Natalia Lalinde

The resources, technology, and staff are the aspects that I admire most about USILC. Our team members come from various backgrounds, and I am impressed with how we combine our unique experiences to find optimal solutions for client issues. As the Lead Litigation Attorney at USILC, my case work includes asylums, cancellation of removals, removal of conditions, and 212(c) defenses for the Legal Department. My role further involves accompanying U visa clients to court, where I act as a liaison between the victims, immigration court, and the criminal court. I ensure that the state attorneys communicate appropriately with our clients, and I use my Spanish and English skills on a regular basis. 

I have acquired extensive experience in the legal field. Over the years I focused my expertise on humanitarian visas, courtroom appearances, and individual merits hearings with the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) for clients in removal proceedings. I was also an Assistant State Attorney (ASA) in Palm Beach County for approximately 2 years, where I participated and litigated in jury and bench trials, and litigated various motions, injunctions, and bonds. My knowledge base includes copious experience with asylum, VAWA, naturalization, as well as U and T visa matters. 

I am part of the first generation of immigrants in my family born in the US. This has placed me in the position of serving as my family’s translator and helping them to prepare for interviews and citizenship tests. That experience fed my desire to become a lawyer. I now feel like a superhero who uses their power to help others. 

One unique fact about me is that the color purple brings me joy and reflects my personality. I also see purple as a beautiful mixture of two emotions – anger and sadness. Another fact is that my favorite superhero is Wonder Woman, since she represents the art of saving people, and she is a paragon of athleticism. Lastly, I have a passion for psychological thrillers and action novels, such as Frieda McFadden’s novels, The Good Samaritan by John Marrs, and Verity by Colleen Hoover. Fiction allows me to escape to another world.