Aloha is a Hawaiian word that can mean hello or goodbye, two words that have profound significance to the immigrant experience. Aloha can also mean kindness and compassion.
It is with a welcoming spirit, coupled with compassion and kindness, that Aloha Immigration was born.
With more than 25 years of experience in immigration law - and more than 30 years of involvement in defending immigrant rights - we offer a proven philosophy and work ethic, client dedication and a very unique perspective on US immigration. Have a look below to get to know us a bit better and feel free to contact us to see what we can offer you.
Aloha Immigration should be given 10 stars. Their communication with monthly updates, getting back to us immediately when we had a question, caring for their clients and going above and beyond and to get results. We were not just happy but ecstatic. Aloha they take to heart. Claire is truly an amazing person and we highly recommend.
Clare, Mark and the entire Aloha immigration team is awesome! They care about their clients. I highly recommend Aloha Immigration to anyone looking for legal assistance with immigration related matters!
We came to work with this incredible team after disappointed to another attorney we hired before and it was a great choice that we switched to them. We worked with the team for my wife's greencard and they are extremely efficient and friendly and straightforward. Aloha immigration led by Clare and other team members are easy to work with and professional. I highly recommends working with them if you are struggle with your visa.
We came to Aloha Immigration Law firm after being turned down by another Immigration attorney. He didn't hear us out and I felt we were judged without hearing our story. Clare however, from the initial consult - she gave us HOPE!! Clare, Mark and Lori were amazing to work with!! After years of trying to resolve our Immigration process, they've made this process bearable. We hit a few road bumps along the way but they got the work done! They were patient and thorough. I highly recommend their services to anyone!!
The whole experience is very smooth. Both Mark and Clare provided professional service. If you don’t want to be frustrated with all paperwork or you worry about your case. Aloha immigrant provides good service. In my case, it only takes about 8 months to get my green card. Mahalo, Clare and Mark.
I recently received my Green Card in the mail and have to say that Aloha Immigration made the process extremely smooth. Aloha Immigration's legal team, led by Clare, is easy to work with -- they are all super helpful and communication levels are high. Clare laid out the steps at the beginning and it all happened as she said it would. I totally recommend you use them to help you solve any US immigration issues you may have. Would I use them again? Absolutely.
If you are looking for the best in immigration law, look no further!! Clare and Mark have years of experience which is evident in how they make things so seamless with all the paperwork required and the preparation needed for the interview. Clare made us feel so comfortable and was with us in person for the interview as well. We really appreciate the assistance and guidance in the whole process and highly recommend Aloha Immigration!! If we could give 6 Stars if we would!!
Thanks to these wonderful and helpful people , I've finally succeeded in becoming a citizen. I am so grateful to have had their assistance in this and very much recommend their services. Aloha.
After deciding to retain a lawyer for my immigration needs I was referred to Aloha Immigration. It was the best decision I could have made. Clare and Mark were so professional and hands on when it came to gathering and organizing pages of documentation. Clare was also present during my interview which really helped with calming my nerves. The results were successful! I could not have done it without them!
My wife and I are extremely grateful and thankful for the amazing work of Clare, Mark and the Aloha Immigration team. We can’t thank them enough for their hard work, knowledge and professionalism of getting my wife approved for her Green Card. I can honestly say without Clare, Mark and the Aloha Immigration Team my wife and I would never have been approved. We had a very difficult case which required an I-601 waiver and Clare guided us through every step. She went above and beyond what an attorney would normally do, she came to the Big Island where we live and went over our case, she is very knowledgeable, easy to talk to and makes you feel like you’re a part of her family. The case took a while at no fault of Clare but had to be rescheduled for the interview process because of COVID-19, several times during the process we felt like giving up but Clare kept giving us encouragement and telling us to have patience. My wife scared at the interview but with the help and guidance Clare gave her, my wife was able to answer almost every question the Immigration Officer asked of her. When the interview was complete the Immigration Officer approved our case and granted my wife her Green Card on the spot. I know with Covid-19 we are not suppose to be hugging or getting close,, but when my wife was walking out of the office of the Immigration Officer she began to cry tears of joy, I guess Clare couldn’t control herself either and they both embraced each other and cried together. I truly will never forget that moment! If you want an attorney that really cares about you than I highly recommend Clare, Mark and her team! Than you from the bottom of our heart.....Dwaine and Lily
My family and I honestly can't thank enough Clare, Mark and their team at Aloha Immigration. They have been amazing in helping us with my mother, sister and my green card process. They are very professional and go above and beyond in their work. We had a complicated case after we ran into a person claiming to be an "attorney" and ended up losing our U-Visa immigration status. They worked very hard on my mother,sister and my case. They got us back on track and today all 3 of us are green card holders. The process was very smooth too and they made it super easy. We are forever grateful they were able to save our case. If you need help with any immigration process, put your self in excellent hands with Clare, Mark and their team. They are very professional, trust worthy and overall a big blessing in our life and we are forever grateful for all Aloha immigration did for us.
