Heather Marie Drabek Prendergast

Heather Marie Drabek Prendergast is a partner at Aljijakli, Kosseff & Prendergast, LLC, a boutique immigration law firm with offices in Cleveland, Ohio, and New York, New York. With over 15 years of dedicated legal practice, Ms. Prendergast focuses extensively on complex removal defense, including immigration trials, appeals, and federal court litigation. Her practice also encompasses employment-based immigration for skilled professionals, family-based petitions, asylum claims, and naturalization.

A recognized leader in the immigration bar, Ms. Prendergast is an elected Director on the Board of Governors for the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), representing over 15,000 immigration lawyers and law professors nationwide. From 2015 to 2018, she chaired AILA's National Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Liaison Committee, meeting regularly with senior ICE officials in Washington, D.C. to address critical systemic concerns. Ms. Prendergast also shares her extensive knowledge as an Adjunct Professor of Immigration & Nationality Law at Cleveland State University's Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, where she earned her Juris Doctor after graduating from Skidmore College.

Ms. Prendergast is admitted to practice in Ohio and New York, as well as the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Dedicated to zealous and compassionate client representation, she combines seasoned administrative and courtroom experience to navigate clients through the most complex challenges of the United States immigration system.