Lola Zakharova

Lola Zakharova is a Partner at the law firm of MacDonald Hoague & Bayless in Seattle, where she advises U.S. companies, international businesses, entrepreneurs, and professionals on U.S. immigration and global mobility matters. She assists employers in securing temporary work visas and employment-based permanent residence for international talent and advises individuals and families on U.S. immigration and consular visa matters.

Lola brings more than 30 years of experience in immigration law and international affairs. Before joining MacDonald Hoague & Bayless in 2013, she worked in the in-house legal department of a multinational telecommunications corporation, supporting foreign national employees, Human Resources, Recruiting, and corporate leadership on a broad range of immigration matters.

Earlier in her career, Lola spent ten years in the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, where she worked extensively with nonimmigrant and immigrant visa matters and led the Embassy’s fraud detection and prevention program. Her experience in government, corporate immigration, and private practice gives her a distinctive perspective on the movement of international talent, cross-border business, and the practical challenges companies and individuals face in navigating the U.S. immigration system.

In addition to her legal practice, Lola serves as Chair of International Relations for the Seattle-Tashkent Sister City Association, where she works to strengthen business, cultural, educational, and people-to-people ties between Seattle and Tashkent. She has also served on the King County Immigration Task Force and the City of Seattle International Affairs Advisory Board.

Lola is a frequent speaker on immigration and international issues, teaches Immigration Law as an adjunct professor at Edmonds College, and earned her law degree magna cum laude from Seattle University School of Law.