Our Story
WHO WE ARE
Sara Herbek
Managing Attorney
Sara Herbek is GIA’s Managing Partner and responsible for all legal service delivery. She along with her robust team of Attorneys and Paralegals represent multinational corporations in a wide range of industries. Her practice involves providing strategic immigration advice regarding the movement of professionals throughout the world, including temporary and permanent work visas. Sara and her team also work with clients to establish corporate immigration policies and procedures along with training and educating clients through webinars and presentations to Human Resources and Talent & Acquisition Teams to ensure immigration policies are applied consistently. In addition, Sara and her team advise clients during mergers and acquisitions to effectively and efficiently manage these transitions for the organization and its foreign national employees. Prior to joining GIA, Sara was a Shareholder and leader of Ogletree Deakins’ Atlanta immigration office. Previously, she was a team lead attorney at Ogletree’s Raleigh immigration office and earlier in her career was an attorney at Fragomen. Sara graduated with honors from Northwestern University and received her JD from Chicago-Kent College of Law. Sara is currently licensed to practice in Illinois.
Gordie Rosoklija
Senior Associate
Gorjan (“Gordie”) Rosoklija is a Senior Associate with GIA, with over seven years of professional experience in immigration matters gained at GIA and previously at Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy. Gordie earned his law degree cum laude from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 2010, and his BA cum laude from the College of William and Mary in Virginia. While in law school, Gordie served as an Articles Editor for the Wisconsin Law Review and was also a member of the Moot Court Board. He has extensive professional experience in the immigration field and was recently named a Super Lawyers “Rising Star.” Gordie possesses deep expertise in guiding companies through the workforce impact of corporate restructuring and also serves as a lead attorney for I-9 program implementation and development. He has authored numerous articles in the immigration field, including his most recent titled “Why It Is Time for Congress to Eliminate the Arbitrary H-1B Cap”. Gordie is licensed to practice in Illinois & Wisconsin.
Sheila Kumar
Senior Associate
Ms. Kumar received her JD magna cum laude from Michigan State University College of Law, where she was a member of the Journal of International Law and a Presidential Scholar. In law school, she interned for the Honorable Chief Justice Robert P. Young of the Michigan Supreme Court and received a merit award for excellence in research, writing and advocacy. Ms. Kumar’s extensive immigration experience includes the preparation of employment-based immigrant and non-immigrant visas, as well as providing regulatory guidance and counseling to clients in all areas of business and family immigration. She is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and a pro-bono volunteer with Asian Indian Family Services. She is licensed to practice in Michigan and proficient in Malayalam.
Ian Love
Senior Associate
Ian Love is a Senior Associate at GIA. Ian received his JD cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School in 2012, and earned a BA in French magna cum laude from Lawrence University in 2005. While in law school, he completed coursework in immigration and related subject areas, served with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Geneva, Switzerland, and handled pro bono representation of immigrant clients. Mr. Love practices employment-based immigration with GIA and has experience representing clients before USCIS, the Department of State, and the Department of Labor. Mr. Love is proficient in French, and is licensed to practice in Illinois.
Anne Walsh
Senior Associate
Anne Walsh is a Managing Attorney with GIA. She received her JD from Marquette University Law School in 2011, and her BA in Political Science and Spanish from the University of Wisconsin. Prior to joining GIA, Anne worked for an immigration law firm in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In law school, she served on the Board of the Marquette Immigration Law Association, earned distinguished merit from the Pro Bono Society for her work with the immigrant community, interned for the Honorable Judge Aaron Goodstein at the US District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin, and was a devoted volunteer with the Catholic Charities Immigration Project. Anne is licensed to practice in Illinois and Wisconsin.
Scott Kuhagen
Senior Associate
Scott Kuhagen is a Senior Associate at GIA. Scott graduated magna cum laude with a BA in Government from The College of William and Mary, and while an undergraduate, he spent a year studying law and international relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He was awarded his JD at Temple University’s Beasley School of Law in 2012. At Temple, he served as an Articles Editor for the Temple Political & Civil Rights Law Review. Prior to joining GIA, Scott worked for the City of Chicago Law Department. During law school, Scott interned for the Nationalities Service Center in Philadelphia, where he assisted clients in pursuing asylum claims. He also interned for the Philadelphia Immigration Court (U.S. Dept. of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review), where he drafted decisions and memoranda on various immigration cases and issues. Before law school Scott worked for a consulting firm for nonprofits doing research and data analysis, and worked for a national faith-based refugee resettlement agency. Scott is licensed to practice in Illinois, and is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and the Chicago Bar Association.
