Joel Friedman

Joel has helped my wife and I with multiple immigration situations over the past 3 years and he is completely amazing! Very knowledgable, professional, ethical and explains the process completely. With his help all immigration issues my wife has dealt with for 20 years has been resolved. He has truly changed our lives forever and we would highly recommend him to anyone with immigration issues or questions.

Very Big Thanks to Joel for helping me n my wife get all her immigration paperwork thru the system as painlessly as possible. I strongly recommend him for anyone in need of immigration type services, he was very thorough and we were well informed of what to expect every step of the way.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to be a client of Joel Friedman, because of the time constraints of my case. However, he took the trouble to call me back, listened to the details of the problem, and gave me the benefit of his advice on how to proceed. In my book, that deserves the same praise as if he’d actually handled my case. The world needs more lawyers like him.

Joel was our first and only stop for an immigration lawyer. He’s professional and friendly. We had several things we were concerned about moving forward with the process, and he gave us clear answers. In all, it took about 3.5 months from the time of applying to receive my husband’s greencard. So much faster than we could have imagined! We will be calling Joel again in 2 years to reapply for the 10 year. Thanks, Joel!

After my boyfriend wasn’t able to renew his work visa, we where both devastated! I had heard from others about the K1 visa and requesting him as a fiancé. But because he had overstayed in the states a few days past his deadline, I knew I had to get an attorney in order to start this delicate process. I came across Joel through the Ol’ trusty Unilocal and of course I gave him a ring. He was beyond understanding and very detailed on what was needed in order for the K1 process to go smoothly. He took what I could afford in reasonable monthly payments!
The entire process took about 13 months and Joel dealt with me every step of the way. I say DEALT because he was more than an attorney to me. There would be times when I would be sobbing uncontrollably in his office and through and through he was there for any questions and sometimes plain comfort. I am forever grateful to Joel for bringing my husband back to me!

I just received my Green Card yesterday. I am a Canadian citizen, married to an American.
When first learning of the legal hurdles involved in immigrating, we were overwhelmed and actually looked to Unilocal in finding a reliable, trustworthy, and diligent immigration lawyer — which is exactly what we found in Joel.
Joel was there to pick up the slack, and remind us when we were allowing life to get in the way of the remedial tasks involved in applying for immigration (collecting all of the neccessary legal documents).
Joel is very organized, honest, and realistic in what he offers and promises his clients.
He was always very direct with us, and since he has been doing this for many years — he knows the immigration laws in and out — yet if for some reason, he is slightly unsure of something, he will always get you an accurate and precise answer.
We had an amazing uncomplicated, pain free, and surprisingly quick turn around in receiving my Permanent Resident card.
I highly accredit Joel for the above.
When you hire Joel, he is truly worth every penny.
Not only do you get someone with years of experience representing you in a time where you need it most, you also get a caring individual who is well respected within the San DIego Immigration community — as he has been doing so for over 17 years.
Thank you so much Joel, you truly were a life savor !!!
We will be using Joel here forward for all of my future immigration needs.

Joel is an extremely professional and caring lawyer who has made the immigration process so smooth even when we thought obstacles may arise. My husband and I started the immigration process in July of 2014 and in February of 2015 he was approved for a green card.
We found Joel on Unilocal as he had great reviews. He was very attentive throughout the process and made us feel at ease. He remained professional and extremely organized. We would recommend him to everyone! We will be using him again when it comes to the next phase of the immigration process. Thank you so much Joel for amazing work!

