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Frances J. Hayden has been practicing law for more than 22 years. She is a graduate of the prestigious School of Law at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) and a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), as well as the California Bar Association. Frances is fluent in Spanish and has her B.A. in Spanish Language and Literature from Western Washington University.

For the past 18 years, she has focused on consular processing of non-immigrant visas at U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide, with a special emphasis on third-country national visa processing at border posts in Mexico and Canada. Frances is on top of all current visa regulations and ongoing policy changes.

She is a recognized expert in her field. For two years, she served as a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Liaison Committee with the U.S. State Department's Visa Office in Washington D.C. This important AILA committee is dedicated to maintaining open communication with the government to promote the fair interpretation of all U.S. immigration laws at U.S. consular offices worldwide.

Frances also co-authors chapters on visa processing in Mexico City, Guatemala City and Seoul, South Korea in "The Visa Processing Guide," a useful practical handbook for other immigration attorneys that is published by AILA each year.

She has been a featured speaker and moderator at numerous immigration conferences, including the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) National Conferences and other meetings on topics such as "Consular Processing Tips--What Works and What Doesn't" and Legal Education Seminars offered by such organizations as Immigration Lawyers on the Web (ILW) dealing with broad-ranging subjects like What’s New in Consular Processing, NIVs, IVs and Waivers, as well as Business Immigration in the Era of Enforcement.

Recently she was a featured speaker on a Panel regarding immigration for students and scholars at the National Conference of the National Association of Educators (NAFSA) held in Los Angeles. Also featured on the panel were the Minister Counselor for Consular Affairs from the United States Embassy in Mexico City, the top consular official in Mexico, and the Consular Chief at the U.S. Consulate General in Tijuana, Baja California.

In July 2009 Frances will be a featured speaker on the subject of “Unlawful Presence” at a meeting of the Los Angeles Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

Frances' hobby is collecting contemporary art from Haiti and Aboriginal art from Australia, along with many other handcrafted objects that she acquires during her travels.