Naima Said, Attorney

For nearly 30 years, Naima Said has dedicated her practice in Columbia, Maryland to serving immigrants from far and wide. She is committed to serving her community with the years of experience she has accumulated navigating almost every immigration process including some of the most complex cases Maryland has to offer. Naima wants to be part of your journey to America and all it offers. She relys her own expertise and that of her team to prepare your case.

Naima Said is fluent in English, Swahilli and she is conversant in Arabic.

Admitted to Practice

• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
• U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland
• Member, New York State Bar
• Member, Maryland State Bar Association

Awards and honors

• Excellence in Service Award, Immigration Section, Maryland State Bar (2012-2013)
• Baltimore’s Best Lawyers, Baltimore Magazine, 2003
• Recipient of Advocacy Division Award, American Immigration Lawyers Association, 2009
• Outstanding Service Award as AILF Ambassador, AILA DC Chapter, 2007-2008

Education

• Harvard University, LL.M., 1990
• University of Nairobi, LL.B., 1979

Professional Memberships

• Chair, American Immigration Lawyers Association, DC Chapter 2015-2016
• Chair-Elect, American Immigration Lawyers Association, DC Chapter 2014-2015
• Vice Chair,American Immigration Lawyers Association, DC Chapter 2013 – 2014
• Secretary, American Immigration Lawyers Association, DC Chapter 2012 – 2013
• Chair, Maryland State Bar Immigration Section, 2012-2013
• Treasurer, American Immigration Lawyers Association, DC Chapter 2011 – 2012
• Secretary, Maryland State Bar Immigration Section, 2011-2012
• Treasurer, Maryland State Bar Immigration Section, 2010-2011
• American Immigration Lawyers Association, D.C. Chapter
• New York State Bar Association
• Maryland State Bar Association

Publications

• Special Immigrant Juveniles, (Pending publication in 2014 Trial Reporter publication)
• Dear Congress: Do the Math, Maryland State Bar Bulletin, August 2013
• Nuts and Bolts of Filing I-601 and I-601A Waivers, MSBA Conference May 10, 2013
• Let me out of here! Seeking Bond in the Immigration Court, co-author, AILA National (2013)
• Immigration Law in Maryland Courts – Gaps and Bridges, Judicial Institute (October 2013)
• Report to the Legislature on The Impact of Immigrants in Maryland: Commission to study the impact of immigrants in Maryland, January 16, 2012 (Joint Commission project)

Profiles

• Baltimore's Best Lawyers, Baltimore Magazine, 2013
• Three Delegates to Rome, Harvard Law News, 1998

Panelist, Joint Project or Moderator

• Special Immigration Juvenile Status (SIJS) Process and Procedure in Virginia and Maryland, AILA DC Webinar, April 28, 2014
• Special Immigrant Juvenile Status – Successful Representation of Children in Family Court and Immigration Court, Maryland State Bar webinar, April 8, 2014
• Asylum: Gender and Social Groups, AILA DC Webinar, April 4, 2014
• Litigation Cases under the Administrative Procedures Act, AILA DC Webinar, March 25, 2014
• Writs of Mandamus and APA Law “When you get nowhere with Infopass inquiries, Maryland State Bar webinar, March 19, 2014
• A Year in Review of the I-601A: Provisional Waivers – Best practices and recent trends: “Reason to believe” denials and tips on how to get reconsideration without filing for one, AILA DC webinar, March 14, 2014
• Family Immigration – Children (visas, removal proceedings and citizenship), AILA DC webinar, February 7, 2014
• The Most Famous Work Visa of them All – the H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa, Maryland State Bar webinar, February 6, 2014
• Post-Conviction Relief: Bonds, Habeas and Coram Nobis Petitions, AILA DC webinar, January 10, 2014
• Immigration Consequences of Criminal Convictions: A discussion on recent Fourth Circuit and US Supreme Court decisions for Foreign-Born Clients – Webinar, Maryland State Bar, January 9, 2014
• Let me out of here! Seeking bond in the Immigration Court, AILA National podcast (2013)
• Ethics and Professional Responsibility, Maryland State Bar webinar, December 17, 2013
• Your PERM Does Not Have to be a Hair Raising Experience, Maryland State Bar webinar, December 13, 2013
• Getting to EB-2 Without an Advanced Degree, AILA DC Webinar, December 6, 2013
• Alternatives to Oversubscribed H1B: E-2 Investment Visas, and the O-Visa: Requirements and Limitations, AILA DC webinar, November 15, 2013
• The G-Man Cometh: Defendant employers in non-routine audits and investigations, AILA DC webinar, October 11, 2013
• Overview on gang, gender and religious asylum; and local issues at the Asylum Office, AILA DC webinar, September 13, 2013
• Responding to PERM Denials: Options and Strategies, AILA DC webinar, August 23, 2013
• Joint Labor and Employment and Immigration Law Program, Maryland State Bar Annual Conference panelist, Ocean City, June 14, 2013
• Immigration Law, Maryland State Bar Immigration Section panelist, June 12-15, 2013
• Criminal and Fraud-related Grounds of Inadmissibility and their Respective Waivers, Maryland State Bar webinar, May 30, 2013
• Update on Coram Nobis, Crimes with Immigration Consequences and Relief, Maryland State Bar webinar, May 16, 2013
• Nuts and Bolts of Filing I-601 and I-601A Waivers, MSBA Conference May 10, 2013
• H1B Compliance, Maryland State Bar webinar, April 30, 2013
• Advanced Naturalization, Beyond the Basics, Maryland State Bar webinar, March 28, 2013
• I-9 and E-Verify Compliance, Maryland State Bar webinar, February 28, 2013
• After the Love is Gone: I-751 Waivers, Maryland State Bar webinar, February 14, 2013
• Tips and Advice When Seeking to Apply for Adjustment of Status in Immigration Proceedings, Maryland State Bar webinar, January 24, 2013
• Immigration Court Basics, Maryland State Bar webinar, January 10, 2013
• Investment Visas to the United States, Naima Said & Associates webinar, April 29, 2012
• Development of US Law and Policy for Women and Children in Immigration and Removal Proceedings, University of Maryland Carey School of Law Symposium, March 29, 2012
• Family Immigration Law, Immigration Clinic, University of Maryland Carey School of Law, March 23, 2012
• Immigration Consequences of Criminal Convictions, Maryland State Bar Annual Conference, Ocean City, June 9, 2011
• Navigating Potholes to US Citizenship, Maryland State Bar Association, 2011
• Criminal and Non-Criminal Grounds of Inadmissibility, Maryland State Bar Association, 2011
• Practical and Creative Immigration Solutions in Tough Times, AILA-DC Chapter Conference, 2011

Biography

Fluent in English, Swahilli conversant in Arabic