Immigration Lawyer Scott A. Mossman

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Scott Andrew Mossman is an attorney who has practiced only immigration law since 2003. His practice emphasizes visa renewal, immigration, and naturalization with an arrest or conviction history; obtaining status for undocumented persons through visa and hardship waiver applications; removal/deportation defense; and working with criminal defense counsel to minimize the immigration harm from criminal charges.

 

Attorney License & Admissions

Scott Mossman is licensed to practice law by the State Bar of California. He is authorized to represent clients before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, the Board of Immigration Appeals and all U.S. immigration courts, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the U.S. district courts for the Northern, Eastern, and Central Districts of California, and the Supreme Court of California.

 

Activities & Education

Scott Mossman has been involved in the following professional activities:

• • American Immigration Lawyers Association, national organization:
    • Online Course Review Committee member: 2023 to present.
    • Military Assistance Program pro bono attorney: 2023 to present.
    • Member: 2004 to present.

• • American Immigration Lawyers Association, Northern California Chapter:
    • Ethics Coordinator: 2017 to 2019.
    • U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) co-liaison: 2013 to 2016.
    • U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) co-liaison: 2010 to 2013.

• • Alameda County Bar Association:
    • Executive Committee, Immigration Section: 2017 to 2022.
    • Member: 2017 to present.

Scott received his law degree from the University of California, Davis, where he graduated in the top 5% of his class. In law school, Scott was active in the Immigration Law Clinic and the King Hall Immigrant Detainee Project. During the second year of law school, he served as a legal extern for a judge at the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California. He also spent a summer as a law clerk at the State Bar of California, Office of the Chief Trial Counsel (the disciplinary arm of the State Bar).

Scott graduated magna cum laude from California State University, Sacramento, with a bachelor of science degree in criminal justice.

 

Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Presentations & Community Service

• • On October 23, 2024, Scott volunteered as an expert on immigration detention and human trafficking for the senior capstone project interview day at Skyline High School in Oakland, California.
  • On March 21, 2024, Scott and other immigration attorneys spoke to UC Berkeley pre-law students at an immigration law forum.
  • Scott volunteered at a naturalization clinic at the Muslim Community Center in Pleasanton on October 16, 2022, which was organized by the South Asian Bar Association of Northern California.
  • Scott Mossman co-organized a two-day, twelve-hour removal defense boot camp on May 13 and 20, 2022. The Alameda County Bar Association Immigration Section and Northern California Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association co-sponsored the boot camp. In addition to helping organize the event, Scott gave a presentation to the lawyers attending it on how to analyze the immigration consequences of a criminal conviction.

• • Scott Mossman gave a presentation on immigration law to high school students in the Justice Academy of the Alameda County District Attorney's Office on April 21, 2021. He led a conversation on early U.S. immigration legislation, including the Page Act and the Chinese Exclusion Act, and how those discriminatory laws established the precedent for our current restrictive immigration system.

• • On October 17, 2019, Scott Mossman co-presented a CLE in Washington DC on the use of technology, "Are We Humans or Are We Robots: When Should We Automate and Leverage Technology for a More Streamlined and Secure Practice?" for the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

• • On January 28, 2019, Scott Mossman co-presented a CLE in San Francisco on ethics and lawyer trust accounts for the AILA Northern California Chapter.

• • On July 18, 2018, Scott Mossman delivered a presentation on Worker Rights and Employer Obligations regarding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to the City of Berkeley Commission on Labor .

• • On May 22, 2018, Scott Mossman and Lucy Lee presented a CLE entitled ICE Workplace Audits and Raids: What Employers and Their Attorneys Should Know through the Alameda County Bar Association.

• • On October 4, 2017, Scott presented a CLE on immigration law for criminal practitioners at the Alameda County Bar Association in Oakland. The program provided a framework for criminal defense counsel to understand immigration consequences and to work more effectively with an immigration attorney.

• • On April 13, 2017, Scott presented a CLE at the UC Davis School of Law on changes to interior enforcement under the Trump executive orders issued on January 25, 2017. The changes discussed include restriction of prosecutorial discretion, expansion of enforcement priorities, and the expected expansion of expedited removal.

• • On June 18, 2016, Scott consulted with attendees at an advice clinic and informational session presented by Oakland Community Organizations (OCO) and the Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) at St. Louis Bertrand Church in East Oakland.

• • On December 5, 2015, Scott consulted with attendees at an advice clinic and informational session presented by Oakland Community Organizations (OCO) and the Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) at Primera Igleisia Presbiteriana Hispana in Oakland.

• • On January 11, 2015, Scott provided consultations at an advice clinic/informational session presented by Oakland Community Organizations (OCO) and the Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) at St. Jarlath's Church in Oakland.