Much Mahalo to “Aloha Immigration”, Clare, Mark, and their team! When we received a surprising, intimidating, and frankly scary denial letter for I-751 (Removing Conditions on Residence), they were our guiding light and hope through the darkness that we felt at that time. Clare gave us clarity and insight into our case not to mention the comfort and support through the challenging process. Our time working together and learning more about each other strengthened the “Aloha Spirit” and we consider Clare and Mark as family. Through their hard work which at times was very time sensitive, we were able to change inconvenient court appearances and meet short-notice deadlines. And finally, we were successful to turn around and right an unjust denial decision, into a long and highly anticipated LPR Approval!We have no words to express our thanks to Clare, Mark, and the team for all that they have done for us. They will continue to be in our hearts and memories, especially when meeting life’s future challenges. Mahalo Nui Loa Aloha Immigration!
Aloha Immigration provided some incredible support to help get my wife's rejected I485 reversed and Green Card issued.With a very limited deadline to manage and provide the necessary work Clare and Mark worked tirelessly throughout a very stressful process in order to assure USCIS compliance.The approach was caring and understanding and provided us with the confidence we needed that this situation could successfully be overcome.Nothing can speed up the current USCIS processing times however once the paperwork was submitted on time we knew the overwhelming evidence that we produced would produce a positive outcome.Mahalo Aloha Immigration. Will be looking forward to your help when the citizenship train comes around in a few years.
A lawful permanent resident (LPR) can live and work in the U.S. on a permanent basis and given a “green card” as proof of that status. Lawful permanent residents can leave and re-enter the U.S. but can lose status if they are outside of the U.S. for too long. Most lawful permanent residents are eligible the apply for naturalization (U.S. citizenship) after 3 or 5 years, depending on how LPR status was acquired.
There are a variety of paths to getting a green card, with the most common being through an immigrant relative petition filed by a close family member. Not everyone with a family member qualifies, however, which is why it is important to consult with an immigration professional before applying.
Naturalization
United States citizenship has its advantages – no more green card renewals, the ability to vote, ease in travel to many countries, and the ability to petition certain family members to immigrate to the U.S. Applying for citizenship can have some pitfalls, too, because any application submitted to USCIS gives the government the opportunity to heavily scrutinize the applicant’s background. This can sometimes lead to removal (deportation proceedings) if real or perceived issues are uncovered. For these reasons, It is best to have your options professionally evaluated, and Aloha Immigration can help with that, along with application preparation and representation during your interview.
Visa and Parole-in-Place Processing
Immigrant and nonimmigrant visas are issued by consulates abroad, and visas are required for many people seeking admission to the U.S. for business, to visit, or to reside long-term. Aloha Immigration offers assistance to help you determine the best visa option available, filing petitions and assistance with the often confusing process of visa issuance at foreign consulates.
Parole in Place (PIP) is a unique program for certain undocumented family members of U.S. military personnel (active or veterans). It allows those non-citizen family members who are in the U.S. unlawfully to apply for a green card, without having to leave the country.
Support for Human Trafficking / Domestic Violence Survivors
Over the years, U.S. immigration laws have expanded to provide options for survivors of many different types of serious crimes including domestic violence from a U.S. citizen or permanent resident parent or spouse, human trafficking, and other crimes. Aloha Immigration has assisted hundreds of people subjected to such trauma to be able to remain in the U.S. where they can work on rebuilding their lives.
Conditional Permanent Residence (Form I-751)
Marriages to U.S. citizens that are less than 2 years in duration at the time of green card issuance result in a 2-year conditional permanent resident (CPR) status. Before the end of that 2-year status period, USCIS requires the filing of additional documentation. Sometimes marriages don’t survive the 2-year period, and often the immigrant spouse can file to remove the CPR status alone. We can explain the options and steps to removing CPR status and help in gaining the 10-year green card.
Getting served with a Notice to Appear (“NTA”) for Immigration Court can be a stressful and scary experience. With 20 years of experience in representing individuals in removal proceedings, Aloha Immigration can provide a comprehensive evaluation of options to fight for you to stay in the U.S. We have extensive experience in bond hearings, adjustments of status, cancellations of removal, waivers,withholding and other forms of relief from deportation.
