Crystal M. Malik, Director

Crystal is a Director in the Immigration Practice Group.  Crystal assists clients with a wide variety of immigration processes including employment, humanitarian and family-based immigrant petitions, complex naturalization, derivative citizenship, and non-immigrant employment-based immigration processes.

She counsels clients regarding employment regulations including OPT/CPT requirements for international students and I-9 for all employees. Each year she assists clients in filing hundreds of green cards applications via adjustment of status and consular processing. She has experience with DACA/TPS and their intersection with employment and family-based immigration processes/admissibility, as well as special immigrant petitions, VAWA self-petitions, U-visas, humanitarian reinstatement and waivers of inadmissibility. She provides advice regarding the immigration consequences of criminal convictions. She regularly helps clients troubleshoot a variety of stalled immigration status-related state-based application processes including SAVE verifications for driver’s licenses and Social Security applications and has experience navigating motor vehicles rules, regulations and application processes all over the country.

Crystal’s interest in immigration law began while sponsoring her husband’s U.S. immigrant petition, an experience that motivated her choice of immigration law as a career. During law school, she was a Law Clerk with the Immigration Practice Group at McCandlish Holton, and volunteered with the Harry L. Carrico Center for Pro Bono Service at the University of Richmond School of Law to assist clients of the school’s Immigration, No Fault Divorce and Wills for Seniors projects and served on the Trial Advocacy Board and as a Law School Admissions Representative. Prior to law school Crystal worked as a Paramedic and a Spanish teacher in the Richmond metro-area.

Recognitions

• Best Lawyers®
  
  • Ones to Watch®, Immigration Law, since 2021

Professional and Community Involvement

•  AILA | American Immigration Lawyers Association
  • DC Chapter, Liaison to the USCIS Norfolk Field Office, 2022-Present
  • DMV Taskforce, Chair 2017-2018: State-by-State DMV Resource
• MRWBA | Metro Richmond Women’s Bar Association

PRESENTATIONS

• Discussion Leader, “Schedule A: Navigating Healthcare Immigration in a Time of Shortage,” AILA Annual Conference, San Diego, California (June 2026)

• Presenter, “Surviving the Trump Tsunami: Advising Students/Scholars Amidst Rapid Change,” NAFSA Region IV Conference, St. Louis, Missouri (October 2025)

• Presenter, “Parole, TPS, and Academic/Scholar Advising on Immigration Options,” NAFSA Region VIII Conference, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, (November 2024)

• Panelist, “The Changing Face of Temporary Intent,” NAFSA Region XI Conference, Hartford, CT, (October 2024)

• Panelist, “Local USCIS Hot Topics,” AILA DC Chapter Fall Conference, (September 2023)

• Panelist, “International Student Relief in Times of Crisis,” VIE Virtual Programming, (April 2022)

• Presenter, ‘‘Hot Topics in ISSS,’’ NAFSA Virginia International Educators Fall (Virtual) Conference, Old Dominion University (December 2021)
• Presenter, "Immigration Hot Topics," NAFSA Virginia International Educators Spring (Virtual) Conference, (April 2021)
• Presenter, "Next Steps and New Developments in Immigration Law," International Student Leadership Virtual Conference, (March 2021)
• Presenter, "Optional Practical Training and Hot Topics," NAFSA Virginia International Educators Fall Conference, Christopher Newport University (October 2019)
• Panelist, "Industry and Legal Voices: DACA, Data, and the Spirit of the Law," 2019 NACE Annual Conference, Orlando, FL (June 2019)
• Presenter, “Work Options and Hot Topics,” NAFSA Virginia International Educators Spring Conference, Old Dominion University (March 2019)
• Presenter, "STEM OPT Extension: Separating Fact from Fiction"
  • 2019 NAFSA Annual Conference, Washington, DC (June 2019)
  • 2018 NAFSA Regional Conference, Richmond, VA (November 2018)

• Presenter, “DACA, DAPA and Study Abroad” NAFSA Virginia International Educators Fall Conference, Washington and Lee University (October 2016)