Meet the ImLaw Team

Founder Susan Im possesses more than 25 years of experience in immigration law. Practicing exclusively immigration law, Susan Im possesses in-depth experience preparing and advising on the full spectrum of nonimmigrant/temporary work visa applications (H-1B, L-1, TN, E-1, E-2, O-1, R-1, H-2B, and H-3 to name a few); investor visa applications; F-1 student visa issues; J-1 cases including waivers of the two-year home residence requirement; employment-based permanent residency (“green card”) including PERM labor certification applications, I-140 immigrant petitions (including Schedule A Physical Therapist and Registered Nurses, and labor certification-exempt categories such as extraordinary ability aliens, outstanding professors and researchers, multinational transfers of managers and executives, Schedule A Group II, and national interest waivers); I-9 compliance and counseling for employers; K-1 fiancé visa petitions; family-based permanent residency petitions for spouses, children, parents, and siblings; and naturalization/citizenship applications.

As a recognized expert in immigration law, Susan has provided thought leadership on immigration issues to legal and other professional associations in Michigan and throughout the United States. Susan has presented nationally and locally on employment-based immigration and family-based immigration topics for the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), the AILA Michigan Chapter, and the Institute of Continuing Legal Education, where she has been a faculty member, to educate other attorneys in immigration law. She has also authored an Immigration Initiative and Policy Document for the Office of the Governor of Michigan.

Susan Im has served in leadership positions for key organizations focused on immigration and advocacy. AILA is the premier national association of over 15,000 attorneys and law professors who practice and teach immigration law. For two years, she served as the elected Chair of the American Immigration Lawyers Association’s (AILA) Michigan Chapter and member of the AILA Board of Governors from June 2011 to May 2013. Susan served as the elected Vice Chair of AILA’s Michigan Chapter from June 2009 to June 2011. Thereafter, Susan was appointed by AILA National’s President to the AILA-USCIS Nebraska Service Center Liaison Committee from June 2013 to June 2017 and served as the AILA NSC Committee’s Vice Chair from June 2015 to June 2017. Susan was appointed by AILA National’s President to serve on the AILA USCIS Ombudsman Committee from June 2015 to June 2017. She served as Vice Chair of AILA’s USCIS Service Center Operations Liaison Committee from June 2017 through June 2019.

In 2019, Susan Im was appointed by AILA National’s President to serve as Chair of AILA National’s USCIS Service Center Operations Liaison Committee (SCOPS) from June 2019 to June 2020. In 2020, the AILA USCIS SCOPS Committee was renamed the USCIS Case Assistance Committee (CAC), and Susan served as Chair of the CAC from June 2020 to June 2021. She is a current member of IMMLAW, a national consortium of prominent, highly experienced immigration lawyers and the Asian Pacific American Chamber of Commerce (APACC). She is past President of the Asian Professionals Organization (now the West Michigan Asian American Association) and past Immigration Chair of the Michigan Governor’s Advisory Council on Asian Pacific American Affairs (ACAPAA). Susan’s volunteer and charitable work also included serving on the board of directors of In the Image, a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving families and individuals in need of clothing, shoes, and household goods.

In 2019, Susan Im of ImLaw received the “Best Lawyers” designation by U.S. News & World Report. Susan was named one of Grand Rapids Magazine’s “Top Lawyers” as voted by her legal peers in 2023, 2021, 2020, and 2019. She has earned the “Leading Lawyers” distinction in 2023, 2022, 2021, 2019, 2018, and 2014. Leading Lawyers conducts in-depth research of Michigan attorneys and sent surveys to over 32,000 Michigan attorneys. Leading Lawyers awards are earned by fewer than 5% of all attorneys licensed to practice law in Michigan and are awarded to the lawyers most often recommended by their peers in statewide surveys. Susan also received the 2021 AILA National President’s Commendation for Outstanding Volunteer Service.

Away from work, Susan enjoys daily exercise for a boost of energy and to de-stress. She loves to cook on the weekends for family and friends and is a huge lover of dogs, beaches, sunsets, Michigan summers, and Korean karaoke (“noreh-bang”). Although she grew up watching Detroit Tigers baseball with her father and brothers, in the last several years, Susan is often found on a soccer or futsal sideline watching her two sons play the beautiful game.

Brian earned his B.A. degree from Aquinas College with Major in Community Leadership and Minors in Spanish and Business Administration and his J.D. degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School, graduating with honors from both schools. Prior to becoming an immigration attorney, Brian worked closely with Susan Im as an Immigration Law Clerk, Immigration Legal Assistant, and Immigration Paralegal for over seven years at a boutique employment/immigration law firm and a general practice law firm in Grand Rapids.

Brian Mick is a graduate of the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce and Center for Community Leadership’s Emerging Leaders Series, Class of 2014. His charitable work and leadership activities includes serving on the Aquinas College Alumni Advisory Board from 2014 to 2018 and on the Catholic Lawyer’s Association Board from September 2014 through the present. He is also an active member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), the AILA Michigan Chapter, the State Bar of Michigan, and the Grand Rapids Bar Association. Brian has also served as Chair of the AILA Michigan Chapter’s Essay Contest Committee from 2015-2017 and as a member of the AILA Michigan Chapter’s Pro Bono Committee from 2019 – 2021.

Most recently, Brian Mick was appointed the USCIS liaison for the Detroit Field Office by the AILA Michigan Chapter Chair.

As a recognized expert in immigration law, Kathy has received numerous accolades including recognition by Best Lawyers® in America in 2024 and 2013–2021. In 2018, she was awarded “Lawyer of the Year” by Best Lawyers Troy and listed in “Top Lawyers - Immigration Law” by dbusiness. Kathy has been named “Lawyer of the Year” of 2016 by Best Lawyers Detroit and also been included on Women in Law’s list of Top Peer-Nominated Lawyers. She has earned the “Leading Lawyer” distinction for Immigration Law: Employment, most recently in 2022, and was listed on Metropolitan Registries Professionals Who’s Who, Top Executives, Professionals and Entrepreneurs. Kathy was also given the “Outstanding Leadership” recognition by the International Women’s Leadership Association.

Since 1994, Kathy has been an active member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and the AILA Michigan Chapter. She has served as a committee member for the AILA Michigan Department of Labor Liaison Committee and Technology Committee. She has also been active in the Livonia Bar Association since 2000 and served as Secretary and then President (2010-2013).

Kathy is fluent in Spanish and Italian and speaks conversational French. She is a member of the Michigan Chapter of the Dante Alighieri Society and the Volare Via, and co-organizer of La Dolce Lingua. In her free time, Kathy enjoys spending time with family and friends, walking her dog, international travel, and making homemade limoncello.

Alan Reiter managed his own law firm for 18 years before joining the ImLaw team. Prior to his own firm, Alan worked for a Detroit-area immigration law firm and a statewide nonprofit organization. He is an active member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and the Michigan Bar Association. Alan has served as Chair and Member of numerous AILA-Michigan Chapter committees over the years, including the AILA-Michigan USCIS Liaison Committee, AILA-Michigan U.S. Department of State Committee, and AILA-Michigan Practice Management Committee. Outside of immigration law, Alan has served on the Board of Directors of four Metro Detroit nonprofit organizations including serving as the President of the Board of Directors for a local food pantry.

Based in the Metro Detroit area, Alan is located close to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) Detroit District Office and to three U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Ports of Entry connecting the United States and Canada.

Outside of work, Alan enjoys travelling, learning about history, and spending time with his family exploring and appreciating nature.