Clare Hanusz founded Aloha Immigration in June 2017, after working with the Immigration Practice Group at Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert in an Of Counsel affiliation since October 2013.
Born and raised in Toledo, Ohio, Clare has lived in Honolulu since 1995 (with an 18-month move to Melbourne, Australia from 2012-2013). After graduating from Ohio University’s Honors Tutorial College in 1991 she moved to Arizona worked for the Valley Religious Task Force on Central America, advocating for immigrants and more just U.S. foreign policies. The opportunity to meet and work with refugees and their attorneys in Arizona propelled Clare to pursue a career in immigration law, and she enrolled in the University of Hawaii’s William S. Richardson School of Law in 1996.
While a first-year student, she was awarded a fellowship from the National Lawyers Guild for a summer internship with the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project in Florence, Arizona. It was there, in the summer of 1998, that Clare litigated her first deportation case for a Spanish-speaking detainee. Upon returning to Hawaii she continued her work with immigrants, serving on the Board of Directors with Na Loio (now the Hawaii Immigrant Justice Center at Legal Aid) where she also spent a summer as a legal intern.
After graduating from law school in 1999, Clare worked at Na Loio heading up a Neighbor Island immigration project to bring legal services to immigrants in rural and isolated communities. She also worked for a two Honolulu law firms and had a solo practice under the Law Office of Clare Hanusz.
Clare has represented hundreds of individuals before the immigration court, the Board of Immigration Appeals, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. She has assisted clients with naturalization, adjustment of status (“Green Cards”), U visas (for immigrant victims of certain serious crimes) and T visas for victims of human trafficking, as well as consular processing, waivers of inadmissibility, asylum, special immigrant juvenile status, employment based and religious worker visas and options for immigrant survivors of domestic violence.
Clare is the recent past Chair of the Hawaii Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), and has served as local AILA liaison to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and as co-chair for the Advocacy Committee. She is also a member of the National Lawyers Guild’s National Immigration Project and a founding member of the Hawaii Coalition for Immigration Rights and the Hawaii Coalition for Civil Rights. She has partnered with the American Civil Liberties Union to litigate cutting-edge motions to suppress in immigration court and serves on the ACLU of Hawaii Litigation Committee. She has written on immigration issues for the Hawaii State Bar Association, AILA, and local publications, and has spoken locally and a nationwide. She has been featured in local, national and international news.
Clare lives in Honolulu with her husband Nevi, a professor of political science at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and two children. Public school advocacy is another of Clare’s passions and she currently serves on the board of Parents for Public Schools-Hawaii. Her full resume can be found here.
Professional and Community Affiliations
Bar Admissions
Admitted 1999
Why choose Aloha Immigration?
We are experts in family-based immigration law
Over 20 years of immigration experience in Hawaii
Each Client has direct attorney contact
100% State of Hawaii General Excise Tax compliant
100% Hawaii Supreme Court Trust Account compliant
100% ControlScan PCI compliant for processing credit card payments
Encrypted and secure storage of client documents
Industry-leading case turnaround time
Best-in-class client collaboration technology
Our clients love us! See the reviews above.
Years Experience
25
Clients Served
1400
Professional Affiliations
7
Cases Litigated
205
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Aloha Immigration’s Responsive Law Pledge
Many law firms claim to put their clients first. At Aloha Immigration, we promise to do the following and let clients decide for themselves.
Responsiveness: Aloha Immigration strives to reply to all client communications promptly – usually within one business day and oftentimes less.
Participation: Aloha Immigration will give our clients timely notice of all meetings, USCIS interviews, and court appearances in their matter.
Deference: Aloha Immigration will defer to our clients’ goals throughout representation.
Case Updates: Aloha Immigration will provide all clients with a monthly case email update with the current status of their case.
Confidentiality: Aloha Immigration will maintain all client confidences.
Information Access: Aloha Immigration will provide our clients with copies of all materials provided to us or prepared by us for their cases.
Dismissal and Discipline: Aloha Immigration acknowledges our clients’ right to dismiss us at any time and will provide our clients with information about how to file a complaint with Bar Council in our jurisdiction.
Engagement Agreement: Aloha Immigration will provide each of our clients a clear written engagement agreement, signed by us and counter-signed by our clients, outlining the scope and objectives of the representation, the fees charged, and payment terms.
Lawyer Background: Aloha Immigration will inform our clients of the education, training, and relevant experience of each lawyer working on their case
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