• • On November 1, 2014, Scott provided consultations at an advice clinic/informational session presented by Oakland Community Organizations (OCO) and the Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) at San Luis Beltrán Catholic Church in Oakland.

• • Scott provided consultations at an advice clinic/informational session presented by Oakland Community Organizations (OCO) and the Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) on May 18, 2014, at St. Anthony's Church in Oakland.

• • On April 2, 2014, Scott presented a one-and-a-half hour seminar to criminal defense attorneys on the California Trust Act and the local policies of the sheriffs in San Francisco, Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Clara, San Mateo, and Marin.

• • Scott presented a one hour MCLE on the impact of the Supreme Court‘s recent decisions in Descamps and Moncrieffe, as well as the Ninth Circuit‘s decision in Olivas-Motta, to a group of criminal defense lawyers on August 9, 2013, in Oakland.

• • As chair of the continuing legal education (CLE) committee of the U.C. Davis Immigration Law Clinic Alumni Council, Scott helped organize a three-hour presentation on U visas for noncitizen victims of crime at San Joaquin College of Law (SJCL) in Clovis, California. The event was attended by lawyers, nonprofit staff, and the consul and consular protection staff from the Mexican Consulate in Fresno. It was a joint collaboration with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center and SJCL.

• • On March 9, 2013, Scott volunteered at a naturalization fair organized by Centro Legal at the Laborers Local 304 in Hayward.

• • On September 29, 2012, Scott conducted evaluations and reviewed applications for DREAMers interested in applying for the new Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program at St. Anthony‘s Parish in Oakland. The Lawyers‘ Committee for Civil Rights of San Francisco and Centro Legal de La Raza organized the event.

• • On August 23, 2012, Scott answered questions and conducted evaluation interviews for potential DACA applicants at an event put on by Oakland Community Organizations (OCO) at Caesar Chavez High School in Oakland.

• • On July 24, 2012, Scott conducted evaluation interviews for DREAMers on the new deferred action program announced June 15, 2012, at an event put on by Oakland Community Organizations (OCO) at St. Jarlath Church in Oakland.

• • On April 14, 2012, Scott conducted final reviews on naturalization applications at a citizenship fair in Stockton run by the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation (CRLAF).

• • On December 2, 2011, Scott delivered an MCLE presentation to immigration and criminal defense attorneys on recent developments in immigration law. The focus was on creating a safer record of conviction after the Ninth Circuit‘s en banc decision in Aguila Montes de Oca v. Holder.

• • On September 30, 2011, Scott, two presenters from the ILRC, and a deputy public defender presented a 3 hour MCLE on minimizing the immigration consequences of criminal pleas at the Nevada County Superior Court.

• • On August 31, 2011, Scott Mossman and a co-panelist gave a presentation at the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights in San Francisco on U nonimmigrant petitions and visas.

• • On March 18, 2011, Scott Mossman and a co-panelist gave a presentation about CBP procedures, expedited removal, and voluntary departure to staff from CRLAF and the consular protection department at the Consulate of Mexico in Sacramento.

• • Scott presented an MCLE entitled Practical Immigration Info for Criminal Defense Attorneys on March 25 and February 18, 2011, which covered the petty offense exception to the crime of moral turpitude (CMT) ground of inadmissibility, the immigration consequences of DUI‘s, controlling the record of conviction for divisible offenses, and an introduction to ICE holds and removal proceedings.

• • On February 2, 2011, Scott gave a CBP basics presentation to the New Members Division of the AILA Northern California Chapter.

• • Scott served as a panelist for the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) updates presentation at the AILA California Chapters Annual Conference on November 11-13, 2010. His fellow AILA Northern California CBP co-liaison and two officials from the CBP San Francisco Field Office also were on the panel. The featured topics included recent changes to deferred inspection policy for persons with criminal convictions or possible abandonment of residence; the use of expedited removal (immediate removal from the U.S. at the port of entry); the expanding scope of CBP responsibility; and the exercise of CBP waiver and parole authority.

• • Scott gave a presentation on naturalization issues to a citizenship class at the Fremont Adult School on March 30, 2010.

• • Scott and a co-panelist gave a presentation on the one-year asylum bar and exceptions in a webinar presented by the Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) on March 11, 2010.

• • Scott and co-panelists gave a presentation on basic asylum law and procedure in a webinar presented by the ILRC on November 18, 2009. He spoke about the mandatory bars to asylum and the procedures for applications to USCIS and immigration judges.

• • Scott gave a presentation at UC Berkeley's Boalt Hall on representing asylum applicants before the Asylum Office to law students in the California Asylum Representation Clinic on August 29, 2009.

