Philadelphia Citizenship Attorney

Thomas M. Griffin

Selected as a "Rising Star" by Super Lawyers magazine for the past two years, Tom specializes in complex immigration matters where individuals and families are in difficult situations.

Tom is unique among immigration attorneys in Philadelphia in that he speaks Spanish and Haitian Creole. Taking a personal interest in his cases, Tom's clients know he will guide them through the maze of immigration and fight for their rights. A litigator at heart, Tom thrives in the courtroom, in appeals before the USCIS and the Board of Immigration Appeals, and in the federal courts. He takes on all matters including detention, criminal deportation, family immigration, business and employment visas, and asylum law.

Tom believes that being a great Philadelphia citizenship attorney includes understanding the places from which his clients come. He is a well-known human rights investigator and advocate, and has appeared before Congress as an expert on Haiti. Tom is on the Board of Directors of the Welcoming Center for New Pennsylvanians, which provides job training to immigrants and connects them to employers. He gives free advice at the Center's monthly legal clinic. Tom is also the Legal Director of the Lamp for Haiti Foundation, whose centerpiece is a health and human rights clinic in the massive slum of Cite Soleil in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. He teaches Human Rights as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the Earle Mack School of Law at Drexel University. Tom frequently appears on Haitian and Spanish radio where he provides up-to-date immigration advice.

Before joining his law partners in Philadelphia, Tom was a white-collar crime and trusts and estates litigator at a prestigious Boston law firm. His additional volunteering in political asylum cases in Boston earned him the honor of Massachusetts pro bono "attorney of the year." Prior to becoming a lawyer, Tom earned a Master's Degree in Forensic Psychology, spent 10 years in the federal courts as a probation and parole officer, and was a schoolteacher in New York City.

Tom received his law degree, magna cum laude, from Suffolk University Law School in Boston in 1999. He was the Associate Executive Editor of the Suffolk University Law Review, and his article was selected to represent the school in the national Scribes competition. In 1989, Tom received a Master's Degree in Forensic Psychology from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York. The faculty awarded Tom the Robert Morrow Prize as the Outstanding Student in the Master's Program, and in 1985 he received his bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University, majoring in Sociology.

Philadelphia lawyers comprehend your problems

At Surin & Griffin, P.C., we can handle any immigration problem you are facing. We understand what you are going through, we understand the law and we understand how to help. We can be reached at 215.925.4435 or send us a message through our contact us page.