Sergei Pershman

Yesterday I received approval for the O-1, I am a marketer and entrepreneur, lawyer - Sergey Pershman

He graduated from Cardozo School of Law (2007), has practiced since 2008, and was named a Super Lawyers Rising Star (2018). In public reviews clients call him diligent and detail-oriented, a clear and concise communicator, reliable and fast. (Summary of public sources.)

A Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law graduate, in immigration practice since 2008, an AILA member, named a Super Lawyers Rising Star (2018). Profiled on Avvo and in the NY attorney registry. (Summary of public sources.)

An O-1 approval and, three weeks later, EB-1A. Sergei Pershman did the O-1 petition; I was happy with the work: a competent attorney who answered all my questions quickly, sometimes within minutes.

I filed for an O-1A as a data science expert; we worked with Sergei Pershman and were very pleased with the whole process - he answered our questions. The whole family picked up the visa.

I first filed straight for EB-1A with premium, got an RFE, then a denial. Together with Sergei Pershman we rebuilt the case as an O-1, filed it - and the approval came right away with no RFE. So after the green-card setback, a change of strategy still led to an approval.

Very positive, gives constructive feedback and replies within about an hour. There are YouTube interviews with him on O-1 and EB-1 that help you get familiar with the process early on.

Pershman explains the technical side in detail: for example, he advised listing at least two or three ways to contact the signer in recommendation letters (phone, email, address) and recommended filing at the Vermont service center as the faster one. He answers simple email questions instantly, and you can get a phone number and text him.

The chat discussed that Pershman (like some other top attorneys) tends to take people whose criteria are already close to ready: he systematically lays out exactly what to strengthen and takes the case if the gaps can plausibly be closed within a few months. A very raw profile, per reviews, he carefully filters out.

The community impression is a pattern: he has many O-1 successes, while feedback on EB-1A (the green card) is noticeably more cautious and there have been denials. If you go straight for EB-1A, it is worth honestly discussing the strength of the profile and an O-1 fallback with him.

If a case is built almost entirely on one country with no international activity, discuss it with the attorney up front: on the RFE the officer demanded separate proof for every figure in the letters and formal selection rules for judging and memberships.

A hard entrepreneurship case (all based on Russian activity) ended in a denial after an RFE. To my mind the attorney worked with whatever I brought and was not insistent about the materials - I largely drafted the recommendation letters myself. The prep timelines also slipped.

At the stage of arranging a consultation the reply took 1-2 days - which felt slow precisely at the intake stage. People who filed earlier say it went faster afterwards; it may be down to a surge of inquiries.