Why This Solo Immigration Attorney Writes Every Case Like a Rom-Com

Episode 1 · 63 min · October 1, 2026

Mala Bajpai has run her own immigration practice since 2006 with two of counsel, three assistants, and no associates. In this episode she explains why that structure is a choice, what a week of USCIS form changes looks like from inside a solo firm, how she turns a client’s career into a case an officer wants to approve, and the advice she gives attorneys who are about to open their doors.

Key takeaways for firm owners

A solo structure is a decision about flexibility, and it means building your own backup for phones, email, and vacations.
When a form edition changes mid-week, the firms that move fastest are the ones whose case software and mailroom contacts already know what to watch for.
Learning the client’s industry well enough to explain it in Department of Labor terms is part of the case prep, not extra.
A marriage case with a written story has walked into interviews already approved.
Her advice to new attorneys: fix the mistake, own it, keep going.

About the guest

Mala Bajpai is the founder and managing attorney of the Law Office of Mala Bajpai in Arizona, established in 2006. Her firm handles employment-based and family-based immigration. She serves as immigration co-chair of the South Asian Bar Association of North America, sits on the board of trustees of its foundation, serves on the board of the South Asian Bar Association of Arizona, and is the current USCIS liaison for the Arizona chapter of AILA.

Website: americandreamvisa.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/malabajpai/

In this episode

Why does Mala Bajpai run her immigration firm with no associates?

Flexibility. She built the firm around caring for her kids and her parents, and the job offers she turned down required being in an office all day. The trade is that backup coverage, phones, and vacation planning all fall on her. “The main reason I’m a solo is so that I can have the flexibility.” (05:34)

How does a solo immigration firm handle a USCIS form change that lands mid-week?

Ten green card applications out the door in the days before a form deadline, assistants working late, and a form edition that was accepted in the morning and rejected by the afternoon. Her case software switched editions automatically, her mailroom calls her cell when a packet comes back, and she checks case status to see which checks were cashed. (07:13 to 10:26, 53:21 to 55:04)

How does an immigration attorney build a case an officer wants to approve?

She learns the client’s industry well enough to explain it in plain terms and in Department of Labor terms, then addresses every weak spot in the file before the officer finds it. An EB-1A for a fintech specialist with no matching occupation code went out at about 900 pages, in a box. (28:36 to 31:03)

Why does she write a love story for every marriage-based case her firm files?

Because an officer is a person reading a stack of forms. “It’s like writing a rom com, really.” (35:12) It takes longer to file, and she has walked into interviews where the officer had already read the story and approved the case before the questions started.

Where does a solo immigration attorney find support when the days get long?

The AILA wellness committee she chaired in Arizona, a monthly Zoom call for business immigration attorneys, and bar groups she joined after relocating in 2020 with no local network. Her view: solos are a larger share of immigration practice than most fields, so the community matters more. (39:10 to 45:34)

What does she tell an attorney opening their doors tomorrow?

Don’t get comfortable, keep learning, and give yourself grace when you make a mistake. “You’re gonna make a mistake, fix your mistake, take your responsibility, fix your mistake, make it better, and then move on and then keep crushing it.” (51:45)

What does she hope clients say about her?

“I hope they say that she worked really hard and she really did care about our case and that made the difference.” (1:02:35)

Chapters

00:00 Introduction
02:13 Balancing a practice with bar leadership and community work
03:28 The parents who modeled purpose
05:04 Why the firm has no associates
08:07 What the climate looks like for a business immigration practice
09:15 A form change that hit the same day packets went out
12:01 Working under the no-RFE policy
16:42 When clients bring AI drafts to a consultation
20:04 What nobody warned her about immigration practice
22:13 The admin work nobody sees in a solo firm
26:55 A client review, read on air
28:36 Building a case an officer wants to approve
35:12 Writing the love story in a marriage case
39:10 The AILA wellness committee and why solos need it
45:34 Advice for an attorney opening their doors
47:05 The case she still thinks about
53:21 How her case software and mailroom catch form changes
55:06 “Making Americans one dream at a time”
1:02:23 What she hopes clients say about her

Informational only. Not legal advice.