Kari Ann Fonte, Esq. Board Certified by the Florida Bar as a Specialist in Immigration and Nationality Law Montiel Davis & Fonte, P.L. Kendall Branch: 111 N.E. 1 st Street, 5 th Floor 11980 S.W. 144 th Court, Suite 104 Miami, Florida 33132 Miami, Florida 33186 (305) 446-1151, extension 131 (305) 382-6630 EXPERIENCE: September 1995 to present: Montiel Davis & Fonte, P.L. Partner, Supervising Attorney Began as associate attorney, soon taking on supervisory responsibilities. In 2000, became named partner of the firm. Duties include supervising total staff of 12, with 3 associate attorneys, accounting manager, and paralegals/clerks; reviewing work of all attorneys and paralegals; meeting with new clients to assess Immigration possibilities; meeting with existing clients regarding complications that arise; training new attorneys; representing clients in complex cases; hiring, evaluating and firing staff. Areas of practice include all aspects of Immigration and Nationality Law, including employment based and family based immigrant and nonimmigrant visas, adjustment of status, naturalization, asylum, removal, waivers, consular processing, and appeals. Practice before the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Bureaus of Citizenship & Immigration Services, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Customs and Border Protection; Administrative Appeals Office; U.S. Department of State; U.S. Department of Labor; Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals; Immigration Court; and Board of Immigration Appeals. EDUCATION: Florida State University, College of Law Juris Doctor, High Honors, 1995 Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences Bachelor of Arts, Cum Laude, 1992 Double major: Spanish, and Latin American and Caribbean Studies Minor: French Page 1
MEMBERSHIPS: Admitted to practice by the Florida Bar on September 22, 1995 Board Certified by the Florida Bar as a Specialist in Immigration and Nationality Law, June 1, 2002 to present Admitted to the United States District Court, Southern District of Florida May 2007 American Immigration Lawyers Association, 1996 to present American Immigration Lawyers Association, South Florida Chapter 1996 to present COMMITTEES: American Immigration Lawyers Association, Board of Governors 2011-13 PUBLISHED ARTICLES: American Immigration Lawyers Association, South Florida Chapter President 2011-2012 President-Elect 2010-2011 First Vice President 2009-2010 Second Vice President 2008-2009 Secretary 2007-2008 Board Member 2005-2007 Member of South FL AILA CLE Committee 2012-2013 Member of USCIS Liaison Committee 2009-2013 Chair of the Luncheon Committee 2010-2011 Chair of Unlicensed Practice of Law Committee, 2005-2006 Member of Department of Motor Vehicles Committee, 2005-2006 Immigration and Nationality Law Certification Committee, Florida Bar Appointments 2004 to 2007; 2007 to 2010; 2013-2016. Vice-Chair 2005-2006 Chair 2006-2007 Kari Ann Fonte, ABogota, Colombia,@ The Visa Processing Guide and Consular Posts Handbook, American Immigration Lawyers Association, 2005-2006, 2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010 Editions. Page 2 Magda Montiel Davis and Kari Ann Woodward (now Fonte), Bogota, Colombia, The Visa Processing Guide, American Immigration Lawyers Association. 2004-2005 Edition
2003-2004 Edition 2002-2003 Edition 2001-2002 Edition 2000-2001 Edition 1999 Edition La Voz/Weston Voice monthly local newspaper immigration column, June 2003 to April 2005. Magda Montiel Davis and Kari Ann Woodward (now Fonte), ALabor Certifications: Past, Present and Future,@ 17 th Annual Immigration Law Update, Florida Bar CLE, 1996. APPEARANCES: Invited Panelist, Introduction to Removal: Initial Proceedings, AILA s Annual Conference on Immigration Law, June 29, 2013 San Francisco, CA. Discussion Leader, VAWA and U Visas, representing victims of abuse, 34 th Annual Immigration Law Update, South Florida Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, February 2013. Panelist, Being Worthy of U.S. Citizenship: Good Moral Character, Criminal Issues, and Naturalization. Central Florida AILA 26 th Annual Fall Conference, October 5, 2012. Panelist, Prosecutorial Discretion Update, South Florida AILA September 2012 Luncheon. Panelist, ABCs of Immigration Law for Newer Practitioners: Naturalization. August 9, 2012, AILA National Webinar. Panelist, Developments in Labor Certification Processing, 33 rd Annual Immigration Law Update, South Florida Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, Miami Beach, Florida, February 2012. Panelist, Naturalization Issues, Central Florida American Immigration Lawyers Association 25 th Annual Fall Conference, Clearwater, Florida October 21, 2011. Panelist, Other Defenses to Removal, American Bar Association, Commission on Immigration, Pro Bono Training: The Essentials of Immigration Court Representation, April 13, 2011, Miami, FL. Page 3
