About Luis A. Guerra

Mr. Guerra was born in Peru to a pair of doctors who gave him the best upbringing possible. In 1989, when he was only 15 years old, he came to the U.S. for a visit and fell in love with the country. Shortly thereafter, he decided to remain in the U.S. and overstayed his visa. His parents—and the rest of his family as well—thought this was a crazy move, particularly for someone so young, and even traveled from Peru in an attempt to bring him home. He refused, saying that this was now his home. Before leaving, they made him promise that he would obtain an education, a promise which he upheld, but not without a struggle.

Fighting for the Right to Stay in the U.S.
When Mr. Guerra initially moved to the U.S., he did not speak a word of English and had to take many low-paying jobs just to get by. At one point, he had to literally fight to secure his green card and the right to stay in the country. He was even placed in deferred inspection and was nearly deported at one time in 1994. Finally, he achieved permanent resident status, followed by full citizenship. Along the way, he worked and went to school at the same time, even earning an International Concentration Certificate by studying international law in London through a University of Notre Dame program and in Rio de Janeiro as part of a Georgia State University program.

He graduated from the Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad Law Center in the top 5% of his class. Since then, he has made it his duty and privilege to help others through his experience and education and has become an active member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.