Meet Attorney Carla M. Casas
Carla M. Casas is the Managing Attorney and Owner of Casas Immigration, Ltd. and has been practicing law since 2002. A native of Peru, Carla immigrated to the United States in 1980. Having personally experienced the difficulties of the immigration system, she has a unique perspective when handling immigration matters and an intimate understanding of the struggles her clients face. It is because of her own immigrant experience that she chose to focus her practice on immigration law. Carla feels fortunate for the opportunity to pursue her goals in the United States and is passionate about helping other immigrants do the same.
Carla began her career as an associate at Foley & Lardner and later at McGuireWoods, both large national law firms in the Chicago area. She has also served as an Assistant Attorney General with the Illinois Attorney General’s Office, as a staff attorney with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and as a Trial Attorney with the United States Department of Labor.
As a federal trial attorney, Carla successfully prosecuted numerous cases arising under various federal labor statutes and regulations, including the Immigration and Nationality Act H-1B visa program and the Fair Labor Standard Act (“FLSA”). Carla’s work was instrumental in recouping unpaid wages for many immigrant workers under the FLSA, including a settlement of $225,000 for several immigrant restaurant workers who had been victims of minimum wage and overtime violations at a Chinese buffet in Georgia. This settlement was named as one of Top Georgia Settlements of 2012.
Despite her many career accomplishments, Carla’s true passion has always been working with the immigrant community, of which she is proudly a member. As a result, she chose to leave her position with the federal government to focus exclusively on immigration law. Immediately prior to starting Casas Immigration, Carla served as a full-time volunteer attorney with the National Immigrant Justice Center in Chicago, where she successfully represented clients in removal proceedings, as well as in filing applications for benefits with USCIS and the Immigration Courts. Carla brings her many years of experience as a trial attorney to the practice of immigration law and takes pride in zealously advocating for all her clients.
Carla is a native Spanish speaker and can efficiently and emphatically help clients with their concerns and questions, both in Spanish and English. Carla enjoys international travel, conducting “Know Your Rights” workshops in her community, taking road trips, snow skiing and spending time with her family in Florida.
Carla resides in the Irving Park neighborhood of Chicago with her canine babies, Tumi and Miski.
Professional Experience
- 2002 - 2005, Health Law Associate, Foley & Lardner, LLP
- 2005 - 2006, Litigation Associate, McGuireWoods LLP
- 2007 - 2008, Assistant Attorney General, Office of the Illinois Attorney General
- 2008 - 2009, Civil Rights Attorney, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund ("MALDEF")
- 2009 - 2014, Trial Attorney, United States Department of Labor
- 2014 - Present, Owner and Managing Attorney, Casas Immigration, Ltd.
Education
Andrews University, B.A. Mathematics
University of Florida College of Law, Juris Doctor (JD)
bar admissions
Supreme Court of Florida
Supreme Court of Illinois
Supreme Court of Georgia
U.S. Dist. Ct. M.D. of Florida
U.S. Dist. Ct. N.D. of Illinois
U.S. Dist. Ct. N.D. of Georgia
professional memberships
Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois
American Immigration Lawyers Association
Legal Advisory Board Member, Arise Chicago

Margarita ‘’Magy’’ Ocon
Senior Paralegal
Margarita “Magy” Ocon is a paralegal at Casas Immigration, Ltd. Magy assists the attorney with all types of family immigration matters and brings over 10 years of immigration law experience to our law firm.
Magy has worked at various well-respected immigration law firms in the Chicago area. Prior to joining Casas Immigration, Ltd., Magy worked at Minsky, McCormick & Hallagan, P.C. where she focused on immigrant visa cases being processed through the various U.S. Consulates. Magy has also volunteered at various citizenship workshops hosted by Mujeres Latinas en Accion, a Chicago non-profit focused on empowering Latinas.
Magy speaks English and Spanish fluently. Magy enjoys music, traveling, painting, and spending time with her loved ones and her dog, Bella.

Paulina Torres
Paralegal
Paulina Torres is a paralegal at Casas Immigration, Ltd. Paulina assists the attorney with all types of family immigration matters and brings over 2 years of immigration law experience to our law firm.
Paulina graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Global Studies and French from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2021. Since then, she has spent her entire professional career working in both family and employment-based immigration law. Prior to joining Casas Immigration, Ltd., Paulina worked at Kempster, Corcoran, Quinceno, & Lenz-Calvo, Ltd. where she was an assistant supervisor on the Adjustment of Status team. There she focused on family, employment, VAWA, U-Visa, asylum and diversity lottery adjustment of status cases for a wide variety of clients. She hopes to continue to gain even more professional experience and to broaden her knowledge on the wide range of family immigration processes.
Paulina speaks English and Spanish fluently and is proficient in French. Paulina enjoys reality TV shows, pop culture podcasts, spending time with friends and family, and traveling.

Juliana Infante
Administrative Assistant/Marketing
Juliana Infante is an Admin Assistant/Marketing at Casas Immigration, Ltd. Juliana handles all our incoming phone calls and assists with various administrative tasks including managing the firm’s website, marketing, and client relations.
Prior to joining the firm, Juliana spent nearly a decade in the field of customer service including supervising customer service and sales teams in different areas, such as website design and financial services.
Juliana is a native of Colombia and she speaks English and Spanish fluently and currently is learning Portuguese. Juliana enjoys traveling, riding her motorcycle, trying new food, and spending time with her family.
Contact Information
Contact us today at (312) 971-7221 to schedule your initial consultation.
5731 W. Montrose Ave, Chicago, Illinois 60634
reception@casasimmigration.com
9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Monday Through Friday, Closed Saturday & Sunday