Panelist, Labor Certification, South Florida AILA s 32 nd Immigration Law Update, Miami Beach, FL, February 2011. Annual Speaker, Immigration, Visas, and Career Options, 12 th Annual Strengthening and Valuing Latin@ Communities in Iowa Conference, sponsored by the University of Iowa, October 15-16, 2010. Panelist, DOL Now (Labor Certification), and Strategies for Maintaining Residence and Complex Citizenship Issues, South Florida American Immigration Lawyers Association 31 st Annual Immigration Law Update, Miami Beach, Florida, February 2010. Panel Speaker: Religious Workers, Central Florida American Immigration Lawyers Association 23 rd Annual Conference, Clearwater, Florida, October 16-17, 2009. Invited Guest as Immigration Expert, Radio Caracol 2060 AM, August 2009. Panel Speaker: Naturalization Issues, South Florida American Immigration Lawyers Association Monthly Luncheon, April 15, 2009. Guest Speaker on the Practice of Immigration Law, Florida State University, College of Law, January 2009. Speaker and Panel Speaker: AA Day in the Life of An Immigration Attorney, and ALatin American Immigration Issues,@ Humanities Symposium: Immigrants & Refugees: The Global Movement at our Door, Viterbo University, La Crosse, Wisconsin, February 5-7, 2007. Discussion Leader: AH-1Bs: Don=t Let the H-1B Crunch Catch You Off-Guard. Practice Pointers and Legal Strategies to Ensure Your Client Gets a Visa Number,@ Young Lawyer=s Division Q & A Session, South Florida AILA Monthly Luncheon, January 17, 2007. Panel Speaker: AAdvanced Issues in Citizenship & Naturalization,@ 27 th Annual Immigration Law Update, FL Bar/AILA, Miami, FL, Feb. 2006. Panel Speaker, AAdvanced Issues in Immigration Processing,@ hosted by Catholic Charities Legal Services, Miami, Florida, July 2005. Page 4 Panel Speaker, ADealing with Developments in Family Based Immigration,@ 26 th Annual Immigration Law Update, Florida Bar/AILA
CLE, Miami, Florida, February 2005. Panel Speaker, ACore Curriculum: Immigrant Visa Processing: Family, Special Immigrant & Diversity Visa Lottery,@ 2004 AILA Annual Conference on Immigration Law, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, June 2004. Speaker, AFoiling Removal - Keeping Aliens Here,@ International Criminal Law Seminar, Criminal Law and International Law Sections of the Florida Bar, Miami, Florida, March 2004. Discussion Leader, AILA 2003 Fall CLE Conference, San Antonio, Texas, September 2003. Speaker, ANonimmigrant Visas,@ Federal Bar Association Seminar, San Juan, Puerto Rico, June 2002. Guest appearance, AImmigration and You,@ Immigration Television Program, WLRN, Miami, Florida, February 14, 2002. AImmigration Chat with Montiel Davis and Woodward Kimber,@ Univision.com, March 2001. Speaker, AMaking a Living: Marketing Strategies,@ 14 th Annual Immigration Law Seminar, Central Florida Chapter, American Immigration Lawyers Association, St. Petersburg, Florida, October 2000. Panel Speaker, AEthics,@ 1999 AILA Annual Conference on Immigration Law, Seattle, Washington, June 1999. Television Interview, Channel 23, Miami, Florida, July 10, 1997 (regarding pending Federal Court litigation). RECOGNITION: AV Rating in Martindale-Hubbell, highest level of legal ability and ethics, 2008 to present. Bar Register of Preeminent Women Lawyers, 2008 to present (Martindale-Hubbell) U.S. News & World Report, Best Law Firms (2013) Page 5 The Best Lawyers in America, 2005-2006, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011 Editions.
SIGNIFICANT PRO BONO WORK: Superlawyers Top Attorneys in Florida, 2012 Best Attorneys in Florida, 2012 & 2013 South Florida s Top Lawyers, 2010 South Florida Super Lawyers, 2010 South Florida s Best Lawyers, 2009 Florida s Top Lawyers, July 2008 and November 2004. Top Lawyers, Lawdragon Magazine, August 2006 Book Award (highest grade in class), Immigration Law, Florida State University, Fall 1993. Tefel v. Reno, provided litigation support in class action law suit brought by Ira Kurzban and Mary Kramer in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida, 1997. Migrant Farmworker Clinic, Florida State University, 1994-1995. IMMIGRATION CONFERENCES ATTENDED: AILA Annual Conferences on Immigration Law: Page 6 2012 Nashville, Tennessee 2011 San Diego, California 2010 National Harbor, Maryland 2009 Las Vegas, Nevada 2008 Vancouver, Canada 2007 Orlando, Florida 2006 San Antonio, Texas 2005 Salt Lake City, Utah 2004 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 2003 New Orleans, Louisiana 2002 San Francisco, California 2001 Boston, Massachusetts 2000 Chicago, Illinois 1999 Seattle, Washington
1998 Houston, Texas 1997 Orlando, Florida 1996 Phoenix, Arizona Annual Immigration Law Updates, South Florida Chapter of AILA, Miami, Florida, Annually from 1996 to 2013. AILA Spring CLE Conference, Washington, D.C., April 2011 and 2012 Annual Immigration Seminar, Central Florida Chapter of AILA, St. Petersburg, Florida, 2000, 2003, 2009-2012. Immigrant s List First Annual CLE Litigation Immigration Seminar, October 26, 2012, Miami Beach, Florida. International Criminal Law Seminar, Criminal Law and International Law Sections of the Florida Bar, Miami, Florida, March 2004. AILA Fall CLE Conference, San Antonio, Texas, 2003. AILA 2002 Conference on Entry Issues, Detroit, Michigan, April 2002. REFERENCES: Ira J. Kurzban, Esq. Board Certified Immigration Attorney Professor, Immigration Law, University of Miami Author, Immigration Law Sourcebook (305) 444-0060 Former Immigration Judge Ronald Sonom Executive Office for Immigration Review, Immigration Court Miami, Florida (561) 495-1972 The Honorable Immigration Judge Lourdes Martinez-Esquivel Executive Office for Immigration Review, Immigration Court Miami, Florida (305) 789-4221 Page 7