About Us

The Team of Pilkington Immigration

Gilbert Pilkington, B.S., M.S., J.D., Lawyer

Gilbert was a lieutenant colonel in the United States Air Force and served as chief of the Health Services Management Division from 1998-2005. After his Bachelor of Science in Applied Physics and Masters of Science in Health Systems at Georgia Tech University in Atlanta, Georgia, Gilbert completed his Juris Doctor of Law at the University of Tulsa in 2007 and was called to the Bar in Oklahoma.

Gilbert is engaged in family law and serves as the U.S.-based agent for immigration visa applications. Gilbert is a member of the Oklahoma Bar Association, the American Bar Association and the International Academy of Collaborative Professionals.

A. Joseph Maloney, B.Sc., M.B.A., J.D., Lawyer

Mr. Maloney was born in Toronto, Ontario and completed his Juris Doctor of Law and Masters in Business Administration at the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma in 2009 where he was awarded the Ronald Brochstein Prize for Excellence in Sports Law.

Following an athletics career that saw him compete for Canada internationally in track and field and set two Canadian relay records, Mr. Maloney coached for six years at the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma.

Mr. Maloney works on immigration for athletes and coaches and his immigration practice also includes waivers, work permits, permanent residency and citizenship applications, both in the United States and Canada.

He has been called to the Bar in the United States (Oklahoma) and is a foreign legal consultant (Ontario, New Brunswick, Alberta, Saskatchewan). He is also called to the Bar in Canada (Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia). He is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the Canadian Bar Association, the Sports Lawyers Association, and serves as the Chairman of the Guelph Sports Hall of Fame. He has published a biography of “John McDonnell: The Most Successful Coach in NCAA History” with the University of Arkansas Press in 2013.

Margaret Wilson, B.S. J.D., Lawyer

Margaret was born and raised in the United States and graduated with a Bachelor’s of Arts from Oral Roberts University in 2008. She earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Tulsa in 2015, graduating with highest honors. Ms. Wilson was called to the State Bar of Florida before moving to Canada, where she is a licensed Foreign Legal Consultant in the province of Ontario.

Ms. Wilson is Senior U.S. Attorney and Partner at Pilkington law firm. Her practice includes general U.S. immigration law, with a concentration in inadmissibility issues, family immigration, and employment immigration along the Northern Border. Ms. Wilson is further active with the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), serving on numerous committees, and was a contributing author to The Consular Practice Handbook, 5th edition in 2023. She is overseeing the opening of the Orlando, FL office.

Yosheel B. Bangaroo, LLB (European Legal Studies), Lawyer (Canadian & Offshore, Notary Estates Certified)

Yosheel is a bi-jural lawyer originally qualified at the old Inns of Court in London, UK. He read law in the south-east of England in Canterbury with a European exchange Erasmus program in Bordeaux, France where he was awarded a joint law degree LL.B in English and French Law.

After his articling in bay street at major Canadian chartered bank, he got licensed in Ontario. He also articled and worked in offshore magic circle law firm in the exotic French-speaking jurisdiction of l’île Maurice, reputed for yacht migration, where he was born and raised. He has been nominated by the Government of Ontario under the favored Francophone stream to immigrate in Canada. The latter is now a French-Canadian upon the grant of his citizenship.

His unique background led to our exclusive areas of practice both in Canada and in offshore jurisdiction.

As the firm’s officially bilingual lawyer, he focussed on business immigration related to LMIA-Exempt Work Permit, Investors, French-Speaking Skilled Worker immigration, Family Sponsorship Programs related to Spousal, Federal Court of Canada for judicial review and appeals, and Immigration Appeal Division for both permanent residency and citizenship cases.

As the dual-qualified partner of our Offshore office, he also practise Mauritius Law, this chic jurisdiction being a top spot destination for celebrity residency with respect to Millionaire’s Immigration in one of the three Ms – Malta Mauritius Monaco; his time exclusively reserved for private VIP consultation for wealthy expats, golf players tournament across the gold estate, permanent residency through prime luxury real estate, lead consultation for clients in the United Kingdom and internationally for permanent residency, estate and tax planning via the Double Taxation Treaty Agreement (DTTA), with notaire/notary service for investors due diligence document certification with financial services regulator.

He serves our clientèle for our classy Mauritius Immigration practice in collaboration with our consulting associated partner office in Switzerland, Germany, France, Belgium, UK which makes the biggest share of the top 10 market for most expats’ residency in Mauritius.

Yosheel has been called to the bar in England & Wales, Mauritius island (Indian Ocean) and Canada (Ontario).

Practice: Canadian Law, Offshore (Mauritius Law)

Punam Kumar, J.D., LL.M., U.S. Attorney & Licensed Immigration Consultant (RCIC)

Ms. Kumar was born in the Fiji Islands and raised in Canada. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree with concentration in Psychology from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.

Being an immigrant and having a passion for social justice, Ms. Kumar migrated to the United States to pursue her dreams in law. She received her Juris Doctor from John F. Kennedy University School of Law in Orinda, California, and her Master of Laws in Trial Advocacy with specialization in Federal Criminal Defense from California Western School of Law in San Diego, California, an advanced program co-founded by the former Director of the California Innocence Project.

Ms. Kumar practiced in both civil and criminal defense in Northern and Southern California. Prior to joining Pilkington Immigration Law, Ms. Kumar was employed with a private criminal defense firm where she handled various criminal misdemeanor and felony matters, advocating for her clients before state and federal judges.

