Sharon L. Ames is a New York State-based lawyer whose practice is limited to Immigration and Naturalization Law.She has been a practicing attorney for 24 years.

Ms. Ames represents numerous types of clients in both individual and business immigration matters such as H-1B visas, NAFTA visas and L visas. She has represented artists, entertainers and athletes.

Ms.Ames also represents employers seeking to hire permanent employees through the labor certification process or employees seeking national interest waivers.

She represents couples who have married or will marry and are seeking permanent resident status for the foreign spouse or fiance.

Finally, Ms. Ames takes great pride in helping her clients obtain U.S. citizenship, the ultimate goal for many foreign nationals.



Ms. Ames earned her Bachelor's Degree from St. Lawrence University, Magna Cum Laude, with Honors in both Government and Spanish. She earned her Juris Doctor Degree from Syracuse University College of Law.

She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, La Sociedad Nacional Hispanica, and she is listed in Who's Who Among American College and University Students.

Ms. Ames represents clients in all matters before the USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, formerly the "INS"), the United States Immigration Court and the Board of Immigration Appeals. In addition to being admitted to practice in all New York State courts, she is admitted to practice in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and the federal district courts for the Northern District of New York and the Western District of New York.

Ms. Ames is a member of the following professional organizations:

  • American Immigration Lawyers Association
  • New York State Bar Association
  • New York State Women's Bar Association
  • Onondaga County Bar Association
  • Onondaga County Women's Bar Association.

Ms. Ames works pro bono with the Monday Night Legal Clinics at Vera House counseling victims of domestic violence. She is a member of the Board of Directors for the Syracuse Track Club, has been a Parent Volunteer in both the Syracuse City and Fayetteville-Manlius schools, and she is a "host family" to inner city girls attending Fayetteville-Manlius High School through the ABC (A Better Chance) Program. Ms. Ames has been a mentor/lecturer at the regional Junior Achievement career fair.

She is a volunteer "Lawyer in the Classroom", speaking at area high schools and middle schools about the field of Law, Immigration, and being a lawyer.

Ms. Ames has appeared on local access television in a Question and Answer forum on Immigration, conducted a group discussion in March 2006 on comprehensive immigration reform at the Cortland County Business Development Council, and she gave a seminar on the legal rights of immigrant victims of domestic violence to various agency staff members in the New York Capitol district in 2003.

Staff members from area universities and colleges confer with Ms. Ames on Immigration matters of concern to their international students.

Ms. Ames has recently been involved with the Farm Bureau of New York State lecturing on the rights and responsibilities of employers and workers in relation to enforcement of the Immigration laws.

 

Ms. Ames is fluent in Spanish and provides legal services in connection with the Mohawk Valley Latino Association of Utica, New York concerning immigration matters. She is also a frequent contributing writer in CNY Latino, a regional bi-lingual newspaper dedicated to the concerns of the Central New York Hispanic community.