Jeannie Kain, Esq.
Attorney Jeannie Kain has been working in immigration law since 1998. She has always been fascinated by cross-cultural relations, and is committed to making justice accessible to all immigrants. She has practiced immigration law in a variety of settings as a lawyer since 2004, has served as Chair of the New England Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), and is conversant in Spanish.
Jeannie grew up in Buffalo, New York and studied abroad in both Quito, Ecuador and Salamanca, Spain. She graduated from American University in 1997 with a Bachelor’s degree in Cross-Cultural Communication. After graduating from college, she worked as a paralegal and ultimately an accredited representative at the International Institute of Boston (IIB). It was at IIB that she really found a love for the practice of immigration law, and went to law school for that reason.
Jeannie graduated from Northeastern University School of Law in 2004 with her law degree, and is licensed to practice in Massachusetts. From 2004-2009, she worked for the immigration law firm of Kaplan, O’Sullivan & Friedman, and had the opportunity to handle a wide variety of immigration cases. She gained particular expertise in asylum, removal proceedings, family-based immigration, detention work, and appeals during her time there. Among several federal appellate cases that she handled, she served as co-counsel in Saysana v. Gillen, a case that changed federal policy in relation to mandatory detention.
From 2009-2012, Jeannie worked as an Immigration Specialist at the Committee for Public Counsel Services, the Massachusetts public defenders’ office, advising public defenders on the immigration consequences of crimes. She also provided training and mentorship in the intersection of immigration and criminal law, and prepared amicus briefs for appeals before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
From 2012-2016, Jeannie was the Managing Attorney at the Irish International Immigrant Center (now known as the Rian Immigrant Center), a busy non-profit organization that provided immigration counsel and representation to low-income immigrants from around the world. Jeannie managed a team of attorneys and volunteers, oversaw a weekly walk-in clinic, handled a full caseload of clients, and was also involved in the strategic planning and direction of the organization.
Jeannie also served on the Executive Board of the New England Chapter of AILA from 2010 to 2016. AILA is the main professional bar association for immigration lawyers, with over 600 members in the New England chapter. Jeannie led the chapter as Chair during the 2014-15 term.
In 2017, Jeannie opened Ramirez & Kain with Audrey Robert-Ramirez. With Audrey’s departure in 2024, this firm became Kain Immigration LLC. She focuses on complex family-based immigration (including waivers), asylum, representation in removal proceedings, and the immigration consequences of crimes. Among her proudest moments is watching long-term clients ultimately become U.S. Citizens through the naturalization process. She is regularly called upon to speak at law conferences on these topics.
Jeannie currently serves as vice-chair of AILA’s national liaison committee for USCIS Field Operations. She is also an AILA liaison to the New England office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Enforcement and Removal Operations (“ERO”), assisting other attorneys and their clients with matters at ERO, and working towards systemic change.