Thao Gonzalez-Pho received her J.D. from Western New England University School of Law and she graduated from Smith College with a B.A. in American Studies. During her time in law school, Thao edited the physician immigration section of the 18th Edition of Kurzban’s Immigration Law Sourcebook with Attorney Dan Berger, assisted Cornell Law School’s Distinguished Immigration Scholar Randel Johnson in researching government sanctions related to I-9 issues for employers, served as Student Coordinator for the ACLU of Massachusetts, attended meetings with the Western Mass AAPI Commission, and co-founded the first WNE Law School APALSA as Vice President. The day after graduating from law school, Thao attended NAPABA Lobby Day in Washington D.C. and advocated for improvements to the immigration quota system for healthcare workers; as well as access to counsel for immigrants unable to afford counsel and for immigrants detained at a port of entry.
Thao herself has experienced the challenges of resettlement, language and culture acquisition first-hand, having entered the U.S. at a young age as a refugee from Vietnam after living in Hong Kong. She brings her unique perspective to her work helping others navigate through the complex immigration system. She has helped hundreds of immigrants obtain permanent residence and become citizens of the U.S. Thao has over 20 years of experience with CBK in J-1 Conrad and HHS Clinical waivers for physicians and Physician National Interest Waivers as well as complex business immigration cases such as PERM labor certification, L-1s for Executives, Multinational Managers, individuals with specialized knowledge and blanket Ls. Thao joined CBK in August of 2023 as their new Legal Associate/Law Clerk.