Honors and Awards:

• Who’s Who Among American Law Students
• Recipient, People's Choice Award, BHEP
• Best International Lawyers
• NY Super Lawyers, 2011

Bar/Professional Activity:

• Member, British-American Chamber of Commerce
• Member, Board of Directors, Portuguese-American Chamber of Commerce
• Member, District of Columbia Bar Association
• Member, American Immigration Lawyers Association
• Member, New Jersey State Bar Association Immigration Law Section
• Member, New York State Bar Association

Pro bono/Community Service:

• Maria provided legal assistance to the Board of Directors of the Brooklyn Heights Enrichment Program, a not for profit organization dedicated to assisting low income parents (including undocumented aliens) in preserving family unity during times of crisis whether personal, professional or economic.

Scholarly Lectures and Writings:

• Authored a wide range of articles on immigration law in numerous ethnic community and local newspapers, magazines, and brochures., Author
• Author , Immigration Issues: Employment Eligibility Verification and Employer Sanctions, New York Employment Law, Bender’s New York Practice Series, 1993
• Author, I-9 Eligibility Requirements, NALS Law Journal, The Association of Legal Professionals, 2003

Transactions:

• Representative Experience includes:  --Advised a large, global firm on the immigration consequences of the divestiture and sale of its billion dollar consumer goods businesses and assisted the purchasing companies in regularizing the immigration status of close to 100 foreign nationals temporarily and permanently employed in the United States.  --Successfully registered a large Spanish biopharmaceutical company for E Treaty status to help facilitate the transfer of employees and new hires to the company’s U.S. operations.--Assisted several large multi-national corporations on compliance audits.

Representative Clients:

• Assisted several large multi-national corporations on compliance audits.
• Successfully registered a large Spanish biopharmaceutical company for E Treaty status to help facilitate the transfer of employees and new hires to the company’s U.S. operations.
• Advised a large, global firm on the immigration consequences of the divestiture and sale of its billion dollar consumer goods businesses and assisted the purchasing companies in regularizing the immigration status of close to 100 foreign nationals temporarily and permanently employed in the United States.