The law firm of Wildes & Weinberg is pleased to announce that it will continue to represent the family of Mohammad Gulab—the heroic Afghan villager who saved a Navy SEAL from the Taliban—in their quest to become American citizens.
“Mr. Gulab and his family love this country,” said his attorney, Wildes & Weinberg Managing Partner Michael Wildes, who is a former federal prosecutor at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn, New York and the current Mayor of Englewood, New Jersey. “They represent everything we want from our citizens, and we’ll do all we can to help them become Americans on paper to match what is in their hearts.”
Mr. Wildes has represented Mr. Gulab and his family pro bono since 2014. He played an instrumental role in helping them escape from Afghanistan in 2015, receive asylum in the United States, and acquire green cards.
Mr. Gulab and his family expressed their gratitude for Mr. Wildes’ assistance. “My family and I are so blessed to have Michael’s help,” Mr. Gulab said.
In 2005, Mr. Gulab and his family took in Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell after he was wounded in a battle fighting against a larger Taliban-linked force in Afghanistan’s Kunar Province. For days, he protected the injured SEAL despite repeated threats from the militants—an act of tremendous bravery that was depicted in the 2013 film, Lone Survivor. Years after his heroic actions, the Taliban continued to hunt Mr. Gulab and his family, nearly killing him on several occasions.
“Mr. Gulab placed the value of the life of an American soldier on par with that of his own, taking on tremendous risk without hesitation to help a perfect stranger,” Wildes said. “It’s easy for us here in the land of the free to forget how perilous such an act can be in other parts of the world, and it’s a privilege to be able to give back in some small part on behalf of the American people by assisting his family now.”
Today, Mr. Gulab and his family live safely in the U.S., and look forward to becoming citizens of this country they now call home.
“I’m so excited,” he said, “to become an Afghan-American.”
Wildes & Weinberg was founded in 1960 by Senior Partner, Leon Wildes. Nearly three quarters of a century later, the firm continues to concentrate its practice in all aspects of U.S. immigration and nationality law, servicing the immigration requirements of prominent American and International firms, banks, industrial, financial, and manufacturing concerns, as well as law firms in connection with the personnel needs of their foreign national employees.
In addition, the firm has a distinguished clientele and has done substantial immigration work for performing artists, directors, writers, models, actors/actresses, athletes, fine artists, art dealers, curators, and literary agents. Most notable was Leon Wildes’ successful representation of former Beatle John Lennon and his artist wife, Yoko Ono in their deportation proceedings, the basis of which has inspired legislation, and has been portrayed in films, plays, and literary works worldwide. Some of the firm’s other distinguished clients include scholar Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks (z”l), as well as soccer icon Pele, Master Chef Jean-Georges and Former First Lady Melania Trump and her family.
Michael Wildes, the firm’s Managing Partner, is also currently serving his third term as Mayor of Englewood, New Jersey, is the author of Safe Haven in America: Battles to Open the Golden Door (which draws on over a quarter of a century of his practice in the immigration field), is an Adjunct Professor at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York, and serves as Counsel to Lincoln Center and several international/corporate law firms.
Despite difficulties currently being encountered in dealing with U.S. immigration authorities, the firm has maintained an extraordinary track record for success in its cases.
In addition, Wildes & Weinberg’s multilingual staff is spread throughout its offices in New York City, Englewood, New Jersey, Miami, Florida, and Los Angeles, California (by appointment only), and are known for their experience and special expertise in processing each foreign national’s case with nothing less than the highest level of professionalism. For more information on our firm please visit www.wildeslaw.com or contact Michael Wildes at michael@wildeslaw.com.