About Michael Wildes

Michael Wildes is the managing partner of Wildes & Weinberg, P.C., a premier boutique immigration law firm in the U.S. It was established in 1960 by his father Leon Wildes, who successfully represented John Lennon in his widely publicized deportation proceedings. The senior Mr. Wildes served as National President of AILA in 1970.

More than sixty years since its inception, the firm continues to serve a distinguished domestic and international clientele. Some of Michael Wildes’ recent clients include First Lady Melania Trump, famed artists Sarah Brightman, Lionel Richie, Sinead O’Connor, Boy George, many of the former Miss Universes’, as well as soccer icon Pele, master Chef Jean-Georges, and many other talented hoteliers, artists, industrialists, scholars, and businessmen.

A former Federal Prosecutor with the United States Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn (1989-1993), Mr. Wildes has testified on Capitol Hill with regard to Anti-terrorism immigration legislation and is frequently a legal commentator/analyst for Network Television including Fox News; MSNBC; and CNN, etc.

Mr. Wildes was appointed by the U.S. President Reagan to the District Appeals Board of the Selective Service System for the State of New York where he served for 20 years. He is currently Immigration Counsel to the iconic Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and Yeshiva University and previously served Of Counsel to several International Law Firms.

In 2018, Mr. Wildes’ first book was published by the American Bar Association: “Safe Haven in America: Battles to Open the Golden Door.” For the last 12 years, Mr. Wildes has also taught as an Adjunct Professor at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, where he teaches two classes in NYC each semester, having inaugurated a class on “Business Immigration Law” and an Externship for law students working in private practice.

He is a frequent guest lecturer/panelist at many distinguished forums and institutions including Yale University, New York University, The Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, and Brooklyn Law School. Mr. Wildes served as a member of the acclaimed Committee on Present Danger (where he served with former CIA Director James Woolsey and Senator Joseph Lieberman); he was Chair of the American Jewish Congress’ Committee on International Terrorism; a past member of the Advisory Board for the Urban League of Bergen County; and a Member of the Board of Directors of Boys Town of Jerusalem. A certified New York City EMT, he is also a 30 Year Veteran Member of the Hatzalah Volunteer Ambulance Corps in New York. He previously served 10 years (1982-1992) with the NYPD as an Auxiliary Police Officer.

Michael has been selected to Super Lawyers every year from 2016 to 2022. He is currently serving his fourth term as Mayor of Englewood, New Jersey, where he lives.