Margaret W. Wong, Esq.
Principal
Margaret W. Wong & Associates Co., L.P.A.

Over the last twenty years, Margaret Wong has built Margaret W. Wong & Associates Co., L.P.A. into a law firm that is nationally and internationally renowned for its expertise in Immigration and Nationality law. Since 1991, she has been named among the "Best Lawyers in America." She has received the top AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell, and been cited as "one of the most interesting women" and a "leading lawyer" by Cleveland Magazine.

Because of her own personal experience as an immigrant, Margaret Wong combines qualities Americans admire: an immigrant's work ethic, an entrepreneur's drive, a keen sense of resourcefulness, and the utmost compassion for those in need. In 1950, Margaret Wong was born in the former British Colony of Hong Kong. Months earlier, her Chinese parents fled the political repression and civil war caused by the Communist takeover of China. In the late 1960s, she came to the United States on a student visa, with little money and big dreams. She worked as a waitress to pay her own way through college and law school. In light of a 1973 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, she became one of the first non-U.S. citizens licensed to practice law in New York and Ohio. She is now a U.S. citizen.

Because of her own experience of obtaining a green card and U.S. citizenship under U.S. immigration law, Margaret Wong recognized that companies and individuals need sound guidance in this highly regulated, seemingly arcane, and sometimes frustrating, regulatory area. She founded Margaret W. Wong & Associates with one desk and no secretary. Her practice now includes 7 attorneys and 40 other staff members. Over the last two decades Margaret Wong has helped employers obtain work permits for their executives and has assisted thousands of people in coming to the United States to become permanent residents, advance their educations, work, and pursue opportunities. Her clients come from every country around the world, from every walk of life, and range from governmental and corporate to ordinary people. The law firm's talented team handles every kind of immigration problem; its staff can speak 20 languages, including Chinese. Executives and large law firms seek her help when they have tough immigration problems. She is known for speed, quality, honesty and persistence.

Margaret Wong is a civic leader who educates and inspires others. While she was serving as the first Asian-American president of the Cleveland Chapter of the Federal Bar Association, the Cleveland chapter won the coveted Chapter Activity Award. The Ohio Supreme Court appointed her a charter member of the Continuing Legal Education Commission for attorneys, where she is currently serving as a member of its Racial Task Force. She has presented numerous seminars on Immigration and Naturalization law for bar associations and the public.

Committed to giving something back to the community and to mentoring young professionals, Ms. Wong has volunteered her time and expertise on boards of diverse organizations, including educational institutions (Notre Dame College, Cuyahoga Community College, and Northeast Ohio Commission on Higher Education); legal associations (Federal Bar Association, Cleveland Bar Association, Ohio State Bar Foundation, American Immigration Lawyers, and Asian Bar Association); civic organizations (Town Hall, the country's oldest annual lecture series, where she hosted Hong Kong's last British Governor); businesses (Greater Cleveland Growth Association and Greater Cleveland Round Table); medical institutions (University Hospitals of Cleveland and QualChoice); philanthropic groups (United Way Services); and Law Schools (Cleveland State University and Case Western Reserve University).

She has won numerous awards, including two for philanthropy - the Margaret Ireland Award from the Cleveland Women's City Club and the 1997 Creative Philanthropy Award from the Women's Community Foundation. She was named to Cleveland Magazine's "Most Influential Women" list and to the Crain's Cleveland Business "Women of Influence" list.

Margaret Wong received the highly coveted Ellis Island Medal of Honor in May 1998 for her outstanding achievements and contributions to the United States.