“I cannot recommend AHWC highly enough. This is our second time to use them and both Seamus and Xiaodan have been exceptional. They really know their stuff and offer a very thorough and professional service. Thank you AHWC for securing our 188 Visa. Much appreciated.”  – Yvonne K

Seamus is a Chartered Accountant and a Registered Migration Agent.

Seamus grew up in Coolaney in the west of Ireland where he qualified as a Chartered Accountant. He moved to South Africa in 1980 and lived there until 1987 .

Seamus moved to Australia in 1987 and became a citizen in 1992.

Seamus founded AHWC Immigration Law (originally known as Australia Here We Come) in 2010. Australia Here We Come changed its name to AHWC Immigration Law in November 2017.

Seamus has expertise across all visa types. He is particularly good at assessing complex situations and finding unique solutions that work. In really complex situations he will often find a solution that no one else has thought of.

You can talk to Seamus about onshore and offshore Australian Partner Visas, Prospective Marriage Visas and subclass 461 New Zealand Citizen Family Relationship Visas.

He also provides strategic advice in relation to employer-sponsored visas, including Subclass 457 Temporary Work Visas, Subclass 186  Employer Nominated (ENS) visas,  Temporary Skills Shortage, Subclass 482 (TSS) visas, as well as Business Visas and Parent Visas.

Seamus is passionate about AFL and is a Melbourne Demons tragic, now totally delighted with his team winning the 2021 Grand Final!

“Having Maggie’s support and advice throughout our application process for my wife’s visa has been amazing!! She has always given me time and advice whenever I’ve had questions or concerns. I have recommended AHWC Immigration to friends in the past and will continue to do so in the future. Visa’s are an emotional and difficult process to go through, and knowing Maggie was there to support us has made the world of difference.”  – Sam T

Maggie is our principal lawyer and was born in the United Kingdom and lived briefly in India as a child before immigrating with her family to South Africa. Maggie migrated to Australia in 1987 and became a citizen in 1992.

Maggie always wanted to study law, and finally completed a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) (Hons) in 2002 at Deakin University.She still can’t believe she won the Supreme Court Exhibition Prize for the best honours thesis in her final year. She was admitted as a solicitor in 2004 and signed the Bar Roll in 2008.

Before joining AHWC Immigration Law, Maggie held a number of senior legal positions including senior associate at a prominent Melbourne legal firm as well as practicing as a barrister at the Victorian Bar as a member of Dever’s List.

As our principal lawyer, Maggie handles a range of immigration law services including;

• Reviews of adverse decisions, (AAT and Federal Circuit Court)
• Citizenship refusal appeals
• Requests for ministerial intervention
• Character submissions
• Applications for health waivers
• Assisting employers with DIBP monitoring and compliance issues

Maggie is our go to person for all complex legal matters and her success rate with reviews of adverse decisions, including AAT appeals, is enviable.

“Thanks to Xiaodan and AHWC for their help in securing a Partner 820 subclass visa! We had no idea what we were doing when we first looked at the immigration website, the process seemed very overwhelming. But one consultation later we felt much better about the process and our chances of securing a visa. Xiaodan did a great job guiding us through everything and we can strongly recommend the services of AHWC for anyone looking for expert help with their application.”  – Chris S

Xiaodan was born in Beijing and immigrated to Australia in 2014.

Xiaodan completed a Graduate Certificate in Australian Migration Law and practice in 2015 and became a registered migration agent in 2015.

Xiaodan has over 15 years’ experience working in the Australian migration industry in both China and Australia.

She has knowledge and expertise across all visa types including Employer Nominated visas, SkillSelect visas, partner visas and parent visas and excels in business visas including the subclass 188 and the subclass 888 visas.

Xiaodan has successfully assisted many Chinese families to migrate to Australia, a step she took herself with her own family in 2014. She now lives in Melbourne.

Xiaodan is fluent in English and Mandarin (and Shanghai Dialect).

” Patrick Douglas, let me thank you for having been so professional, diligent and thorough in all your dealings with us. Communication was flawless, very positive, focused and a real pleasure to conduct business with. You laid everything out clearly and went through the process step by step making sure the application went straight through. You were great, would recommend you and the AHWC team highly. I sincerely think that other businesses should model themselves on your behaviour….well done!…You are a huge asset to AHWC.” – Constantino P

Patrick grew up in Northern Ireland and graduated from Queens University Belfast with an Honours degree in Law in 2014.

He then completed a Masters of Law in International Trade and Commercial Law at Durham University in the United Kingdom.

Patrick moved to Australia in early 2016 and joined AHWC Immigration Law soon thereafter.

