I am the daughter of immigrants and the first member of my family to graduate from high school. I was selected by Attorney General Janet Reno to become an Immigration Judge in the Executive Office for Immigration Review. I currently teach Immigration Law at Case Western Reserve University School of Law. I have decades of experience in immigration and nationality law. The breadth of my experience is extensive, from employment-based cases for multinational corporations to immigrant petitions for individuals.

I am proud to be among the 5% of women lawyers included in the Inaugural edition of Martindale-Hubbell® Bar Register of Preeminent Women Lawyers™. Fewer than five percent of women lawyers received the AV® Preeminent™rating, which utilizes a rigorous peer rating system, and is given only to those lawyers who demonstrate the highest legal and ethical standards. I was awarded this rating after eleven years of practicing law and I have maintained this rating since then.

A long-standing member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), I have served in several leadership capacities, and as an elected Chair of the Greater Chicago Chapter. In addition, I was selected to serve as Chair of the Immigration and Nationality Section of the Chicago Bar Association. Solicited for my knowledge in all aspects of immigration law, I have appeared on such local television shows as Chicago Tonight and the Law Channel, and have been interviewed by National Public Radio, the Chicago Tribune, and other media outlets. I am a frequent speaker at various venues.

After my graduation from Vassar College, which was funded by federal government grants and a scholarship, I worked with Austin T. Fragomen, Jr. who encouraged me to become a lawyer. I received my law degree from Case Western University School of Law. I worked under the tutelage of Austin T. Fragomen of Fragomen, Del Rey & Bernsen, which set the stage for my career in immigration law.

I became avidly interested in childhood education and was certified as a Pre-Primary Directress by the American Montessori Society. I am the very proud mother of a graduate of the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland. I have two adopted dogs and a rescued cat.