Navigating Immigration Law's Perfect Storm: A Conversation with Hannah Little
3rd November 2025
Date
Interviewee
Hannah F. Little
As Chair of AILA's Innovation Committee and veteran attorney, Little offers candid insights on the profession's most challenging era
In the late 1990s, a young college student stood in the dusty outskirts of Guadalajara, Mexico, listening to a mother of six describe how three of her sons had recently crossed into the United States without documentation. The woman spoke of their dangerous journey, the desperation that drove them north, and the uncertain future that awaited them.
That student was Hannah Little, and this conversation would reshape the trajectory of her entire life.
"I just got really curious and interested in what makes somebody documented," Little recalls of that pivotal moment during her study abroad program. "What does it take to make it through the immigration journey here in the US, and why are there so many that aren't documented? I was hooked ever since."
Today, more than two decades later, Little stands as one of the immigration bar's most thoughtful voices during what she describes as the most challenging period in her career. As Chair of the American Immigration Lawyers Association's (AILA) Innovation and Technology Committee and a partner at her firm specializing in global mobility and corporate immigration, she brings both historical perspective and forward-thinking vision to a field under unprecedented pressure.
From Social Justice Roots to Corporate Immigration
Little's journey from that transformative experience in Mexico to becoming a leader in corporate immigration law reveals the evolution of both her career and the field itself. After working as a paralegal post-college, she pursued law school with a clear mission. Her first three years of practice were spent at a nonprofit, primarily handling cases under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and U visas for crime victims.
"I initially started with the family-based work here and moved into global mobility corporate immigration over a decade ago," she explains. The transition wasn't about abandoning her roots but expanding them. "What I love about the corporate immigration side is, it's truly an intellectual exercise. But you still get the stories. You're still interacting with people from all over the world, and they've all got a story. That's fascinating to me as well."
This dual perspective understanding both the humanitarian and business sides of immigration positions Little uniquely to assess the current state of the field.
"This Time Feels Very Different"
When asked to compare the current administration's approach to immigration with previous challenges, including the first Trump administration, Little doesn't hesitate. "This time feels very different, honestly."
During Trump 1.0, as she calls it, her firm launched a litigation practice to challenge what she describes as "some of the most egregious visa denials." The system was harder to navigate, with more requests for evidence and denials than attorneys were accustomed to seeing. "But overall," she emphasizes, "the system was still working to some extent, and the underlying structure did not feel like it was being harmed."
Now, the damage runs deeper. "It felt like policy shifts that were, of course, harmful to the people they were impacting at the time, but didn't feel sort of deep and irrevocable like they do right now. Right now, I think that the damage is to the structure of the immigration program."
The statistics support her assessment. Little cites a 50% decline in foreign graduate school admissions this year, while noting that "there are more companies now saying that they are closing down their immigration program and not sponsoring future visas."
Beyond the professional implications, she sees a troubling national shift: "We're isolating ourselves in a way that I find troublesome, even outside of my professional life."
Advice for Attorneys: "Find the Light"
Despite the grim assessment, Little's guidance for fellow immigration attorneys reveals the resilience that has sustained this community through multiple crises.
"Try to find the light and remember how critical our role is in all the principles that we believe in and that led us to this practice," she advises. "I think it's really important, if you're in a firm or you have staff, to check in with them because they're feeling all the same things you're feeling."
She particularly values the collaborative nature of the immigration bar, which she sees strengthening during these challenging times. "I see it on the listservs in terms of how open other attorneys are in sharing information or strategies that have worked. So I think we have to continue those sorts of relationships and even deepen them."
Counsel for Immigrants: Prepare for All Scenarios
For immigrants navigating this uncertain landscape, Little's counsel is both practical and sobering.
"Number one, make sure you have immigration counsel that you trust and make sure that you are using and leveraging them," she emphasizes. "Don't make assumptions, don't rely on Reddit or any of the other sort of forums in terms of your immigration questions. Reach out to someone who's dealing with this every day and who is seeing how it's playing out in real time."
