Michelle Weltz, Immigration Attorney and Founder of MW Law LLC
Strategic immigration counsel for employers, professionals, entrepreneurs, and families nationwide.
Michelle Weltz founded MW Law LLC in Chicago to provide the strategic depth of a larger immigration practice with the accountability of working directly with the attorney responsible for the case. Licensed in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Florida, Michelle represents employers, founders, professionals, and families throughout the United States in employment-based and family-based immigration matters.
Strategy Built Around the Whole Picture
Michelle approaches immigration planning as a long-term strategy rather than a series of isolated filings. A temporary work visa may need to support a future green card case; an employment-based option may need to be evaluated alongside a family petition or an existing humanitarian matter. Michelle begins by understanding where the client wants to be in three, five, and ten years, then develops a strategy that accounts for eligibility, timing, status history, risk, and the client’s broader objectives.
Michelle also advises clients whose immigration histories involve pending asylum applications, TPS, humanitarian parole, or other temporary protections. She evaluates how a proposed employment-based or family-based filing may interact with the existing matter and, when appropriate, coordinates strategy with humanitarian or removal counsel.
Employment-Based and Family-Based Immigration
Michelle’s practice spans two major areas of immigration law that many firms keep separate. On the employment side, she handles the full range of nonimmigrant petitions, including H-1B, H-1B1, O-1, L-1, E-2, E-3, TN, and R-1, along with permanent residence through EB-1A, EB-1B, EB-1C, EB-2 including the national interest waiver, and EB-3. On the family side, she guides clients through marriage-based and family-based green cards, K-1 fiancé visas, consular processing, adjustment of status, and naturalization.
PERM Strategy and Department of Labor Compliance
A distinguishing anchor of Michelle’s work is the Department of Labor side of employment immigration. She manages PERM labor certification from prevailing wage strategy through recruitment, filing, and audit response, and she handles reconsideration requests and appeals before the Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals. Separate from her DOL practice, Michelle also represents clients in appeals before the Board of Immigration Appeals.
For employers, that extends to compliance: Labor Condition Application obligations, prevailing wage issues, public access files, and I-9 and corporate immigration audits. Michelle counsels companies on getting these issues right before a federal agency inquiry, and the attorney who evaluates a company’s compliance posture is the same attorney who will lead the response if an agency raises questions.
Founder & Principal Attorney, MW Law LLC
Serving Clients in All 50 States
Federal Court Experience
Earlier in her career, Michelle developed extensive federal court motion practice representing creditors in proceedings before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. That experience continues to shape her approach to immigration filings: each petition is prepared as a complete record, with the relevant legal standard addressed, the evidence carefully organized, and potential weaknesses identified before filing.
About Michelle
Before founding MW Law in 2023, Michelle built and led business immigration divisions at two established Chicago firms, representing corporate clients from mid-market enterprises to Fortune 500 companies.
Immigration has always been personal to Michelle. Her mother immigrated to the United States from Mexico, and her grandfather immigrated from China to Mexico, giving her family a history that spans China, Mexico, and the United States. She grew up understanding that an immigration decision affects not only a legal status, but a family’s work, stability, and future. That perspective is part of why she has served since 2019 as Director and Vice President on the Board of Directors of Centro Romero, a Chicago nonprofit providing legal services, education, and advocacy for immigrant and refugee communities.
Credentials
Bar admissions: Illinois, Wisconsin, and Florida; U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois
Education: Juris Doctor, Ave Maria School of Law; Bachelor of Arts, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Recognition: Top-Rated Immigration Attorney, 2024 and 2025
Professional membership: American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA)
Community leadership: Director and Vice President, Board of Directors, Centro Romero (since 2019)
Work Directly With Michelle
When you hire MW Law, Michelle remains directly responsible for the legal strategy from the first consultation through the final decision. She personally directs the substantive drafting, reviews every filing, and oversees all material communications with the government, supported by a dedicated legal team.
Reach Michelle at contact@mwlawllc.com or (312) 909-8253, connect on LinkedIn, or schedule a consultation.
