Sarah Pitney
Partner
Sarah Pitney is a Partner at Benach Pitney Reilly. Sarah joined BPR after serving as an immigration attorney for two years Miami, Florida. They have represented clients in various proceedings on both the detained and non-detained dockets before the Immigration Courts. In addition to their experience in deportation defense, Sarah has represented clients in family-based petitions, adjustment of status, waivers, asylum, and naturalization cases before United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. They have also practiced before the federal courts, representing clients in mandamus proceedings and petitions for review. Sarah received the Joseph Minsky Award from the American Immigration Lawyers Association as the young lawyer who has contributed the most to the practice of immigration law in 2023.
Since joining BPR, Sarah has been pleased to devote special attention to working with LGBTQ+ immigrants in seeking lawful status in the United States. They have represented LGBTQ+ asylum seekers before both the Immigration Courts and the Asylum Office, and have assisted LGBTQ+ families in obtaining status based on their relationships. They have also represented LGBTQ+ survivors of violence in seeking U visas. As a non-binary, pansexual person, Sarah feels that serving the LGBTQ+ immigrants in their queer community is one of the most important parts of their practice. They also serve as a mentor to immigration attorneys who wish to develop queer-friendly practices.
Sarah has taken an active role in the American Immigration Lawyers Association at both the local and national levels, with their primary volunteer focus on education-related initiatives. Sarah has served as chair and co-chair of the AILA DC Fall Conference Committee for five years and has held various conference planning roles with AILA National. They have spoken at numerous conferences on a variety of topics, including LGBTQ+ immigration issues, asylum, and cases facing allegations of marriage fraud. Sarah also volunteers in their personal capacity with the DC Bar Pro Bono Advice and Referral Clinic and with the Migrant Solidarity Mutual Aid Network.
Sarah is an abolitionist who believes in open borders and an end to detention in all forms. They believe that the current American immigration system is grounded in principles of white supremacy and that it is intentionally designed to keep immigrants out of this country. Sarah understands that the system inflicts extreme trauma on immigrants and incorporates this knowledge into their practice so that they can better provide trauma-informed services.
Sarah lives in the Maryland suburbs of DC with their cat, Aurora. They love bar trivia nights, filling their library with so many books that they’ll never be able to read them all, and all things Star Wars.