Ms. Kumar handles U.S. and Canadian immigration matters for businesses and families. She is an active member of the California State Bar and is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of California, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States District Court for Northern and Southern California. Ms. Kumar is a licensed Foreign Legal Consultant (FLC) in Ontario authorized to handle US immigration matters. She is also a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA).

Ms. Kumar has first-hand knowledge and experience in understanding the complexities in immigration and works diligently with her clients to empower them with confidence and ease as they transition through the process.

Helen Fiallos, B.A., Licensed Immigration Consultant (RCIC)

Helen received her Bachelor of Arts from York University and later became an immigration consultant with nearly twenty years of experience in Canadian immigration handling business and family applications. She oversees the economic immigration, business visas and all temporary resident visas and works in the Vaughan office.

Aderinmola Utake, LL.B., Licensed Immigration Consultant (RCIC)

Aderinmola Utake is a dual qualified lawyer with licensure in Ontario, Canada and Nigeria. She has experience in assisting clients with all aspect of Canadian Citizenship as well as business immigration matters for Nigeria.

Sherrie Tiessen, Licensed Immigration Consultant (RCIC)

Sherrie has worked at the Kitchener Waterloo Multi-Cultural Center and Phipps Immigration for several years before joining Pilkington. She handles Canadian immigration files for families and individuals.

Mark Armanious, LL.B., J.D.

Mark Armanious brings a diverse legal background to his role. Born in Toronto, Ontario, Mr. Armanious earned a Bachelor of Laws degree (LL.B.) from the University of Sunderland in England. Building on this foundation, he subsequently attended Liberty University in Virginia, where he attained a Juris Doctorate degree (J.D.) with a Certificate of Concentration in International Law.

Having been called to the Bar in both Washington, D.C. and Ontario, Canada, Mr. Armanious is well-versed in navigating the complexities of legal systems on both sides of the border. He is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and a licensed Foreign Legal Consultant with the Law Society of Ontario, demonstrating his dedication to providing comprehensive legal services across jurisdictions.

Mr. Armanious understands the challenges that businesses, individuals, and families can face when seeking to establish themselves in a new country and is committed to helping them achieve their immigration goals.

His dedication, empathy, and unique perspective enable him to effectively represent clients from diverse backgrounds, ensuring that each individual receives the personalized attention and skilled advocacy they deserve.

John Lasseigne, J.D., B.A., M.Div

John graduated from Loyola University School of Law in New Orleans, Louisiana with a Juris Doctor of Law before being called to the State Bar of Texas. He has practised immigration law for over a decade. He is handling files related to family green cards and non-immigrant and immigrant waivers.

Jun Hernandez, LL.B., Licensed Immigration Consultant (RCIC)

Jun received his Bachelor of Law in the Philippines before immigrating to Canada, where he became an immigration consultant and teaches a course in immigration law at Anderson College.

Danielle Grbic, Senior U.S. Legal Clerk

Danielle is seasoned U.S. Immigration Law Clerk with over 15 years of professional experience in managing and crafting compelling various visa applications and U.S. immigration solutions through the Dept of State, USCIS, and Port of Entry filings.

Working closely with the Attorney of Record, Danielle is proficient in navigating through NIV matters such as TN’s, L-1A/B, H-1B, E-2/E-1, O-1A/B, and E-3, as well as employment-based IV matters such as EB-1A/EB-1C and NIW. In addition, Danielle is also familiar in the preparation of family-based petitions through Consular processing or AOS. Danielle also understands border inadmissibility matters and has a sound understanding of approaching Wavier of Inadmissibility applications and requests. She is also capable of interpreting and developing strategy for Request for Evidence (RFE) and Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID) preparation and responses.

Danielle’s background includes working with various scales of organizations looking to start up or expand operations in the United States and visa processing in various geographies. She excels in providing comprehensive legal support encompassing all aspects of file and case management, combined with effective communication and case transparency.

Elizabeta Wegryzn, Senior Legal Clerk

Elizabeta immigrated to Canada in 1984 from Poland where she held a Master’s Degree in Law and practised law. She assists with United States citizenship and fiance applications.

Adriana Cuchi, Legal Clerk

Adriana practiced law in Brazil before immigrating to Canada. She assists with family-based immigration to Canada in the Guelph office.

Melanie Fiallos, Legal Clerk

Melanie assists with non-immigrant waivers to the United States, as well as economic immigration, business visas and all temporary resident visas to Canada in the Vaughan office.

Grace Friesen, Legal Clerk

Grace assists with family-based immigration to the United States, as well as family-based and refugee immigration to Canada out of both the Guelph and Kitchener offices.

Tania Velasquez, Legal Clerk

Tanya assists with family-based and humanitarian immigration and citizenship to Canada in the Burlington office.

Natalia Japor, Legal Clerk

Natalia practiced law in Brazil before immigrating to Canada. She assists with economic immigration, business visas and all temporary resident visas to Canada in the Toronto office.

Ishaan Jethi, Legal Clerk

Ishaan assists with business work permits as well as non-immigrant and immigrant waivers to the United States in the Guelph office.

Song-ie Kim, Legal Clerk

Song-ie Kim immigrated to Canada from South Korea. She assists with family-based immigration as well as rehabilitation and record suspension applications to Canada in the Kitchener office.

Reham Salama, Office Administration

Reham manages client intake, translation and correspondence for all offices.