Katherine Canales Sanchez is a bilingual immigration paralegal and DOJ Accredited Representative (Partially Accredited) with more than seven years of experience supporting immigrants through asylum, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS), family-based immigration, and removal defense matters before USCIS and the Executive Office for Immigration Review. Fluent in Spanish, she is known for her trauma-informed approach to client advocacy and her ability to manage high-volume caseloads while giving every client careful, individual attention.
Katherine currently serves as Senior Paralegal and Accredited Representative with the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights’ Detained Children’s Program, where she manages her own caseload of detained unaccompanied children. She conducts legal screenings and Know Your Rights presentations in ORR facilities, drafts declarations, gathers evidence, and prepares filings for asylum and SIJS-related relief, working closely with attorneys, social workers, shelter staff, and pro bono partners. Before joining Amica, she was a Legal Assistant at Catholic Charities’ Hogar Immigrant Services, where she prepared asylum, adjustment of status, naturalization, and family-based applications for underserved immigrant communities and supported unaccompanied children through VERA-funded representation.
Earlier in her career, Katherine built a strong foundation in private immigration practice at the Law Offices of Robert K. Lacy, Yacub Law Offices, and the Law Offices of Jose Pertierra. There she prepared filings across a wide range of matters, including waivers, nonimmigrant petitions, immigrant visas, and defensive cases; drafted affidavits, motions, and prosecutorial discretion requests; researched motions to reopen and administrative closure; and compiled country conditions evidence. Throughout her work, she has provided interpretation and translation in interviews, psychological evaluations, and client meetings, helping clients tell their stories clearly and with dignity. Katherine is based in Manassas, Virginia.