Gihan Thomas is an Immigration Attorney in the US with 26 years of legal practice. She is humbled to have assisted thousands of people from her homeland, the Middle East, and other parts of the world in achieving their American dream and maintaining legal status in the US. As an immigrant herself without a legal education upon arriving in the US, she put herself through Law School and began her practice where she played multiple roles as attorney and secretary. Over the years, she has built one of the leading firms in the US dedicated to supporting the immigrant community. Gihan has authored four published opinions recognized as precedents by both the Ninth Circuit and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which have been instrumental for Judges and Board of Immigration Appeals. She has also appeared on numerous channels advocating for immigrant rights and currently hosts a show titled “Immigration with Gihan” on Logos TV, airing every third week of the month.

Gihan obtained a Bachelor of English and American Literature from Egypt, and a Juris Doctor Degree from the West Los Angeles School of Law 

Motivated by her cousin, who resided in the US, Gihan moved to the USA when she was 29. She was also driven by the numerous opportunities available to her as a female and her desire to thrive in an environment that rewards hard work. Her cousin supported her by providing a place to live until she graduated from Law School and passed the Bar exam. From there, she embarked on building her life from the ground up, overcoming many challenges to achieve the success she enjoys today.

About the differences between Egypt and the USA, she says, “I know here it is a hard work life with no real friends.  Egypt is different – People are different.  Friends made in Egypt cannot be replaced.  What I miss here is true friendship.  That is why after 35 years, I am still in contact with every best friend I had in Egypt.  Also, life here is filled with many challenges, in terms of speed, work load, and expectations.”  

Gihan loves Egyptian food, and celebrates the kindness and generous spirit of Egyptians. She finds it a bit challenging, thought, to maintain the Egyptian culture and heritage, especially because she does not have children and her husband is American. He enjoys Middle Eastern food but not the music, does not speak Arabic, and this makes it difficult to maintain the heritage at home. However, in her office, she has four assistants who speak Arabic, and she also serves many Arabic-speaking clients.

Gihan listens to a lot of Egyptian music. She “trembles with joy” when she hears the Egyptian national anthem. “I am proud being an Egyptian. “

Since her father passed away in 2018, Gihan has not returned to Egypt. “He was the last thread between me and Egypt,” she explains. She would love to visit her friends there, with whom she continues to stay in touch, but with her responsibilities at home and at work, this hasn’t been possible.

There were many incidents in her life when Gihan felt proud as an Egyptian woman in the USA. When the Egyptian media called her and recognized her achievements, she felt immensely proud to represent Egypt in the US. Being acknowledged for her work in Federal Courts and her contribution to the issuance of four different laws was a source of great satisfaction. She took pride in standing as an Egyptian woman among American practitioners and elevating the reputation of Egypt.

Among her many accomplishments and successes, Gihan is most proud of helping thousands of people from across the world to remain in the US, creating four laws that benefit the immigrant community, and launching a new TV show aimed at assisting immigrants. She is also thankful for the numerous hard-fought cases she has won for her clients.

For new immigrants, Gihan emphasizes that they have to abide by the laws, and to understand that societal norms may differ from those in Egypt. She advises them to seek guidance from those who have immigrated before to help them integrate into their new society.

The advice she gives to other Egyptian women who are considering moving to the USA is that it’s a challenging workplace—are they ready? If they are prepared for the hard work, they can achieve their dreams and shine like a star.