Erick Widman, Esq.: Immigrants Can Ease Worker Shortage

The immigration system in the United States is complex, to say the least. Visa categories for nearly every letter of the alphabet, exemptions, restrictions, rule changes with every new federal administration. We need more workers, innovators and entrepreneurs in an increasingly competitive world and amid an historic worker shortage and cash-strapped social safety systems due to a greying workforce. Does the United States’ immigration system work in its favor? For Erick Widman, immigration lawyer and founder of Passage Immigration Law in Portland, Oregon, it does not.

Erick grew up in northern California and now lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife and three kids. He attended UCLA and the University of California, Davis for law school. Prior to starting his own law practice in 2007, Erick was in-house counsel at Philips corporation in California for over three years where he handled various international and immigration legal issues. He spent a year teaching international law at the Budapest College of Economics and interned with a Superior Court judge. Erick has practiced law since 2004 and is a member of both the Oregon and California state bars. Because immigration law is a federal practice area, Erick is able to serve clients in any state in the U.S. and around the world. Erick is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA).