Petro Kostiv

Petro Kostiv

Background

Attorney Petro Richard Kostiv was born in Ukraine and emigrated to the United States when he turned 18. Petro has traveled the world for work and study, visiting over 150 countries. He is fluent in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and his native Russian and Ukrainian.

He is enthusiastically studying Chinese, though he admits it is a challenging language. As a global citizen, Petro knows how to handle legal challenges that can often frustrate business plans or disrupt existing agreements.

Petro specializes in immigration and aviation law. He also has experience advising foreign companies on investing and doing business in the United States. Petro has represented countless clients from Asia, Eurasia, Latin America, Africa, and Europe who aspired to start businesses in the United States.

Legal Education and Licenses

Petro Kostiv attended some of the most prestigious universities in the United States, including the top-ten-ranked University of California, Berkeley, where he earned his Bachelor’s degree in History and graduated with honors.

After graduating from UC Berkeley, Petro was offered the opportunity to work and study in South Africa, where he earned his first graduate degree, a Master’s in Political Science from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban.

After some time away from the United States, Petro decided to study law at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where he obtained his Juris Doctor. Before completing his degree at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Petro spent a summer working at the Supreme Court of Argentina and studying Argentine law at a law school in Buenos Aires.

After completing his graduate studies, Petro was admitted to the California Bar and the United States District Court for the Central District of California.

Petro was a former president of the Ukrainian American Bar Association, regularly participating in legal and political events related to his country of origin. He eventually pioneered a comprehensive course on the U.S. legal system at the prestigious Kyiv Law School in Ukraine.

Immigration Law

Petro’s most specialized expertise lies in immigration law, in all its forms, but he particularly focuses on business immigration for those looking to invest or operate businesses in the United States.

Additionally, Petro advises individuals and U.S. companies on how to succeed in foreign business environments. He has experience working in the former Soviet bloc, Latin America, and China.

Petro is currently working to establish a permanent and official presence of the firm in other countries.

Petro has extensive experience defending society’s most vulnerable before the Executive Office for Immigration Review (commonly known as Immigration Court).

Petro’s success in immigration law is unparalleled. He has successfully represented countless clients before USCIS, U.S. embassies abroad, the Board of Immigration Appeals, and U.S. federal circuit courts.

Hobbies

Petro is an avid soccer fan. He follows the English Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, and passionately supports his beloved Ukrainian national team.

As a child, Petro always dreamed of being an airline pilot; however, due to life circumstances, he decided to become a lawyer. Nevertheless, he is an active commercial pilot who flies single-engine and multi-engine aircraft. While not quite Charles Lindbergh, Petro has completed several long-distance aviation trips, including piloting a single-engine Piper from Los Angeles to Miami and Los Angeles to Guadalajara, Mexico.

Philanthropy

Petro has always been actively involved with the community. Along with his wife, he maintains an orphanage in Tanzania, East Africa.

He has donated and spent time with orphaned children in various Central American countries and Mexico. Just days after the devastating earthquake in Mexico in 2017, Petro flew to Mexico City where, in collaboration with the Mexican Red Cross, Kostiv and Associates, P.C. provided aid to over 500 families affected by the natural disaster.

Education

  • U.C. Berkeley, B.A. in History, High Honors, Berkeley, California
  • Utah Valley University, B.S. in Aviation, Focus – Professional Pilot
  • University of KwaZulu-Natal, M.A. in Political Science, Durban, South Africa
  • University of Michigan Law School, J.D., Ann Arbor, Michigan
  • University of Michigan, Department of Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Graduate Certificate, Ann Arbor, Michigan
  • Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University / IATA (International Air Transport Association), Certificate in U.S. Aviation Law, Daytona Beach, Florida

Representative Clients

  • Foreign companies investing in real estate in California
  • Foreign investors requiring EB-5 investor visas
  • Business litigation: fraud, unfair competition
  • Commercial litigation: trade defamation

Professional Associations and Memberships

  • Ukrainian American Bar Association, President
  • Inter-American Bar Association, Member
  • Beverly Hills Bar Association, Member

FAA Pilot Certificates:

  • Private and Commercial Pilot
  • Single-Engine and Multi-Engine
  • Instrument Rated

Memberships:

  • Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA)

Aviation Education:

  • B.S. in Aviation, Focus – Professional Pilot, Utah Valley University (Orem, Utah)
  • Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University / IATA (International Air Transport Association) – Certificate in U.S. Aviation Law, Daytona Beach, Florida
  • IATA Course: Aviation Insurance (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
  • IATA Course: Airline Contract Law (Rome, Italy)
  • IATA Course: Aircraft Finance (Miami, Florida)
  • Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University: U.S. Aviation Law (Daytona Beach, Florida)

Pro Bono Activities

  • Numerous pro bono conferences on the U.S. tax system for the Latino community.

Languages

  • Spanish
  • Russian
  • Ukrainian
  • Portuguese
  • English