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Margaret W. Wong

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Margaret W. Wong
Esq.
Born
Margaret Wai Wong

(1950-07-27)July 27, 1950(age 73)
Hong Kong
Occupationimmigration attorney
Known forLegal representation ofZeituni OnyangoandOnyango Obama,both relatives ofBarack Obama
Margaret W. Wong
Traditional ChineseHoàng duy
Simplified ChineseHoàng duy

Margaret Wai Wong(Chinese:Hoàng duy,[1]July 27, 1950 in Hong Kong) is anaturalizedAmerican immigration lawyer[2][3][4]who created an immigration and nationality law practice in 1978, of which she is senior and managing partner.[5]

Early life and career[edit]

She is the eldest child of Hwang Mien Lin,Hong Kongnewspaper publisher[6]and Kuan Kuo Hua. She faced the prospect of training to be an artist or a teacher if she continued her education in Hong Kong. Desiring to study medicine, she moved to theUnited Statesin 1969 on a student visa, and entered junior college atOttumwa Heights College,inOttumwa, Iowaon scholarship. She earned bachelor's degrees in biology and chemistry atWestern Illinois UniversityinMacomb, Illinoisin 1973, on full scholarship.

Intending to study medicine, Wong weighed her educational options, and seeing she'd be in school for law only three years, and for medicine many more, she decided to pursue law. She earned herJ.D.in 1976 atUniversity at Buffalo Law School,also on full scholarship. Wanting to remain in the U.S. to practice law, she passed the bar in the State of New York, and later in the State of Ohio.

After passing the bar inNew York City,she was unable to find legal work. She took a temporary job as a legal and financial officer of the City ofBuffalo, New Yorkbefore moving toCleveland, Ohio,in 1977, to join Central National Bank as a credit analyst in their management trainee program.[7]While working in Cleveland, she sought entrance to various law firms without success. So after a year with the bank, she opened her own law practice with a single administrative assistant. Recognizing her own need for legal immigration status, she started helping other foreign-born residents maintain their legal status, and work towardsnaturalization.[8]

When she first started working in Cleveland, Wong noticed a plaza inShaker Heights, Ohio,and thought it would be a great place to start a restaurant. She opened the Pearl of the Orient in January 1978.[9][10]Wong asked her sister Rose to run Pearl of the Orient, and the restaurant became so successful, Wong opened a second location in 1984 in Rocky River, Ohio. Wong's brother George runs "Pearl West."[8][11][12]

In 1982 she met Kam Hon Chan (April 23, 1949 – January 22, 2014), a pharmacist in Cleveland, and they wed January 3, 1983. They raised two children, Steven and Allison.[13]Wong and Chan founded the Apothe-Care Pharmacy Group, which eventually grew to three Cleveland area pharmacies.[8]

Wong is admitted to practice before theFourth,[14]Sixth,theDistrict of Columbia Circuit U.S. Courts of Appeals,and theNorthern District of Ohio U.S. District Court.

Notable clients[edit]

Wong wasZeituni Onyango's attorney in her battle to remain in the United States and winasylumand aGreen Card.Onyango, half-sister of PresidentBarack Obama's late father, had her immigration case leaked to the press just prior to her nephew's 2008 presidential election. The immigration judge wrote in his decision that Onyango faced "great risk…" in her home country from those "…who oppose President Obama's politics and/or his ethnicity, which the Respondent shares…" and so should be granted asylum.[15][16][17]

Wong and her law partner, Scott Eric Bratton, representedOnyango Obamawho faced deportation, and helped him obtainasylum rightsand a Green Card. Half uncle of PresidentBarack Obama,Mr. Obama's status became an issue after a 2011 arrest.[18][19][20]

Notable cases[edit]

  • Matter of Adamiak, 23 I&N Dec. 878 (BIA 2006)[21]
  • Mandebvu v. Holder, F.3d, (6th Cir June 18, 2014)(published)[22]
  • Singh v. Gonzales, 451 F.3d 400 (6th Cir. 2006)[23]
  • State v. Yahya, 2011-Ohio 06090 (Ohio App.10th Dist. 2011)[24]

Publications[edit]

  • Wong, Esq., Margaret W. (December 5, 2009).The Immigrant's Way: For All Immigrants, By an Immigrant.New York, NY: ILW.com, American Immigration, LLC.
  • Wong, Esq., Margaret W. (2012).Di dân chi đạo – The Immigrant's Way: For All Immigrants, By an Immigrant.Beijing, PRC:China Renmin University PressCo.(Chinese Edition)
  • Wong, Margaret W.; Bratton, Scott; Pinjuh, Lori; Fungsang, Francis (2010)."Why Immigration Reform is Critical"(PDF).Albany Government Law Review.3(1). Albany Law School: 57–102. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 4 March 2016.Retrieved18 September2014.

