Kevin A. Ohlson Named Director of Executive Office for Immigration Review

WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today the appointment of Kevin A. Ohlson to be the Director of the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR). Ohlson has served as the Acting Director of EOIR since April 2007. As Director of EOIR, he succeeds Kevin D. Rooney who retired in March 2007. Before his current assignment, Ohlson served as Deputy Director since September 2003. Before then, he served as a Board Member with the Board of Immigration Appeals since March 2001.

Mr. Ohlson attended Washington and Jefferson College and graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1982. Upon graduating from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1985, Mr. Ohlson was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Army where he served as both a judge advocate and as a paratrooper. In 1989, he was appointed as a federal prosecutor, but in 1990 he was recalled to active duty and was awarded the Bronze Star for his actions overseas during the Persian Gulf War.

At the conclusion of his military service, Mr. Ohlson resumed his duties as an Assistant U.S. Attorney. Then, in 1997, he was appointed as the chief of staff to the Deputy Attorney General; and at the end of his tenure as chief of staff the Attorney General presented him with the Edmund J. Randolph award for his service to the Department of Justice.

The Executive Office for Immigration Review is responsible for adjudicating immigration cases. Specifically, interprets and administers federal immigration laws by conducting immigration court proceedings, appellate reviews, and administrative hearings.