David K. S. Kim, Esq.

David Kwang Soo Kim (David K. S. Kim) is the managing partner of the firm’s New York office. He is a former United States Immigration Judge who served in that capacity for three years from 2022 to 2025. As an Immigration Judge, he adjudicated thousands of cases in removal proceedings at the 26 Federal Plaza New York City Immigration Court known to be the nation’s largest Immigration Court in terms of number of judges and docket size.

Mr. Kim recently joined the firm shortly after serving as an Immigration Judge in September 2025. Partnering with the firm’s Co-Founder, Ira J. Kurzban, Esq., the nation’s leading figure in immigration law, and joining a team of outstanding partners and attorneys who are also leaders in their field, Mr. Kim brings to the firm even greater synergy to further bolster the firm’s already outstanding reputation in the legal community and exceptional services to its clients. Having litigated and adjudicated some of the most complex issues involving immigration and nationality law, he brings to the firm 25 years of professional experience in both public and private sector. Mr. Kim concentrates in all areas of immigration and nationality law, including employment and family based immigrant and nonimmigrant petitions and visas, removal defense, and federal court litigation.

While in private practice prior to his judgeship, for more than two decades, he successfully litigated most complex cases involving immigration and nationality law before various government agencies, Immigration Courts, Board of Immigration Appeals, United States District Courts, and United States Courts of Appeals throughout the country in various jurisdictions. Some of these cases he litigated became precedential decisions of federal district and circuit courts involving issues of first impression in immigration law. From 2011 to 2022, Mr. Kim managed a successful boutique immigration law firm, Law Office of David K. S. Kim, P.C. in Flushing, New York. From 2006 to 2011, he was a Senior Associate of Bretz & Coven, LL, in New York City. From 2003 to 2006, he was an associate attorney at Kurzban, Kurzban, Weinger & Tetzeli, P.A. From 2001 to 2003, he served as a Staff Attorney Judicial Law Clerk at the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Mr. Kim earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1990 from Emory University where he was a United Methodist Scholar, a Master of Public Administration in 1997 from West Virginia University where he was a HERF Meritorious Scholar, and a Juris Doctor in 2001 from Brooklyn Law School where he served as an Articles Editor of Journal of Law and Policy. Mr. Kim is admitted to the bar of the State of New York, United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, United States Courts of Appeals for the Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Ninth and Eleven Circuits, and the United States Supreme Court.

While in private practice, Mr. Kim was a frequent speaker at national and local immigration law conferences for attorneys. In addition, he was often sought by local, national, and international media as an expert and commentator analyzing immigration and nationality law issues. Before he became an Immigration Judge, based on peer reviews, Mr. Kim was included in the publications, Super Lawyers New York Metro as one of the top attorneys in New York metro area and Martindale-Hubbell with AV rating, which indicates the highest level of legal ability & ethics, in the field of immigration law.

Education

• Brooklyn Law School, Brooklyn, New York
  • J.D. – 2001
  • Honors:

Articles Editor, Journal of Law & Policy

Best Brief & Second Place, Thomas Tang Moot Court Competition, Northeast Regional, Rutgers Law School, Newark, NJ

Finalist, Thomas Tang Moot Court National Competition, American University, Washington DC

• West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia
  • M.P.A. – 1997
  • Honors:

HERF Meritorious Scholar

Best Teaching Assistant of the Year, Eberly College of Arts & Sciences

• Emory University
  • B.A. – 1990
  • Major: Physics & Philosophy (Double Major)
  • Honors: United Methodist Scholar

Admissions

• New York, 2002
• U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, 2002
• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, 2002
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, 2005
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, 2007
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, 2016
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, 2018
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 2007
• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, 2005
• U.S. Supreme Court, 2012

Honors

• Super Lawyers New York Metro (Immigration) (2012 – 2022)
• Super Lawyers Rising Star New York Metro (Immigration) (2011)
• Martindale Hubbell AV® Preeminent™ Peer Review Rating for highest level of professional excellence (2014 – 2022)
• Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition for Pro Bono Legal Services for the Community, Hon. Gary L. Ackerman, Member of the United States Congress (Oct 27, 2009)
• Certificate of Honor for Commitment and Dedication to Public Service to the Community in Celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, Hon. Doris Ling-Cohen Justice New York State Supreme Court (May 28, 2008).

