Joseph Reina

Joe was admitted to the practice of law in 1987 and has been Board Certified in Immigration and Nationality Law since 2000. In a statewide survey of attorneys, conducted and published by The Texas Lawyer, Joe was listed among the five best immigration lawyers in the State. He has appeared in Best Lawyers in America since 2001, and in Texas Monthly’s “Super Lawyers” repeatedly for over 20 years, including 2025.

Joe has succeeded in hundreds of deportation cases, many of which presented extraordinary challenges. In one case, he saved from deportation a permanent resident arrested at the border attempting to return to the United States with 307 grams of heroin in his underpants. In another case, Mr. Reina secured a green card for a man who spent ten years in federal prison for bank robbery. In yet another, he won permanent residence for an alien with seven drunk-driving convictions. He has won dozens of other similarly difficult cases.

His appellate work includes Deanda-Romo, 23 I&N Dec. 597 (BIA 2003) and Quilantan, 25 I&N Dec. 285 (BIA 2010). He has also succeeded in federal litigation against U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services as well as the Department of State. These cases have achieved “about-face” reversals of originally adverse decisions. He has represented a variety of professionals, such as players of the National Football League and the world’s foremost expert on the work of Velásquez.

At the request of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), Joe authored a chapter of The Waivers Book - Advanced Issues in Immigration Law Practice. He has published over thirty-five legal articles, has spoken across the United States and abroad on immigration law and policy, and has given insight into immigration law on national and international radio and television. State and federal courts have relied on his expertise and the Department of Homeland Security has called him as an expert witness.

Mr. Reina was Chairman of the Texas Chapter of AILA in 2005 and 2006. He served for six years on the Immigration and Nationality Law Examination Committee of the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. And has been a member of AILA’s National Liaison Committee to the Executive Office for Immigration Review. From January 2005 to April 2006, Mr. Reina was official counsel to the Consulate of Mexico in Dallas on matters of U.S. immigration law. Joe has taught at Texas A&M University School of Law, speaks at immigration-law conferences frequently, and has helped train the staff of non-profit immigration-service providers. Catholic Charities of Dallas has recognized Joe as an outstanding mentor of lawyers representing indigent detainees battling deportation.

Mr. Reina graduated from Georgetown University in 1984 and from the University of Houston Law School in 1987, which he attended on an academic scholarship. He also completed programs at the University of Bourgogne and the University of Salamanca. He is fluent in French, Italian, and Spanish.

Joe is also a SCUBA instructor, and his marine photography appears at www.fluctuat-nec-mergitur.com. A licensed pilot, he often flies himself to professional engagements and court appearances.