Kelli A. Fennell

partner
F 312.604.2737
Kelli A. Fennell is a Partner with Hughes Socol Piers Resnick & Dym, Ltd. She concentrates her practice in the areas of immigration and nationality matters. These include family-based immigration issues, naturalization, asylum, U visa, and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival applications.

Ms. Fennell represents clients in removal proceedings before the Department of Homeland Security, including clients with various criminal issues. Her practice also encompasses a wide breadth of business-related immigration topics, including nonimmigrant work visas, and employment based permanent residence applications.

Ms. Fennell graduated from DePaul University College of Law, cum laude, in December 2012. During law school, Ms. Fennell was a law clerk at a prominent immigration law firm and completed an internship at Centro Derecho Humanos Fray Bartolome de Las Casas in Chiapas, Mexico working with victims of human rights violations and the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights. In addition, Ms. Fennell received the Benjamin Hooks Distinguished Public Service Award for over 200 hours of pro bono service to immigrants and human rights advocacy.

Ms. Fennell currently serves as a co-chair of the American Immigration Lawyers Association’s Advocacy Committee and previously served as the vice-chair of the Chicago Bar Association’s Immigration and Nationality Law Committee. She has provided volunteer services to women and children refugees detained in Dilley, Texas through the CARA Probono Project and is an advocate for comprehensive immigration reform.


Education

DePaul University College of Law (J.D. 2012) — Cum Laude
Butler University (B.A. 2006)

Admissions

Illinois State Bar (2013)
Northern District of Illinois (2015)

Professional Recognition

Named to the Emerging Lawyer list by Leading Lawyers® (2018-2023)
Named to the Rising Stars list in Illinois by Super Lawyers® (2019-2023)
Best Lawyers® – Recognized in Immigration Law (2020-2024)
Named on the Illinois Super Lawyers List by Super Lawyers® (2024)

Memberships / Associations

Member, Illinois State Bar Association
Member, Chicago Bar Association —Co-chair of the Immigration and Nationality Law Committee 2016-2018
Member, American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) — Chicago Chapter Co-Chair of the Ethics Committee and Advocacy Committee, Chicago Chapter Member of Executive Office for Immigration Review Liaison Committee, National Member of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Head Quarter Liaison Committee

Presentations & Publications

American Immigration Lawyers Association National Annual Conference, “What Just Happened? Client and Witness Preparation.” (June 22, 2023)

Illinois State Bar Association, “2022 Immigration Law Update: Analyzing Immigration Matters when Everything is Constantly Changing.” (February 22, 2022)

AILA Chicago Chapter Spring Conference, “USCIS Updates and Strategies.” (March 19, 2021)

“Documenting Hardship: Thinking Outside the Box,” published by the American Immigration Lawyers Association, The Waivers Book: Strategies for Overcoming Inadmissibility, Removability, and Other Barriers to Immigration Benefits, 4th Ed., Jason C. Mills and Kelli A. Fennell. (September 6, 2022)

American Immigration Lawyers Association National Annual Conference, “Documenting Hardship: Thinking Outside the Box.” (June 21, 2019)

American Immigration Lawyers Association Chicago Fall Family & Removal Conference, “Strategies & Best Practices in an Enforcement-Centered Era.” (November 9, 2018)

DePaul Asylum and Immigration Law Clinic, “Half-Day Training: Relief from Removal Overview.” (March 23, 2018)

Chicago Bar Association, “U.S. Supreme Court: 2016-2017 Year in Review.” (August 30, 2017)

Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education, “General Practice Bootcamp: Immigration.” (March 14, 2017)

Chicago Bar Association, Continuing Legal Education Committee Seminar, “U.S. Immigration Policy: What the Future Holds.” (October 14, 2016)

Languages

English
French
Spanish
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