Kelly M. Chicas

Kelly M. Chicas has devoted her legal career exclusively to immigration law, gaining extensive experience in a broad range of areas. Her expertise includes deportation defense, such as cancellation of removal, 212(c) and 212(h) waivers for crimes, de novo TPS claims, and bond hearings. She also handles family-based immigration, including adjustment of status and consular processing, as well as visas for immigrant survivors of domestic violence and crime victims.

Ms. Chicas is skilled in obtaining waivers for fraud, crimes, health-related bars, and prior deportations. Her practice further encompasses citizenship and naturalization, nonimmigrant visas, asylum, NACARA, and humanitarian relief, including temporary protected status and parole. She has successfully represented clients in complex cases before the Immigration Courts, the Board of Immigration Appeals, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and various U.S. consulates and embassies.

Ms. Chicas holds a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Spanish and a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in English from Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, and a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Case Western Reserve University School of Law in Cleveland, Ohio. Her international perspective was enriched by studying abroad in Toledo, Spain.

Her passion for immigration law was ignited while working as an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher at a non-profit assisting the immigrant and refugee community in northeast Ohio. During law school, she further pursued her interest by working at a prominent employment-based immigration law firm and a non-profit organization aiding migrant and seasonal farmworkers in southwest Michigan.

Ms. Chicas began her legal career in 2006 at a bustling immigration law firm in Miami, Florida. In 2007, she joined an immigration law firm in Dallas, Texas, where she contributed to expanding and developing the firm's practice. Prior to her current role, she was affiliated with the Law Offices of Michael G. Matthews.