Rachel M. Self

Rachel M. Self is the founding member of Rachel M. Self, P.C. She represents individuals in criminal and immigration matters, specializing in criminal trial work, family immigration, citizenship, deportation defense, and post-conviction relief. She has regularly appeared as a legal analyst for various news networks and has been featured in multiple documentary productions and interviews.

After 49 migrants were abducted and flown to Martha’s Vineyard in the fall of 2022, she was instrumental in organizing support for them from local agencies. She also assisted in coordinating the criminal investigations of all the victims with the Bexar County Sheriff’s Department resulting in U visa certifications for all 49 victims. Her efforts garnered national recognition, including features on 60 Minutes, the Washington Post, New York Times, Trevor Noah’s Turning Point Documentary Martha’s Vineyard vs. DeSantis, and Honorable Mention as Bostonian of the Year 2022 in the Boston Globe Magazine. She recently contributed to Fareed Zakaria’s Immigration Breakdown, a CNN documentary about immigration.

Rachel has been selected by Boston Magazine and Super Lawyers as a top immigration attorney from 2009-2025 and has recently been honored for the twelfth year in a row by The National Trial Lawyers: Top Trial Lawyers. From 2024-2026 she has been recognized as a Best Lawyer in America in the field of immigration law by her peers. She is the recipient of the Boston Bar Association’s President’s Award and the American Immigration Lawyer’s Association’s President’s Commendation for her “fast acting and courageous work providing resources and assistance in times of need”.

Rachel is regularly asked to teach and speak on both criminal and immigration issues. She has taught advanced immigration and crimmigration seminars for the American Immigration Lawyers Association, Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, Massachusetts Bar Association, Flaschner Judicial Institute, and the New Hampshire Judicial Education Program. She has also taught at New England Law Boston. She is rated “Superb,” the highest possible ranking, by Avvo, a national attorney rating service and was awarded with the Client’s Choice award for 2013-2025. Rachel is fluent in Spanish and has a broad base of knowledge in international and cross-cultural issues.

In her spare time, Rachel loves traveling, cooking, and spending time with her dog Max and her many chickens.