PERSONAL
Immigration Attorney Joanna Gaughan represents immigrants in removal proceedings and in affirmative and defensive asylum cases. Joanna is fluent in Spanish. Her focus is on Central American and Mexican asylum cases in the Charlotte Immigration Court, widely considered one of the most challenging courts in which to represent asylum-seekers. She also accepts asylum cases from all countries of origin. She is currently the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Carolinas chapter's Asylum Liaison.
Joanna previously worked as a Staff Attorney focusing on immigration cases at the Second Circuit Court of Appeals and as a pro bono coordinating attorney at Kids In Need of Defense (KIND), where she helped provide access to counsel for hundreds of unaccompanied immigrant children. Joanna earned her J.D. from the University of Arizona’s James E. Rogers College of Law in Tucson, Arizona. Before becoming a lawyer, she was a public school teacher in Brooklyn, New York, and worked with undocumented Burmese refugees in Thailand.
La abogada de inmigración Joanna Gaughan representa a inmigrantes en procesos de deportación y en casos de asilo afirmativos y defensivos. Joanna habla español con fluidez. Su atención se centra en los casos de asilo de América Central y México en la Corte de Inmigración de Charlotte, considerada como una de las cortes más difíciles en la que se representa a los solicitantes de asilo. Ella también acepta casos de asilo de todos los países de origen. Ella es actualmente el enlace de asilo del de la Asociación Americana de Abogados de Inmigración (AILA) para NC y SC.
Joanna trabajaba anteriormente como abogada especializada en casos de inmigración en el Tribunal de Apelaciones del Segundo Circuito y como abogada coordinadora pro bono en Kids In Need of Defense (KIND), donde ayudaba a proporcionar acceso a un abogado para cientos de niños inmigrantes no acompañados. Joanna obtuvo su JD en derecho en la Facultad de Derecho James E. Rogers de la Universidad de Arizona en Tucson, Arizona. Antes de convertirse en abogada, fue maestra en unas escuelas públicas en Brooklyn, Nueva York, y trabajaba con refugiados birmanos indocumentados en Tailandia.
BAR ADMISSIONS & CERTIFICATIONS:
Licensed in New York State, Second Division
Authorized to practice immigration and nationalities law in all 50 states as well as U.S. territories
Member in good standing of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), Carolinas and Washington D.C./Virginia/Maryland chapters
EDUCATION:
B.A. Cornell University, 1999
M.A. in Education, Cambridge College, 2003
M.A. in International Human Rights Law, the United Nations University for Peace (San Jose, Costa Rica), 2004
J.D. James E. Rogers College of Law, the University of Arizona, 2010
PERSONAL:
Joanna enjoys traveling, hiking, practicing yoga, and playing with her dog, Jack.