Philanthropy[edit]

Inspired by the scholarships she enjoyed in college and law school, Wong is devoted to contributing to the success of her community:

  • Having pledged $850,000 to her law school alma mater, in 2012, Wong increased her pledge to $1.5 million, half of which would fund scholarships, and the other half to endow a professorship in immigration law. $1 million would be paid over ten years, and the remaining half-million dollars was a pledgedplanned givinggift from her estate.[7][25]
  • Wong created a $100,000 scholarship atCuyahoga Community CollegeinCleveland, Ohio,in 2011.[26]
  • Wong established the "Margaret W. Wong Endowed Forum on Foreign Born Individuals of Distinction" at theCity Club of Cleveland.[27]
  • She has sponsored numerous organizations such as Global Cleveland[28]and theCleveland Orchestra,and has made many additional pledges of planned giving bequests, including to theNotre Dame College,for which she serves as a trustee, and is a member of their Marian Legacy Society.[29]
  • Wong has pledged significant legacy gifts to the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Foundation,[30]and the Ohio State Bar Foundation.[31]

Awards[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^"Hoàng duy luật sư Margaret W. Wong".Margaret W. Wong & Assoc. Co., LPA. Archived fromthe originalon 2022-04-06.Retrieved2022-04-06.
  2. ^"Margaret W. Wong, Esq".Asian American Net.Retrieved9 January2018.
  3. ^"Margaret Wong: Cultured Pearl of the Orient".ClevelandWomen.com.Retrieved9 January2018.
  4. ^Grzelewski, Jordyn (21 April 2017)."Margaret Wong Does it Her Way".Cleveland Magazine.Retrieved9 January2018.
  5. ^"Margaret W. Wong & Associates, Co. LPA".Retrieved5 September2014.
  6. ^"Hon. Dennis J. Kucinich honors Hwang Mien Lin in Congress May 5, 1997".Retrieved5 September2014.[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ab"Sharing the Fruits of a Dream".Archived fromthe originalon 16 September 2014.Retrieved15 September2014.
  8. ^abc"Cleveland People Margaret Wong Biography".Archived fromthe originalon 11 July 2016.Retrieved8 September2014.
  9. ^"Ohio Business charter Pearl East".Retrieved5 September2014.[permanent dead link]
  10. ^"Pearl of the Orient Restaurant East".Retrieved5 September2014.
  11. ^"Ohio Business Search Pearl West".Retrieved5 September2014.
  12. ^"The Pearl of the Orient in Rocky River, Ohio".Archived fromthe originalon 24 August 2014.Retrieved5 September2014.
  13. ^"Kam H Chan Pharmacist Husband".25 January 2014.Retrieved5 September2014.
  14. ^"Fourth Circuit Attorney List"(PDF).Retrieved5 September2014.
  15. ^"Zeituni Onyango Wins Asylum".HuffPost.Retrieved5 September2014.
  16. ^"Zeituni Onyango Status Leak Leads to Asylum".CBS News.2 November 2008.Retrieved5 September2014.
  17. ^"Margaret W. Wong discusses Zeituni Onyango case".YouTube.19 February 2014.Retrieved5 September2014.
  18. ^"Huff Po Obama Asylum".HuffPost.3 December 2013.Retrieved5 September2014.
  19. ^"Wong and Bratton speak at Onyango Obama Hearing".YouTube.4 December 2013.Retrieved5 September2014.
  20. ^"Un tío indocumentado de Obama consigue la residencia en EEUU".Retrieved23 September2014.
  21. ^"Matter of Adamiak, 23 I&N Dec. 878 (BIA 2006)"(PDF).Retrieved2014-10-14.
  22. ^"Mandebvu v. Holder, F.3d, (6th Cir June 18, 2014)(published)"(PDF).Retrieved2014-10-14.
  23. ^"Singh v. Gonzales, 451 F.3d 400 (6th Cir. 2006)".Retrieved2014-10-14.
  24. ^"State v. Yahya, 2011-Ohio 06090 (Ohio App.10th Dist. 2011)".Retrieved2014-10-14.
  25. ^"Margaret W. Wong UB Law Gift".Retrieved5 September2014.
  26. ^"Ms. Wong accepts Tri-C Philanthropy Award".YouTube.12 April 2011.Retrieved5 September2014.
  27. ^"The City Club of Cleveland Endowed Forums".Retrieved16 September2014.
  28. ^"Global Cleveland Funders".Archived fromthe originalon 25 August 2014.Retrieved16 September2014.
  29. ^"Notre Dame College Marian Legacy Society".Retrieved5 September2014.
  30. ^"CMBF Legacy Fellows".Retrieved12 December2014.
  31. ^"Ohio State Bar Foundation Distinguished Life Fellow Associate".Retrieved12 December2014.
  32. ^"AABA Catalyst Award from NAPABA".Retrieved15 September2014.
  33. ^"International Service Award, Rotary Club of Cleveland, 2014".YouTube.23 February 2014.Retrieved15 September2014.
  34. ^"UB Law Jaeckle Award".Retrieved15 September2014.
  35. ^"Ohio Women's Hall of Fame".Retrieved15 September2014.
  36. ^"NAPABA Trailblazer Award".Archived fromthe originalon 15 September 2014.Retrieved15 September2014.
  37. ^"Ellis Island Medals of Honor, 1998".Archived fromthe originalon 4 March 2016.Retrieved15 September2014.
  38. ^"YWCA Women of Achievement".Retrieved15 September2014.
  39. ^"Glamour Magazine Outstanding Working Women '83".Retrieved12 December2014.


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