Before joining Aloha Immigration Law Firm, lead attorney Melissa Vincenty served as the first legal clerk for the Supreme Court of the Tibetan Government in Exile in McLeod Ganj, India in 1998 — a career beginning that shaped an immigration practice now spanning offices in Honolulu, New York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane. The firm was founded in 2017 in Honolulu by Clare Hanusz, who passed away in February 2023; Melissa Vincenty has led the practice since that transition.
Overview
Aloha Immigration Law Firm operates as a dedicated U.S. immigration law firm based in Honolulu, Hawaii. Founded in 2017 by Clare Hanusz — described by those who worked with her as a fierce advocate for immigrant rights — the firm continued operating after Clare Hanusz’s death in February 2023 under the leadership of Melissa Vincenty, who now serves as lead attorney and managing director.
The firm’s practice is exclusively immigration law. It handles the full range of family-based immigration matters, naturalization proceedings, removal of conditions from conditional residency, DACA renewals, immigration waivers, and support for survivors of domestic violence seeking legal status under the Violence Against Women Act. The firm does not practice in unrelated areas.
The Honolulu office operates in partnership with Worldwide Migration Partners — a network co-founded by Melissa Vincenty in Sydney, Australia in 2015 — which extends the firm’s reach to New York, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles domestically, and to Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane internationally. This international network is unusual among U.S. immigration practices of the firm’s size and reflects Melissa Vincenty’s extensive background working across multiple countries.
A Clare Hanusz memorial scholarship has been established at the University of Hawaii Law School in honor of the firm’s founder. The firm holds a 5.0 Google rating based on 69 reviews.
Practice Areas
Family-Based Immigration: The firm handles petitions for family members seeking permanent residence in the United States. This includes both immediate relative petitions and preference category petitions, navigating the different processing timelines and evidentiary requirements each involves.
Marriage-Based Green Cards and Adjustment of Status: Representation of spouses and fiances seeking immigration benefits, including both consular processing and adjustment of status for those already in the United States. The firm handles the K-1 fiance visa process as well as the subsequent adjustment after marriage.
Removal of Conditions (I-751): After receiving a conditional green card based on marriage, individuals must file an I-751 petition to remove the conditions after two years. The firm handles these filings, including the more complex cases where the underlying marriage has ended or other complications arise.
Naturalization and U.S. Citizenship: Representation through the naturalization application process, including preparation for the citizenship interview and addressing legal issues that may complicate a naturalization application.
DACA Renewals: Melissa Vincenty has experience renewing DACA status for eligible recipients, navigating the ongoing legal landscape around the program.
Immigration Waivers and Hardship Waivers: When prior violations of immigration law create bars to admission or adjustment, the firm prepares waiver applications demonstrating extreme hardship or qualifying circumstances.
VAWA Self-Petitions: The firm represents survivors of domestic violence and abuse seeking immigration protection through self-petitions under the Violence Against Women Act, which allows qualifying individuals to petition independently without the cooperation of an abusive spouse or family member.
Refugee and Asylum-Related Matters: Melissa Vincenty’s background with Amnesty International, where she served as Country Specialist for China and Tibet for more than 15 years, informs the firm’s capacity to handle refugee and asylum-related matters involving complex country conditions analysis.
Human Trafficking: Melissa Vincenty has represented victims of human trafficking rings, work that intersects with immigration status and relief available to trafficking survivors under U.S. law.
Attorney Profiles
Clare Hanusz founded Aloha Immigration Law Firm in 2017 and built it into a respected Honolulu immigration practice before her passing in February 2023. She was admitted to practice in Hawaii and was recognized within the immigration law community as a strong advocate for immigrant rights. The University of Hawaii Law School has established a memorial scholarship in her name.
Melissa Vincenty serves as lead attorney and managing director. She earned her J.D. from the William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawaii in 1999 and holds a Graduate Certificate in Migration Law from Australian National University. She has more than 25 years of experience in immigration and migration law. Early in her career she served as the first legal clerk for the Supreme Court of the Tibetan Government in Exile in McLeod Ganj, India in 1998. She subsequently co-founded Worldwide Migration Partners in Sydney, Australia in 2015 after working at what is described as the world’s largest U.S. immigration firm. She served as Country Specialist for China and Tibet at Amnesty International USA for more than 15 years and has represented victims of human trafficking. She has lived and worked in Germany, California, China, Japan, Hawaii, and Australia. Bar admission is in Hawaii.
Location and Service Area
1050 Queen Street #100, Honolulu, HI 96814
Phone: Not publicly specified — contact via the website contact form at https://alohaimmigration.com/
The Honolulu office serves as the firm’s primary location. Through the Worldwide Migration Partners network, the firm also operates or coordinates with offices in New York, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles domestically, and in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane in Australia.
Client Focus
The firm serves individuals and families navigating U.S. immigration law, with particular depth in family-based immigration and in cases involving vulnerability — domestic violence survivors, human trafficking victims, and individuals from countries with complex political situations. Melissa Vincenty’s international background and long experience with refugee and asylum matters equip the firm to handle cases with a global dimension.
The international network through Worldwide Migration Partners means the firm can serve clients with needs spanning both U.S. and Australian immigration systems, which is a meaningful capability for clients with transpacific ties. Hawaii’s geographic position as a crossroads between the U.S. mainland and Asia and the Pacific makes this international orientation particularly relevant to the firm’s client base.
Language capabilities beyond English are not publicly specified, though Melissa Vincenty’s background living and working across multiple countries and cultures suggests practical capacity for working with diverse client populations.
FAQ
What happened to the firm after Clare Hanusz passed away?
Clare Hanusz, who founded Aloha Immigration Law Firm in 2017, passed away in February 2023. Melissa Vincenty, who had joined the firm and brought over 25 years of immigration law experience including her work co-founding Worldwide Migration Partners in Australia, took over as lead attorney and managing director. The University of Hawaii Law School has established a memorial scholarship in Clare Hanusz’s name.
What is Worldwide Migration Partners and how does it relate to the firm?
Worldwide Migration Partners is a migration law firm network that Melissa Vincenty co-founded in Sydney, Australia in 2015. Through this network, Aloha Immigration Law Firm can coordinate services across offices in New York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane — an international reach unusual for a boutique immigration practice based in Honolulu.
Does the firm handle asylum cases?
The firm handles asylum-related matters and refugee issues. Melissa Vincenty spent more than 15 years as a Country Specialist for China and Tibet at Amnesty International USA, developing substantial expertise in the country conditions analysis that asylum cases require. She has also represented victims of human trafficking, who may be eligible for specific immigration relief.
Can the firm help with domestic violence situations involving immigration status?
The firm handles VAWA self-petitions, which allow survivors of domestic violence and abuse to petition for immigration protection independently, without the involvement of the abusive spouse or family member who might otherwise be the petitioner. This is a recognized area of the firm’s practice.
Is the firm’s practice limited to Hawaii?
The firm’s primary office is in Honolulu, but through the Worldwide Migration Partners network it coordinates with offices in multiple U.S. cities and internationally. U.S. immigration law is a federal practice area, so many immigration matters are not geographically restricted in the same way state law matters would be.
Closing
What Melissa Vincenty carries forward from Clare Hanusz’s founding vision — and from her own 25-plus years working on immigration matters across multiple countries and continents — is a practice grounded in genuine international experience rather than purely procedural knowledge. A background spanning Amnesty International country specialist work, the Tibetan government’s supreme court, an Australian migration network, and human trafficking representation represents a breadth of real-world immigration exposure that is difficult to replicate, and it is this depth that defines what the firm now offers to clients in Honolulu and beyond.