After arriving in Australia Patrick studied to have his overseas legal qualifications recognised in Australia and completed his Practical Legal Training so that he could be admitted as a legal practitioner in Australia.

In November 2018 Patrick was admitted in the Supreme Court of Victoria and now practices as a lawyer in Australia.

Patrick currently assists with partner visas, employer sponsored temporary and permanent visas, skilled independent visas and Federal Circuit Court appeals.

Wenqian Zhao (Mancy) was born and raised in China. She completed a Master of Professional Accounting in 2014 and then accomplished a Graduate Certificate in Australian Migration Law and Practice in 2016 and became a Registered Migration Agent in 2017.

Mancy has over 5 years’ experience working in the Australian education and migration industry, with the knowledge and expertise across various visa types including General Skilled visas, Employer Sponsored visas, Partner visas and Parent visas and Student and Guardian visa.

Mancy is fluent in English and Mandarin and she enjoys the work as a migration agent.

Shelby is no stranger to the Australian visa process as she was born in Zimbabwe and migrated with her family from England in 2006. She understands how important securing a successful visa outcome is, having gone through it herself and helping her own family come to Australia. With a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Business Management from Swinburne, she was admitted in the Supreme Court and High Court of Victoria and has spent her entire legal career in migration law.

Shelby’s passion for migration stems from her own experiences, as well as her affinity for helping others. Once she left school, she spent some time in Cambodia teaching in an orphanage, and continued volunteering with organisations such as the Young Workers Centre. A career highlight for Shelby was creating a virtual chatbot which could do a preliminary determination on whether a person is classified as a refugee for the purposes of a protection visa, as she is very passionate about access to justice and legal technology.

Her career goal includes becoming an accredited specialist in migration law, as she enjoys complex scenarios and problem-solving visa pathways. When Shelby is not in the office, you can find her in the kitchen cooking with her family, or outdoors in the garden or on a bike ride.

Maddie joined AHWC after completing Bachelor of Laws and Criminology at La Trobe University, and was admitted as a solicitor in the Supreme Court of Victoria in 2021.

Before joining AHWC, Maddie volunteered within Community Legal Centres and at Victoria Legal Aid. She also researched for members of the House of Lords in Westminster Parliament in the United Kingdom. It was in these positions Maddie realised her passion lays within administrative law and making legal procedure accessible for everyone.

Working as an immigration lawyer is extremely rewarding and Maddie is proud to be part of the AHWC team. In her spare time, she enjoys bike riding around Victoria, playing water polo, and being surrounded by her family and friends.

Kiriaki (Kiri) was born in Australia and she graduated from Australian Catholic University in 2019 with a Bachelor of Laws and was admitted in the Supreme Court of Victoria as an Australian Legal Practitioner in 2020. Kiri completed her practical legal training at the College of Law in 2019.

Growing up in Australia, Kiri was driven to become an Immigration Lawyer to assist immigrants with their transition to Australia as her grandparents also came to Australia as immigrants from Greece at a young age.

Kiri has extensive experience on complex Partner visas, Protection visas, as well as appeals to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. Kiri successfully reunites couples after periods of separation in record times. Kiri currently assists with partner visas, employer temporary and permanent visas, citizenship applications and domestic violence submissions.

Kiri’s compassionate and hardworking work ethic means she always strives for the best result for her clients. Kiri enjoys immersing herself into different cultures, skiing and travelling in her spare time.

Clarisa was born in Mumbai, India and at the age of 7 migrated to Australia with her parents and brother. In 2020 she graduated with Bachelor of Laws and Arts from Swinburne University of Technology and was admitted as a solicitor in the Supreme Court of Victoria in 2021.

Before joining AHWC Immigration Law, Clarisa volunteered as a Paralegal at the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, where she assisted migration agents with Protection Visa Applications and Refusal Appeals. She was also a Legal Intern at Victoria Legal Aid, where she assisted duty lawyers at the Ringwood Magistrates’ Court.

Clarisa has made it her mission to find the best brunches that Melbourne has to offer (with plenty to choose from) and always tries to attend as many sporting events as she can.

Clarisa is also fluent in Marathi (Konkani dialect).

Michelle is our Administration Assistant at AHWC Immigration Law. She has over six years of administration experience in various sectors including medical general practice, hospitals and publishing. She has extensive experience in customer service and her strengths are in organisation and change implementation.

She comes from an Afghan background and is a first generation Australian with her family immigrating to Australia in the 1990’s. As well as English, Michelle is able to speak Dari and understand Farsi.

Michelle is in her last year of a Bachelor of Commerce at Deakin University and is majoring in Human Resources. If Michelle isn’t studying, you can find her exploring Melbourne’s many food and entertainment attractions with her friends or spending quality time with her nephews with a good cup of coffee in hand.