Immigrant stories
The immigrants who shaped America.
Famous lives that began somewhere else, and the paths that brought them here.
Refugees, students, athletes and workers: every story in this series started with a family leaving home. We write them because our clients are living the same kind of story today, here in the Lehigh Valley.
The series
Pick a story.
Each one tells a famous life through its immigration path: where it started, why the family left, and how they got here.
Displaced persons camp · Italy
Mario Andretti
Born in Istria in 1940, he spent seven years in a displaced persons camp, landed in New York at fifteen with a family that spoke no English, and became a racing legend from Nazareth, about ten minutes from our office.
Read the story
Refugee · Cuba
Gloria Estefan
She arrived in Miami as a refugee at sixteen months old, with a family that packed one suitcase and expected to be home in a few months. They never went back.
Read the story
Refugee · Zanzibar
Freddie Mercury
Born Farrokh Bulsara in Stone Town, Zanzibar, he was a teenager when his family fled the 1964 revolution and started over in the United Kingdom.
Read the story
Refugee · Germany
Albert Einstein
Born in Ulm in 1879, he became a target of the Nazi regime. His life and work continued because he was able to leave, flee and start over.
Read the story
Student · Turkey
Hamdi Ulukaya
The son of Kurdish dairy farmers, he came to Pennsylvania in 1994 to study English at Lehigh University, then built Chobani and made hiring refugees part of how it works.
Read the story
Naturalized citizen · South Africa
Dave Matthews
Born in Johannesburg, he moved to the United States as a toddler, later left South Africa rather than serve in the apartheid-era military, and became a U.S. citizen along the way.
Read the story
Athlete · Austria
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Born in Thal, Austria, in 1947, he immigrated at 21 after winning recognition in bodybuilding, long before today's visa paths for athletes and performers took shape.
Read the story
Student · South Africa
Elon Musk
Born in Pretoria in 1971, he left South Africa for Canada at 17 and then transferred to the University of Pennsylvania, where his path through the U.S. immigration system began.
Read the story
Your story
Whose story should we tell next?
Tell us about an immigrant, famous or not, whose path you think more people should know. We read every suggestion.
Please do not send details about your own case by email; for that, request a consultation.
The paths in these stories
The same paths are open to people today.
The rules have changed since most of these families arrived, but the routes they took still exist in some form.
Why does an immigration law firm write about famous immigrants?
Because the paths in these stories, refuge, study, work and citizenship, are the same ones our clients follow today. A famous life makes it easier to see how those paths work and what they give a family.
Could someone follow the same path today?
Often in some form, though the rules have changed. Each story explains how the path worked then and, where it applies, what it looks like now. Whether it fits you depends on your own history.
Are the stories available in Spanish?
Three are so far: Mario Andretti, Gloria Estefan and Freddie Mercury. More are on the way.
Is this legal advice?
No. These are stories, told for general information. For your own situation, an attorney can review your history in a consultation.
Stories written by our team from published biographies and public records. General information, not legal advice.
Allentown office · nationwide remote representation · bilingual support
Every family's path is different. We help you find yours.
In a free 30-minute consultation, an attorney reviews your history, explains which routes are open to you, and puts the next steps and a flat fee in writing.