Classes & Seminars

• Speaker, Everything You Wanted to Know About H-1, L-1, E-1 and E-2 and other Employment- based Nonimmigrant Visas, Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the U.S.A. (October 2006)
• Speaker, Impact of Immigration Fraud on You and Your Family and How to Avoid It, 1ST ANNUAL IMMIGRATION LAW SEMINAR FOR THE PUBLIC, Korean American Association of Greater New York/Korean American Lawyers Association of Greater New York, Open Village Townhall, Flushing, NY (Sept 2007)
• Panelist, Federal Court Panel, American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) New York Chapter Monthly CLE (Jan. 2007)
• Panelist, Federal Court Litigation Panel, 2007 AILA Annual New York Chapter Immigration Symposium (Dec. 2007)
• Panelist, Life in the Second Circuit-Navigating their Rules and Procedures, AILA New York Chapter Monthly CLE (Jan. 7, 2008)
• Panelist, The Nuts & Bolts of Filing Mandamus Complaints on Adjudication Delays and Petitions for De Novo Review on Naturalization Denials: A Simple Guide, AILA New York Chapter Monthly CLE (Apr. 15, 2008)
• Panel Leader, The Overview of Inadmissibility and Deportability Defenses, 2009 AILA National Conference, Las Vegas, NV (June 5, 2009)
• Moderator/Panelist, Second Circuit Practice: Updated Rules, Brief Writing, Oral Argument, and Motions for Stays, AILA New York Chapter Monthly CLE (Jan. 2010)
• Panel Leader, Federal Court “Nuts and Bolts” for the Immigration Practitioner, 2010 AILA National Conference, National Harbor, MD (July 2010)
• Instructor/Speaker, Procedures for Applying for Asylum, Withholding of Removal and Convention Against Torture, New York City Immigrant Advocacy Initiative Training Session for Attorneys, Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy, LLP, NYC (Nov. 2010)
• Panelist, District Court Challenges to CIS Denials, AILA New York Chapter Monthly CLE (Jan. 2011)
• Speaker, Mock Adjustment and Stokes Interviews, AILA New York Chapter Monthly CLE (Feb. 2017)
• Speaker, Writ of Habeas Corpus and Immigration Law Training for Lawyers, The Migrant Center at the Church of Saint Francis of Assisi, NYC (Feb. 2017)
• Panelist, Fearless Lawyering: Motions Practice in Immigration Court, 2017 AILA Annual New York Chapter Immigration Symposium (Dec. 15, 2017)
• Panelist, Nuts and Bolts: Defensive Relief before the Immigration Court and Affirmative Asylum Relief, AILA New York Chapter Monthly CLE (Mar. 15, 2018)

Published Works

• Book Chapter, Reviving Health Care Workers’ Adjustment of Status Denials By USCIS in Removal Proceedings through the Golden Rule of Immigration Litigation, Litigation Strategies for Immigration Issues: Leading Lawyers on Successfully Navigating Changes in US Enforcement Practices and Building a Strong Case (Inside the Minds) (Thompson Reuters Jul 1, 2015)
• Federal Court “Nuts and Bolts” for the Immigration Practitioner, IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY (American Immigration Lawyers Association 2011)
• INA § 212(d)(3) Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver, NAVIGATING THE FUNDAMENTALS OF (American Immigration Lawyers Association 2010)
• Procedures for Applying for Asylum, Withholding of Removal (“WHR”) and Convention Against Torture (New York City Immigrant Advocacy Initiative 2010)
• Avoidance of Manifest Injustice in Second Circuit – When Will the Court Exercise Jurisdiction of Heart? (American Immigration Lawyers Association 2007)

Representative Cases

• Sharkey v. Quarantillo, 541 F.3d 75 (2d Cir. 2008)
• Shi Jie Ge v. Holder, 588 F.3d 90 (2d Cir. 2009)
• Galluzzo v. Holder, 633 F.3d 111 (2d Cir. 2011)
• Accardo v. Atty. Gen., 634 F.3d 1333 (11th Cir. 2011)
• Flores v. United States, 142 F.Supp.3d 279 (E.D.N.Y. 2015)
• Flores v. United States, 108 F. Supp. 3d 126 (E.D.N.Y. 2015)
• Jang v. Garland, 33 F.4th 154 (2d Cir. 2022)

Professional Associations

• American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA)

Co-Chair, Federal Practice Committee, NY Chapter (2007-10)

National AILA/Executive Office for Immigration Review (“EOIR”) Liaison Committee (2008-10).

• Asian American Bar Association of New York
• Korean American Lawyers Association of Greater New York (KALAGNY)

Vice President (2007); Board of Governors (2007 – 2014)

• National Pacific and Asian American Bar Association (NAPABA), Member

Languages

• English
• Korean