After a somewhat spur-​of-​the-​moment wedding proposal and subsequent trip to the county clerks office to get hitched, my wife and I needed to find an immigration lawyer to help us navigate the legal process as I’m Canadian (from Toronto to be exact) and my wife is from San Diego. I found Joel here on Unilocal and after seeing positive reviews, I gave him a call and we set up a meeting. I didn’t have much of any experience dealing with lawyers, but like everyone, I’d heard horror stories about bad ones.
Luckily, after speaking with Joel on the phone and meeting in person, my wife and I felt completely at ease about the immigration process. Joel is genuinely kind and understanding, and made the whole process very streamlined and relaxing. He made us feel like he actually cared about the success of our case, as well as our mental wellbeing by always listening to our questions and concerns, no matter how sometimes naïve or overly worrisome they were. He always made us feel supported and never rushed.
The whole application process was easy and ran smoothly. When we were finally assigned our interview day with INS, we met with Joel at his office, and then walked over to the government building. Within 20 minutes we were having our interview, and 20 minutes after that I was approved for my Green Card. Obviously this isn’t always the case, and at that point isn’t in the hands of the lawyer (the couple needs to pull their own weight and be organized and prepared!), but what made the experience wonderful for my wife and I was knowing that we had an honest and amazing lawyer in our corner. Having that sense of security and assurance helped us go into the whole immigration process (and final interview) already feeling like we’d been approved, and for that we’re forever thankful to Joel.
5 stars is the highest rating on Unilocal,but Joel deserves higher. To me, 5 stars denotes that the business or purveyor provided exactly what they offer. Joel could have easily gone through the motions in a courteous, yet matter-​of-​fact way and provided us with sufficient legal service, but he went above and beyond that. He didn’t just provide my wife and I with a service, he gave us the support we needed and from the first moment we started working with him, made us feel like he truly cared. That’s hard to come by these days, in any field of business.
My wife and I will most certainly be coming back to Joel in a few years when it’s time to re-​submit our case.
Once again, thank you Joel! Kelly and I are so glad we had you in our corner.

Looking for and deciding on a suitable Immigration Lawyer is a pretty difficult thing and makes for a stressful time during a fairly stressful period of your life to begin with, so I hope my words here can convey a sense of calm to you because this is how Joel makes you feel every step of the way, or journey.
We were a little lost and had been for a while when we arrived in Joel’s downtown office and we really hadn’t felt good about anybody previous, but after 5 minutes sitting with Joel in his office (which he mans himself, very peaceful and personal) for his one on one meeting and introduction where he listened to our story carefully and outlined the procedure and how best to approach our case, my wife and I were shooting each other glances throughout saying to each «this guy is so awesome, we’re going with Joel» We did so.
His approach is straight forward, but never blunt. He is involved, but never pushy and has a unique way of calming the latent anxiety that lingers during the immigration process. He is incredibly knowledgeable and can communicate it in lay terms to civilians. Joel was always just a phone-​call away.
In the Federal Offices, he is well known and liked and has worked with that particular office for many years and has a wealth of knowledge to help you move through the interview process. Joel took us to our interview personally, converted our data into information to submit, gave us a simple checklist and ample time to gather everything we needed and dealt personally with the people who were contributing to our case to meet all the deadlines on time.
I’d give Joel 5 Unilocal stars and I think a decision to take on Joel is one of the smartest things you can do for you and your future.
We are eternally thankful to Joel and all his hardwork throughout and we both enjoyed his company and his delightful sense of humour. If you feel lost in the immigration woods then go with Joel.

By just looking through the reviews here, It should be obvious that Joel is an extremely knowledgable, diligent, and dedicated immigration attorney; It’s equally important to point out that he’s a genuinely good human being that fundamentally cares about his clients best interests and is capable of developing a real relationship with them.
Our was rather complicated, often worrisome and drawn out, but Joel always explained everything, persisted, kept us calm — and everything worked out perfectly in the end.
He went well above and beyond our expectations (and his contractual obligations) to ensure our success.
Thanks a million, Joel!

We highly recommend Joel. He helped us with the transfer of an H1B visa to green card status through marriage. He was professional, very diligent and wonderful to work with throughout the process.
One thing we came to realize in our immigration interview was just how well regarded Joel is within the immigration office too. Our immigration interviewer made a point of telling us what a great decision we had made in engaging Joel!
We will be using him for certain in the future.

I will be recommending him to anyone that needs any immigration related advice and I will also be back to use him in the future for my future immigration needs.
He is honest, reliable, extremely knowledgable and easy to talk to. Always a phone call or email away and always on top of your case.
Highly, highly recommend Joel.

