Allison Chan

Attorney Allison Chan

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Practice Areas:

  • Immigration Law

Biography

Allison Chan is an immigration attorney and Partner at Margaret W. Wong & Associates, LLC. She is Managing Attorney at the law firm's Raleigh, NC Immigration Law office. Her practice includes representing clients in all aspects of immigration with a focus on asylum, removal and deportation defense, complex family-based visa issues, motion practice before the Board of Immigration Appeals, and federal judicial review. She has successfully reopened final orders of removal/deportation, and represented hundreds of clients at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) offices around the country for visa petition, adjustment of status and naturalization interviews. She is passionate about the rights of undocumented people and committed to helping individuals seek and maintain lawful status and citizenship in the U.S.

Prior to opening and managing the law firm's Raleigh, NC office, Ms. Chan worked in the firm's Cleveland, Ohio headquarters for several years and then went on to manage the law firm's Chicago office.

Ms. Chan obtained her J.D. from the University of Buffalo Law School, SUNY. She was awarded the Barbara and Thomas Wolfe Human Rights Fellowship in 2009, which sponsored her work at the Kenya Human Rights Institute in Nairobi, Kenya. She was a submissions editor on the Human Rights Law Review. Prior to joining Margaret W. Wong & Associates, LLC, Ms. Chan clerked for Hon. Michael A. Telesca at the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York, and interned at the Federal Public Defender in Cleveland, Ohio. Ms. Chan worked as an assistant editor of "Criminal Law Slanguage of New York," Glen Edward Murary and Gary Muldoon (5th Ed. 2012).

Ms. Chan is admitted to practice law in New York and New Jersey, and before the U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey.

In her spare time, Ms. Chan enjoys spending time with her husband, their dog, and her horses.

 

Education

  • University at Buffalo Law School, Buffalo, New York
    • J.D. - 2011
  • Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
    • 2007
    • Major: International Relations

Bar Admission

  • U.S. District Court District of New Jersey, 2015
  • New York, 2013
  • New Jersey, 2012

Honors

  • The Top 50 Women Leaders of North Carolina for 2022, Women We Admire

Recent Publications and Speaking Engagements

  • “Building a Legacy for Change,” Immigration Panel with Senator Alex Padilla (CA), Moderator, Leaders Forum, Washington, D.C. (May 2022)
  • “Nuts and Bolts of Consular Processing for Immigrant Visas,” Panelist, AILA Carolinas CLE (Nov. 2021)
  • “Practice Advisory: Never Give Up, Never Surrender, Motions to Reopen in Immigration Court,” Co-Author 2020 AILA National Conference, Panelist 2021 AILA National Conference
  • “UndocuCarolina Ally Training 101,” Presenter, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, NC (Mar. 2020)
  • “Effective AAPI Business Leadership in Civic Engagement and Beyond,” Panelist, Leaders Forum, Las Vegas, NV (Feb. 2020)
  • “Family Based Immigration,” Panelist, AILA-Carolinas CLE, Raleigh, NC (Sept. 2018)

Past Positions

  • Hon. Michael A. Telesca at the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York, Clerk
  • Federal Public Defender in Cleveland, Ohio, Intern

Professional Associations

  • American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA); Member of Carolinas, Chicago and Ohio Chapters, AILA Carolinas EOIR Liaison Committee
  • Animal Protection Society, Durham, NC; Chair of Board of Directors
  • North Carolina Asian Americans Together (NCAAT) in Action; Board Member
  • Leaders Forum, San Francisco, CA; Board Member
  • National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA)
  • Federal Bar Association-Immigration Law Section
  • North Carolina Bar Association
  • North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys - Durham/Orange Women’s Attorneys
  • North Carolina Chinese Business Association