GODZINA LAW FIRM - Key Persons
Bruce is an immigration attorney with nearly 20 years of experience. He has the knowledge and capability to provide a comprehensive representation for all types of immigration cases. His passion is in assisting families and individuals obtain the best results possible for their immigrant and nonimmigrant cases. He has helped thousands of clients in obtaining visas, permanent residence, and citizenship.
Bruce's expertise includes visa petitions filed under extraordinary ability, outstanding researcher, multinational employees, managers & executives national interest waiver categories, and assisting clients to file labor certification (PERM) applications under EB-2 and EB-3 categories. Bruce has assisted investors with EB-5 visas, as either a stand-alone investment or as part of a Regional Center. Bruce has also extensive experience working with small to medium corporations and higher education institutions on a variety of immigration matters. With specialized knowledge of I-9 topics, he works closely with Human Resource personnel during the recruitment and hiring process, performs I-9 audits for employers, and advises corporations on a variety of other worksite immigration enforcement issues.
Bruce has represented clients before the US Supreme Court, federal (4th and 5th circuits), Immigration Agencies, Immigration Courts, and Bureau of Immigration Authority (BIA) in a wide range of immigration cases: Removal Defense, Adjustment of Status, Asylum, and Naturalization.
Bruce attended law school at the University of Houston, where he became heavily involved in the Immigration Clinic started by former Immigration Judge Joe Vail. He completed comparative law studies at Oxford University in the United Kingdom, McGill University in Canada, and the University of Kragujevac in Serbia. He has an MBA in Finance from the University of Notre Dame.
Job Titles:
- Senior Legal Assistant and Case Manager
Damary was born in Caracas, Venezuela and immigrated to the United States in 2015. Damary received an associate degree in Management Administration at the Instituto Universitario de Tecnologia Venezuela (IUTV). Damary worked for Banco Federal as a supervisor responsible for managing bank tellers for 7 years and as a Human Resources Associate at CB&I for 4 years.
Damary has been working at Godzina Law since 2017. Damary primarily supports employment, family and investor-based cases. Damary is quite knowledgeable about the USCIS system and processes. Damary also manages all aspects of case management at Godzina Law.
Damary loves to travel; she spent two years traveling in Spain. Damary is fluent in Spanish and English.
Diana was born in San Salvador, El Salvador and immigrated with her family to the U.S.A. in 2002 at the age of 14; she grew up in Houston, TX as an undocumented immigrant, where she took advantage of every opportunity awarded to her, resulting in her obtaining a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Prairie View A&M University in 2010. At PV, she also became a founder of the Alpha Psi Lambda National Co-Ed Fraternity, Inc. chapter, and a member of Alpha Phi Sigma Criminal Justice Honor Society. She had a passion for immigration law since high school, and therefore, Diana started her legal education at the South Texas College of Law; she plans on becoming an immigration lawyer one day.
Diana began working at the Godzina Law Firm in the summer of 2017; she enjoys engaging with clients as well as learning and applying laws, statutes and codes to find the best solution to the clients' needs. As a legal clerk, Diana serves as the liaison between the attorneys, clients, and USCIS. Diana had a primary role in the approval of many waiver, family and employment related cases.
Diana is fluent in Spanish and English.
Erica Long is a 3L at the University of Toledo College of Law with a passion for Employment and Immigration Law. She received a Bachelor of Art in Political Science, with a focus in Public Policy and Administration from Michigan State University. She also has over five years of Corporate Human Resources experience and obtained a Master of Business Administration (MBA) with a Certificate in Human Resources Management from the University of Houston-Downtown (UHD). While at UHD, Erica served as the Student President of the Collegiate chapter for the Society for Human Resources Management club. Her interest in policy creation and business is what led her to seek a career in law.
Over the past few years, Erica has interned for two other law firms in Houston including the Fulton Strahan Law Group, PLLC and Ahad Kahn Law. Through these experiences, Erica assisted with numerous LLC formations and has drafted litigation documents ranging from mediation responses to motions for summary judgement. Since becoming a Legal Intern at the Godzina Law Firm, Erica has been a quick learner in immigration law. She is focused on preparing both family-based and employer-based immigration petitions.-+
Job Titles:
- Legal Assistant
- Office Administrator
Sonia was born in Bogota, Colombia and immigrated with her family to the U.S.A. in 2001. Sonia has a bachelor's degree in Economics from Catholic University of Colombia. Sonia was a commercial advisor with the Bancafe, a commercial bank in Colombia. Sonia joined Godzina Law in 2017 as a Legal Assistant. Prior to joining Godzina Law, Sonia was a volunteer at the Catholic Church and Warner Elementary.
As an immigrant to the United States, Sonia is very passionate about the matters of immigration. She committed to helping immigrants navigate through the complex web of immigration processes. At Godzina Law, Sonia focuses on employment, family and asylum-based immigration cases. She liaises with the National Visa Center and Consulates on behalf of clients seeking to enter the United States. Sonia also manages all aspects of the office administration at Godzina Law.
Sonia is fluent in English and Spanish.
Thiru is a senior associate at Godzina Law firm. He has twenty-five years of legal, regulatory, and consulting experience both in-house and in the corporate sector. His areas of expertise include Immigration Law, Data Privacy Law, Anti Money Laundering Law, Anti-Corruption Law, Contracts Law, Corporate Compliance, and Investigations.
Thiru has been successful in working across industries, functions, and geographic regions; including Asia, North America, South America, Middle East, and Europe. He is committed to matters of Ethics and Compliance and was a regular speaker at various Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) conferences in Asia and the United States. Additionally, Thiru was an editor and author for numerous corporate in-house publications such as the Ethics and Compliance Digest and Compliance Advocate Newsletter.
His educational accomplishments include a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Finance and Accounting, a Master of Science in Industrial Technology from Purdue University, and a Doctor of Jurisprudence (JD) from Indiana University School of Law.
In 2007, Thiru was admitted to the Indiana State Bar. Along with his license to practice law, Thiru holds the following certifications: Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), Diploma in Compliance from the Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) Institute of Australia, and an Advanced Certification in Financial Crime from the International Compliance Academy (ICA) of the United Kingdom.
Thiru is a native of Malaysia and is deeply passionate about helping clients from many parts of the world achieve their immigration goals. Having first-hand experience as an immigrant, he understands the challenges clients face as they navigate through the complex web of US immigration processes. Through his work and personal experiences, Thiru strongly believes that a robust immigration system contributes greatly to the success of this nation.
Thiru enjoys spiritual music, yoga, meditation and vegetarian cooking. Thiru loves to travel. He has visited more than 30 countries over 5 continents.