown, Esq.

Founder and Principal Attorney

Emily C. Brown, Esq. is the Founder and Principal Attorney of Elevate Justice U.S. Immigration Law, a U.S. immigration law firm representing employers and entrepreneurs nationwide in I-9 compliance, business immigration, and federal litigation matters.

With nearly a decade of experience in immigration law, Emily brings a combination of private practice expertise and federal government service that gives her clients a real advantage. She understands not just how to build a strong compliance program, but how the government investigates and prosecutes employers who don't have one.

Before founding Elevate Justice, Emily served at the U.S. Department of Labor and U.S. Department of Homeland Security headquarters in Washington, D.C., where she worked on complex federal litigation involving constitutional claims, the Administrative Procedure Act, Bivens actions, and the Federal Tort Claims Act. She also advised on the development and implementation of immigration regulations for the H-2A and H-2B programs as well as defended integrity audit actions, giving her a firsthand understanding of how federal agencies interpret and enforce immigration law.

In private practice, Emily has represented employers across a wide range of industries in I-9 compliance audits and business immigration matters including E-2 investor, L-1 intracompany transfer, H-1B specialty occupation, and O-1 extraordinary ability visas. She genuinely enjoys helping businesses navigate the complexity of hiring foreign national workers and building compliance programs that hold up under scrutiny.

When immigration matters escalate, Emily is prepared to take it to federal court, representing clients under the Administrative Procedure Act when agency action is unreasonably delayed or challenging unlawful detention through habeas petitions when agency action is unlawful.

Outside of her legal work, Emily is a published author on labor compliance and human trafficking in corporate supply chains, a speaker on immigration and human rights, and a volunteer supporting youth and survivors of trauma. She is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and Florida, and is an active member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and the American Bar Association.

  • Juris Doctor, American University Washington College of Law

    Master of Arts in International Relations, American University

    Bachelor of Arts in International Studies, Minor in French, Arcadia University

  • Business Immigration: Employment based visas and green cards

    I-9 Compliance and Worksite Enforcement: Representing your company if audited by ICE, USCIS, or DOL

    Federal Litigation: Suing the federal government with it takes too long on your case or breaks the law

    Individual and Family Immigration: Marriage and family-based cards, removal of conditions, naturalization, visitor visas

    Pro Bono Advocacy: Partnering with nonprofits to advance immigrant rights

  • STATE

    • District of Columbia

    • Florida

    FEDERAL COURTS

    • Middle District of Florida

  • Presenter, ICE and the Employment Arena: an Employer’s and Employee’s Dilemma, PIHRA GAT HR Power Chat (June 2026)

    Presenter, What Every Employer Needs to Know About Immigration Compliance, Form I-9, and Worksite Raids, NeighborWorks HR Collective (April 2026)

    Presenter, What Every Employer Needs to Know About Immigration Compliance, Form I-9, and Worksite Raids, Immigrant Entrepreneurs Summit (November 2025)

    Panelist, Business Immigration: Employment-Based Sponsorship and Immigration Compliance, Burlington County (NJ) Bar Association CLE Extravaganza (December 2019)

    Interviewee, Human Trafficking and Forced Labor, Renaissance Living on RVN TV (April 2018)

    Speaker, Human Trafficking and Forced Labor, Merrill Lynch Mount Laurel, NJ (March 2018)

  • Co-Author, Chapter 6: Labor and Supply Chain Practices, The Lawyer’s Corporate Social Responsibility Deskbook, American Bar Association, (2019). (Guidance on identifying and remedying human trafficking in the supply chain)

    Co-Author, The Business Case for Lawyers to Advocate for Corporate Supply Chains Free of Labor Trafficking and Child Labor, American University Law Review Vol. 68:101, (2019).  (Guidance on identifying and remedying human trafficking in the supply chain)