Managing Partner Michael Wildes Is Proud To Announce The Approval Of The Petition Filed To Secure O-1 Classification For Colin Lester As A Music Manager Of Extraordinary Ability.
Colin Lester is an esteemed music manager and music executive who is considered among the ranks of such figures as Allen Klein (ABCKO Records), Peter Grant (manager of Led Zeppelin and the Yardbirds), Lucian Grainge (Universal Music Group), and René Angélil (manager of Celine Dion), the world’s foremost music executives and managers. He has managed the careers of some of the biggest musicians in British history, including superstar Craig David and the alt-rock sensations Travis and Arctic Monkeys. He has been awarded the Peter Grant Award for Outstanding Achievement, Gold Badge Award by BASCA, Loyalty Gong at the A&R Awards, and most recently was made an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE). That Mr. Lester has been a recognized figure in the music industry since the 1990s, combined with the facts that he has led bands to performances reaching 1.3 billion viewers and that he released the all-time best-selling debut album by a British band, is undeniable evidence of his sustained acclaim and stature as an individual of extraordinary ability in the music industry.
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 fourth 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. The firm’s litigation group has expanded its efforts in filing Mandamus Actions and other Actions in Federal Courts throughout the nation.
In addition, Wildes & Weinberg’s multilingual staff is spread throughout its offices in New York City, Englewood, New Jersey, Miami, Florida, and by appointment only in Los Angeles, California and Tel Aviv, Israel, 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.