• • Scott and a co-panelist gave a presentation on unlawful presence, the permanent bar, and the Ninth Circuit‘s decisions in Duran-Gonzalez, Perez-Gonzalez, and Acosta at the August meeting of Northern California Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

• • Scott served as a panelist on the Inadmissibility & Deportability webinar presented by the ILRC on April 15, 2009. He spoke about the grounds of inadmissibility and deportability for fraud/misrepresentation, false claims to U.S. citizenship, unlawful re-entry after a prior removal or more than one year of unlawful presence (the “permanent bar”), and public charge concerns.

• • Scott participated in an advice clinic organized by ILRC and Oakland Community Organizations at Resurrection Lutheran Church in Oakland, on February 1, 2009.

• • Scott participated in an advice clinic organized by ILRC and Oakland Community Organizations at St. Jarlath Catholic Church in Oakland, on January 22, 2009.

• • Scott and two co-panelists gave a presentation on the pro-bono attorney/interpreter/mentor team for persons interested in volunteering for the asylum program of the Lawyers‘ Committee for Civil Rights of San Francisco on September 23, 2008.

• • Scott gave a presentation at UC Berkeley‘s Boalt Hall on representing asylum applicants before the Asylum Office to law students in the California Asylum Representation Clinic on September 6, 2008.

• • Scott spoke about immigrant rights and eligibility for benefits at the Western Service Workers Association office in West Oakland on February 23, 2008.

• • Scott participated in an advice clinic organized by ILRC and Oakland Community Organizations at St. Anthony's Catholic Church, on February 17, 2008.

• • Scott served as a panel commentator on Refugee Roulette: Disparities in Asylum Adjudication, an important study by Professors Jaya Ramji-Nogales, Andrew Schoenholtz, and Philip G. Schrag, at Stanford Law School on October 18, 2007.

• • Immigration Daily published an article by Scott Mossman entitled An Invitation To Dialogue To Improve Adjudication In Removal Proceedings, on October 11, 2007.

• • Scott discussed the role of a mentor attorney in pro bono asylum cases at the Lawyers‘ Committee for Civil Rights of San Francisco on September 18, 2007.

• • Scott moderated a presentation on ethical witness preparation at a lawyer education event on September 15, 2007, at U.C. Davis School of Law.

• • Scott discussed Social Security no-match letters, Real ID driver‘s license requirements, immigrant rights, and immigration reform with members of the Roofer‘s and Waterproofer‘s Local Union No. 40 in San Francisco on July 19, 2007.

• • Scott was the principal author of two sections of the report of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission published in November 2006: Real ID Act: A Federal Law‘s Impact on the Human and Civil Rights of San Franciscans.

• • Scott Mossman published an article in the October 2006 issue of Verdict, the journal of the National Coalition of Concerned Legal Professionals, entitled Restriction of Judicial Review in Immigration Cases. (Article provided courtesy of Verdict, 233 Broadway, Suite 1807, New York NY 10279, (212) 791-1364.)

• • Scott published an article, The USCIS Ombudsman‘s Proposal To Restrict The Jurisdiction Of The Asylum Office Would Waste Resources, Inhibit Government Scrutiny Of The Applications, And Do Nothing To Reduce Fraudulent Claims, in the May 1, 2006, edition of Immigration Daily.

• • Scott and other speakers discussed immigration enforcement legislation at a town hall meeting, Current Immigration Reform: Bordering on Injustice?, sponsored by the UC Hastings Race and Poverty Law Journal. The event took place on March 29, 2006. EVENT FLYER

• • Scott published an article, The New Enforcement Bill‘s Attack On Judicial Review: The Wrong Response To Widespread Judicial Criticism Of The Department of Justice‘s Unfair And Incompetent Handling of Immigration Cases , in the February 1, 2006, edition of Immigration Daily.

• • A June 15, 2005, East Bay Express article on how REAL ID could affect victims of torture quoted Scott. Opening Old Wounds by Robert Gammon.

• • On May 26, 2005, Scott Mossman and other representatives from labor, civil rights, and immigrant rights groups testified before the San Francisco Human Rights Commission about the REAL ID Act and the USA PATRIOT Act.

• • Scott published an article, Scraps From The Table: Positive Changes To REAL ID Made By The House And Senate Conferees, in the May 9, 2005, edition of Immigration Daily.

• • Scott appeared as a guest on the Karel Show on KGO ABC Radio 810AM, to discuss the REAL ID Act on May 8, 2005.

• • Scott participated in a block party at Lincoln Park, East Oakland, to educate youth about deportation on April 30, 2005. Asian & Pacific Islander Youth Promoting Advocacy and Leadership and Oakland Asian Students Educational Services organized the event.