Highlights of our LL.M program in Immigration and Nationality Law

LL.M. Program - Immigration and Nationality Law

DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE
The United States and Houston are experiencing a shortage of qualified immigration and nationality law attorneys.   In Houston’s three immigration courts, about 71% of the Respondents represent themselves in civil removal proceedings against the United States Departments of Homeland Security and Justice and their endless resources.  While many of our students and alumni may not have initially considered immigration and nationality law, they are being drawn in through the holistic needs of their clients and the intersections with other bodies of law.  When our students and alumni learn of the due process challenges and injustices faced by the immigrant populations, they rise to the occasion.

If you went to law school to make a difference, our program, the first and only program in Houston and in Texas was designed to provide you with specialized knowledge and practical legal training in Immigration and Nationality Law.  If you are a licensed lawyer, seeking to sit for the Texas Board Certification examination in Immigration and Nationality Law, our faculty includes Board Certified Immigration and Nationality Attorneys, who have been appointed by the Supreme Court of Texas to write and grade the examination.  Now that Texas is one of the few states to provide the foreign licensed lawyer with an opportunity to sit for the Texas Bar upon completion of an LL.M,  you will be in a more diverse classroom networking with foreign licensed attorneys.  Come join us to help fill the void!

Maurice Hew, Jr.
Director of the LL.M. Program, and Professor of Law
Board Certified, Immigration and Nationality Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization

• Our program facilitates the special study of Congress’ Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 and its subsequent amendments, the different government agencies tasked with regulating the Act, and the Article II and III court cases outlining the breadth and limits of the government’s actions. 
  
• On August 5, 2014, the Texas Board of Regents approved the LL.M Immigration and Nationality Law Academic Program.
• On September 1, 2015, our program was certified by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to issue an LL.M Degree in Immigration and Nationality Law. https://sacscoc.org/about-sacscoc/
• Our program was the first of its kind in the nation and is one of only three current programs issuing an LL.M Degree in Immigration and Nationality Law in the United States.
• We are the only institution to offer an LL.M Degree in Immigration and Nationality Law in Houston and the great state of Texas.
• Our LL.M. degree plan meets Rule 13 § 9 of the Texas Board of Law Examiners possibly permitting foreign licensed attorneys to sit for the Texas State Bar. https://ble.texas.gov/txrulebook
• Our LL.M degree has led to foreign licensed attorneys garnering their Texas Bar license without spending the three years full-time law students typically require completing their J.D. studies.
• Our 24.0 credit LLM Immigration and Nationality Law degree can be completed in two semesters with an additional add-on semester to meet Rule 13 §9 for those seeking to sit for the Texas State Bar.
• Admissions to our program is year-round and can be completed on a full time or part time basis.
• Our program has a diverse student body allowing you to collaborate with other J.D. or LL.M degree seeking students with and without a law license.
• Our tuition is among the most affordable in the state.

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) is the body for the accreditation of degree-granting higher education institutions in the Southern states. Website: https://sacscoc.org/about-sacscoc/

- Texas Southern University, Thurgood Marshall School of Law is fully accredited by the American Bar Association, website: https://www.americanbar.org/

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