I highly recommend Joel Friedman because he is thoughtful, meticulous and very nice person.
Everything happened exactly as he discussed at the beginning of the process.

I worked in law for a couple years and when it came to finding a lawyer of my own, I only wanted the best (naturally). I shopped around and found that Joel has the best reviews for his field, and decided to try him out. He made the entire process incredibly easy to understand and was very easy to set up an appointment with. The price he charged was very reasonable for this line of work. I am extremely pleased with how quickly everything went and I know it would not have gone so smoothly had he not been around to assist. 5 Stars for a 5 star guy, I would recommend him to anyone!

Joel do great job. I with my husband together apply for the green card, but we not know this progress can be so serious and complicated than us thought. We doesn’t prepare well to meet the first interview and The company we found before do the really bad job and cause I with my husband in very tough situation. We doesn’t pass the first interview with government. We found Joel take our case. He is very patient and take step by step guide us. And now everything be take care of very good. And our case finally go through and I got my green card. I with my husband finally can together take a trip to china visit my family. If you want find a immigration lawyer. I highly recommend Joel. He is very professional in this field.

«Dear Joel, I would like to thank you for the exceptional work on my case. A journey that began with uncertainty has come to closure with appreciation and confidence. You showed patience and transparency that you practiced throughout the process. The explaining of every detail and scenario beforehand, making yourself available through multiple communication channels for any questions that I had. Professionalism at its highest pinnacle is what I have experienced with you. I highly send my recommendation to any person who wants excellent representation from a distinguished attorney. Again I want to say thank you Joel for being there throughout my legal process.
Best Regards.

I called for consultation. Some lawfirm will charge for questions, but Joel doesn’t. His answers are super helpful. Besides what I asked, he also gives me extra suggestions.

I typically Unilocal to find food in my hometown and while travelling. Local, ethnic, cheap, pricey, fast, slow, foods of all kinds. Then sometimes I write about my experiences and take the opportunity to make a few silly or goofy comments and have some fun.
Well, this summer I was in need of last minute urgent immigration help and I didn’t know what to do. So I went to Unilocal,and just like it helps me find the most authentic Taiwanese food in Cupertino, or a great coffee shop in Kilauea, it helped me find this fantastic immigration attorney.
From the first phone call to the final interview, every interaction with Joel was handled professionally, precisely, and timely. His knowledge of the process and advice was thorough, his compassion and concern for his clients was obvious, and his patience for educating me on the process was deep.
He turned my immigration emergency into the best possible outcome. I constantly hear people saying there’s too many lawyers, and in response I’m going to start saying there’s not enough lawyers like Joel Friedman.

Joel Friedman is an exceptional lawyer! I sincerely recommend him if you are dealing with an immigration case. He helped me to renew my temporary green card, and the process led to an interview which he accompanied me as well. I was very worried and nervous as everyone else that is going through a situation like mine. But Joel was there to advise me on how to put my case together, to support me into making decisions and even standing up for me at the interview when the immigration officer wanted to take a route that it wasn’t supposed to be taken. Joel is not only amazing for the outstanding legal work he does but also for all the emotional support he is able to give his clients. I have referred Joel to many of my friends, and they were all satisfied with the services they’ve received from him. If you are searching for a good and affordable lawyer to help you with your case don’t hesitate to call Joel, he is the best there is out there!
Joel, thank you so much again for all the help you provided me!

Joel provided invaluable service to my wife and I for our immigration needs. My wife, who is a PH. D was formerly here in the us. Joel guided my wife and I through the entire green card process as we planned our wedding. Joel turned the very complex and daunting process into a low stress and manageable experience. We could not imagine having to go through all of the paperwork, questions, and etc without his help.
Joel is very personable, professional, and eager to help. He was always available for questions over the phone or email. He even helped me out with a non immigration related legal matter.
If you are in need of an immigration attorney I can recommend Joel Friedman without hesitation.