I’m dedicated to helping foreign nationals achieve their American Dream.

As a first-generation American, I have lived experiences with struggling to learn English, learning how to be American while maintaining my Asian identity and culture, and dealing with the U.S. immigration and legal systems.

Although I was born a U.S. citizen in Vietnam, I came to the United States with my mother and siblings as a refugee after the fall of Saigon. My first home was a U.S. military base, Camp Pendleton in California.

Like many other refugees, we struggled financially, culturally and socially, largely because my mom did not understand the U.S. immigration or legal systems and was unable to find resources due to her lack of English fluency, fear and our frequent bouts of homelessness.

We tried, unsuccessfully, for decades to secure evidence of our legal status from USCIS (formerly INS), which kept losing documentation or claiming, simply, that documentation didn’t exist. It wasn’t until I was 20 years old and my foster parents hired an immigration attorney, that I was able to secure evidence of my U.S. citizenship.

These experiences have instilled in me a duty and passion to assist other foreign nationals navigate through our complex immigration system to achieve their American Dream – however they define it. In 2000, I graduated from law school and have been practicing U.S. immigration law for more than 20 years. Today, I am a Business Immigration Partner.

I understand how challenging it can be to move to a new country and learn a new language and culture, all while trying to preserve what you love about home and ensuring that you maintain your lawful immigration status. It is my goal to make this process a little less scary and a little more compassionate.

— Lin R. Walker