Zaid Hydari has over a decade of experience at the intersection of immigration, international relations, foreign affairs, and humanitarian assistance. Zaid is a first-generation American with a lifelong commitment to public service. His experience ranges from founding and running an international NGO, teaching law, and providing professional legal services to businesses and individuals of various nationalities.
He holds a B.A. from University Texas at Austin and a J.D. from Fordham University School of Law. Zaid founded and ran the US-based non-profit Refugee Solidarity Network (RSN), a non-profit organization that has worked with major donors, including the US Department of State, to ensure that immigration systems, namely family-based and humanitarian channels, remain available in some of the world’s most important migration contexts. With RSN Zaid has led the organization to support legal services for over 10,000 persons, free of charge, in a number of key host countries, namely Turkiye and Pakistan, while contributing to strategic litigation and advocacy before UN bodies and the European Court of Human Rights..
Zaid is as an adjunct professor at Fordham University School of Law, where he has taught Immigration Law and International Refugee Law & Policy.
Zaid understands the critical role that legal assistance plays for individuals navigating complex procedures and is deeply committed to ensuring access to legal counsel for all. He is admitted to practice in New York State and is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. He has published works in various journals and media including the Washington Post, Huffington Post, Foreign Policy in Focus and has spoken at the UNHCR’s Executive Committee, European Parliament, and the Mexican Senate.