But she goes further, suggesting contingency planning that would have seemed extreme just years ago. People should consider what documentation to carry, where important papers are stored, and who to call if detained. "I hate to give that kind of advice to folks who are here legally and following all the rules," she admits, "but I do think those are considerations and discussions that people should be having."
When pressed about alternative options, Little delivers a painful truth: "If I were a non-permanent resident, non-citizen, I would put everything on the table in terms of options. I hate to say that because I believe in the US and I believe that immigrants make this country great. But if I'm advising an individual on their safety and planning for their family, I think I would say to consider all options."
Canada appears to be the most common alternative being explored, she notes, largely due to its proximity and the possibility of maintaining US employment remotely. However, she's also fielding inquiries from US citizens exploring dual citizenship options a telling sign of the current climate.
Technology: The Bridge to Access to Justice
Amid the challenges, Little sees technology, particularly artificial intelligence, as a potential game-changer for the profession. As AILA's Innovation and Technology Committee Chair, she's working to help a legal field that has been "historically very slow to embrace tech" understand the transformative potential of new tools.
"I think AI has changed everything," she states. "There's a lot of fear that AI will replace attorneys, and I don't think that's true. But I do think that it will replace the attorneys and the firms who don't figure out how to use it effectively."
Her firm currently uses AI tools like Greg Siskind's visalaw.ai and Case Blink for drafting complex cases and RFE responses, though she notes they haven't yet found the ROI justification for using AI on routine H1B applications.
Looking ahead, Little envisions AI potentially reducing the traditional law firm structure of multiple paralegals supporting one attorney, while simultaneously expanding access to justice. "My optimistic hope is that it truly does increase access to justice because we just have this whole latent legal market that doesn't qualify for free services but can't necessarily afford an attorney. AI may help us bridge that gap."
The Changing Landscape of Immigration Services
The corporate immigration landscape is transforming in unexpected ways. Non-lawyer-owned firms in states like Utah and Arizona, accounting companies, and relocation services are increasingly entering the immigration space, creating a complex ecosystem where immigration services are bundled with tax advising, relocation assistance, and other corporate needs.
A recent announcement that 30 attorneys from Safarth Shaw's business immigration practice joined Vialto (a company that spun off from PricewaterhouseCoopers) signals the fluidity of the current market. "It'll be interesting to see," Little observes, particularly as companies facing economic pressures look for cost-effective solutions while maintaining immigration programs.
This consolidation trend reflects broader changes in how corporations approach global mobility seeking one-stop solutions that can handle everything from tax implications to housing arrangements to immigration paperwork.
Holding the Line
As our conversation concludes, Little seems concerned about striking the right tone. "I'm a little worried that I sounded overly negative, which can be easy to do right now," she says. Then, with the conviction that has sustained her through more than two decades in this field, she adds: "I do want to just reiterate how much I believe in the contributions and the importance of immigrants at every level to this country. And I'm proud of my profession and my fellow immigration attorneys, especially right now, for weathering these times."
Her final words capture both the weight of the moment and the endurance required to face it: "I do believe that there are a lot of good people working for the right things and that we'll see a light at some point."
That light may seem distant now, but for attorneys like Hannah Little who entered this field because of a mother's story in Mexico decades ago giving up has never been an option. The stories continue, the need remains, and so does the fight.
About Hannah Little
Hannah Little is a partner at Garfinkel Immigration Law Firm specializing in global mobility and corporate immigration law. She currently serves as Chair of the American Immigration Lawyers Association's (AILA) Innovation and Technology Committee, where she works to bridge the gap between traditional legal practice and emerging technologies. With over 20 years of experience in immigration law, she has guided countless individuals and corporations through the complexities of the U.S. immigration system. Little began her career in nonprofit work focusing on VAWA and U visa cases before transitioning to corporate immigration over a decade ago. She holds a law degree from University of North Carolina School of Law and completed her undergraduate studies at Guilford College.
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