Reginald A. Pacis is a shareholder practicing in Butzel Long’s Detroit office. He concentrates his practice in immigration law and has handled a variety of immigration matters including H-1B specialty occupation cases, L-1 Intracompany transfers, Labor Certification matters, Immigrant Visa Petitions/ Adjustment of Status applications and interviews, TN Free trade cases, H-1B Department of Labor Investigations, I-9 employer verification compliance, and U.S. Port of Entry airport and land port interviews. Mr. Pacis is listed in The Best Lawyers in America (Immigration Law).
Mr. Pacis is a member of the American Bar Association, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), and the Samahang Pilipino Ng Oakland Filipino organization. He served two consecutive terms from 2003 to 2004 and 2004 to 2005 as Chairperson of the Michigan Chapter of AILA and was a member of the AILA National Board of Governors for those terms. He previously served as Secretary (2001 to 2003) and Membership Chairperson of the Michigan Chapter of AILA (1998 to 2003).
Reginald A. Pacis is a shareholder practicing in Butzel Long’s Detroit office. He concentrates his practice in immigration law and has handled a variety of immigration matters including H-1B specialty occupation cases, L-1 Intracompany transfers, Labor Certification matters, Immigrant Visa Petitions/ Adjustment of Status applications and interviews, TN Free trade cases, H-1B Department of Labor Investigations, I-9 employer verification compliance, and U.S. Port of Entry airport and land port interviews. Mr. Pacis is listed in The Best Lawyers in America (Immigration Law).
Mr. Pacis is a member of the American Bar Association, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), and the Samahang Pilipino Ng Oakland Filipino organization. He served two consecutive terms from 2003 to 2004 and 2004 to 2005 as Chairperson of the Michigan Chapter of AILA and was a member of the AILA National Board of Governors for those terms. He previously served as Secretary (2001 to 2003) and Membership Chairperson of the Michigan Chapter of AILA (1998 to 2003).
Mr. Pacis has been a speaker on immigration topics at many business, Hispanic, and Filipino presentations. He is a frequent presenter in the Annual Butzel Long Immigration Seminar. He was a presenter and member of the faculty for the 2004 AILA National Conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and published in the 2004 AILA National Conference materials with an article discussing Special Registration of certain classes of immigrants. He was a presenter and discussion leader at the 2006 AILA National Conference in San Antonio, Texas. As part of a panel of immigration lawyers in 2007, Mr. Pacis spoke on immigration employer compliance issues for an immigration seminar sponsored by the Governor's Advisory Council on Asian Pacific American Affairs in Lansing, Michigan. He testified during the January 18, 2008 Michigan Senate Transportation Committee’s public hearing that examined the impact of proposed drivers license legislation on immigration issues. He was also a presenter at the 2008 AILA National Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia Canada and published in the 2008 AILA National Conference materials with an article discussing border immigration issues. He testified on June 18, 2010 during the open session at the Michigan Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights public meeting examining the proposed immigration bill similar to the recently enacted Arizona bill. He was a presenter and discussion leader in the 2010 AILA National Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, the 2011 Spring AILA Conference in Washington, D.C., and the 2011 AILA National Conference in San Diego California.
Mr. Pacis’ article, "Changes Involving the Visa Waiver Program and the Michigan Driver's License Application Process" appeared in the Winter/Spring 2009 issue of the Michigan International Lawyer published by the State Bar of Michigan.
Mr. Pacis has served in a variety of committees in the Filipino community and is a member of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce of Michigan. He completed an appointment by Governor Granholm for service on the Advisory Committee for Asian Pacific American Affairs (ACAPAA). He served on the Michigan AILA Advocacy Committee from 2007 to 2010. Mr. Pacis previously served as Chairperson of the Michigan AILA Committee responsible for liaison with the Michigan Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) Agency, a division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security presiding over inspections and security of the U.S. border, from 2005 to 2007. His service expanded to the AILA National CBP liaison Committee as a member, Vice Chair and Chairperson of the AILA National CBP liaison Committee. He presently serves on the AILA United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) Field Operations Liaison committee. USCIS is the agency that presides over U.S. immigration benefits such as green cards and petition approvals.
Mr. Pacis received his J.D. from the Detroit College of Law at Michigan State University in 1996 and his B.A. from James Madison College at Michigan State University in 1992. He joined the State Bar of Michigan in 1997.