Ryan Bay
Partner, Legal Operations
Ryan Bay is currently a Partner, Legal Operations. He brings over five years of immigration experience to his current role, with both law firm practice and immigration work for CapGemini. Ryan received his BA in Classics cum laude from Monmouth College. He then went on to Western State University, where he was awarded his JD cum laude in 2010. He is currently licensed to practice law in Illinois and maintains eligibility to resume active status in California.
Jalpa Shah
Associate
Jalpa Shah is from Cypress, CA. Jalpa majored in Political Science and Criminology, Law, Society while at the University of California, Irvine. Before attending law school, Jalpa helped farmers in Santa Rosa, Panama, through the Global Law Brigade, and taught English to children in underprivileged neighborhoods while interning for Pratham in Vadodara, India. She completed her Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco, CA. While in law school, Jalpa participated in an exchange program at Bocconi University in Milan, Italy. Jalpa is currently licensed to practice in California.
Louis Massard
Associate
Louis Massard is an Associate with GIA. Louis earned his JD from the University of North Carolina School Of Law and his BA in Economics and Political Science from Northwestern University. During his time at UNC, Louis served on the UNC Pro Bono Board and on the North Carolina Journal of International Law. Prior to joining GIA, Louis worked for an immigration law firm in North Carolina, where he is currently licensed to practice. He is a native Spanish speaker and is proficient in French.
Christopher Esmits
Associate
Christopher’s practice focuses on non-immigrant and immigrant business visa issues, as well as advising companies in immigration practice and policy concerns. He works with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the U.S. Department of Labor, and the U.S. Department of State in obtaining immigrant and non-immigrant benefits for clients’ foreign national employees. Christopher graduated from Indiana University Maurer School of Law in 2013, and prior to law school, he received a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Illinois in 2010. Christopher is licensed to practice in the state of Illinois.
Natalie Zakarzecka
Associate
Natalie Zakarzecka is an Associate at GIA. She graduated from IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law in December of 2014. While in law school, Natalie gained experience in immigration, workers’ compensation and personal injury law. Prior to joining GIA, Natalie practiced immigration law at Asonye & Associates, focusing on employment immigration in the healthcare sector. Natalie graduated summa cum laude from Saint Xavier University in 2011, earning Bachelor degrees in Political Science and History. She is licensed to practice in Illinois, and is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and the Chicago Bar Association. Natalie was born in Poland and is fluent in Polish.
Amanda Bolhuis
Associate
Amanda S. Bolhuis is an Associate with GIA. Ms. Bolhuis received her JD from the John Marshall Law School in 2014, after earning her BA in Philosophy from Michigan State University. Ms. Bolhuis focuses on employment-based nonimmigrant and immigrant petitions, in addition to advising companies on immigration and policy concerns. She is licensed to practice in Illinois, and is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
Jaclyn Pettit
Associate
Jaclyn E. Pettit is an Associate at GIA. Ms. Pettit received her JD from DePaul University College of Law in 2012, and a BA in Communications Law & Policy from the University of Michigan in 2007. Ms. Pettit focuses on employment-based nonimmigrant and immigrant petitions. Prior to joining GIA, Ms. Pettit worked as a prosecutor with the City of Chicago Department of Law, where she gained extensive administrative law experience. She is licensed to practice in Illinois, and is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and the Chicago Bar Association.
Rene Cousins
Associate
Rene K. Cousins is an Associate with GIA. Rene received her JD from Emory University of Law in 2014, after earning her BS magna cum laude in Legal Studies with minors in Business and Psychology. While in law school, Rene interned at The Prince Firm, LLC, a boutique family immigration law firm where she handled immigrant and non-immigrant visas, including applications for religious workers. Prior to joining GIA, Rene worked as an attorney at Ogletree Deakins, focusing on assisting employers with obtaining temporary work visas and permanent residency on behalf of new and current employees. Rene is licensed to practice in Georgia, and is a member of the Atlanta Bar Association and American Immigration Lawyers Association.
Joseph Spesia
Associate
Joseph Spesia is an Associate with GIA. Joseph has practiced immigration law since the summer of 2014. After completing his first year in law school, Joseph began his practice as a Law Clerk with a Firm based in Schaumburg, Illinois. In addition to clerking at that Firm, Joseph gained practical experience in The John Marshall Law School’s Immigration Clinic. He graduated from JMLS in the spring of 2016, and in the fall of 2016, he was sworn in as an attorney by the Supreme Court of Illinois. Most recently, Joseph practiced as an Associate with Maney | Gordon | Zeller, P.A.’s downtown Tampa, Florida, office. Joseph practices business immigration, and he has extensive experience securing both immigrant and nonimmigrant visas in a variety of classifications. He is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. Joey is currently licensed to practice in Illinois.