Megan Guzman
Biography
Megan is Of Counsel at David Hirson & Partners, LLP who zealously represents individuals, families, and corporate clients in many different areas of immigration law.
Megan is a licensed attorney in California. Megan handles all types of U.S. immigration, including business, investment and family immigration practice areas. Her focus and passion are finding solutions to cases with complex problems or extensive immigration history – whether that be through I-290B Appeals or Motions to Reopen and Reconsider, waivers, federal litigation, or refiling with a new strategy.
When a multitude of visa and travel bans were implemented through presidential executive orders, Megan successfully obtained travel ban waivers for several Iranian EB-5 clients with 100% success rate. She has helped corporate clients and individuals navigate the many restrictions put in place due to COVID-19. When clients have any kind of criminal background, Megan examines and analyzes whether it will affect their immigration plans and helps them find a pathway forward.
In addition to business and family immigration, Megan handles humanitarian cases like U visas and asylum. She has secured asylum status for those seeking religious persecution, and U visa status for victims of domestic violence, all while making sure her clients receive compassionate and attentive care.
Megan also leads the firm’s federal immigration litigation practice. Megan has significant experience in federal litigation filing mandamus actions for declaratory relief in pending immigration cases, and challenges to wrongful denials under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). Her successes include securing temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions for clients for the pendency of their federal court cases, allowing the client to remain in status and continue to work until a final settlement was reached. For mandamus, Megan was able to secure green cards for an entire family after their case had been pending for over 20 years. Her experience and comfort in court makes Megan well-suited to attend green card and citizenship interviews with clients at USCIS – which she does regularly in Santa Ana, Downtown Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and Chatsworth.
Prior to joining David Hirson & Partners, Megan represented individuals in immigration proceedings with asylum, cancellation of removal, adjustment of status, and various waivers. She has secured bond release from detention for dozens of detainees from all over the world, including some with complex criminal histories. This included appellate representation before the Board of Immigration Appeals and the Ninth Circuit.
Representative Experience:
- Secured a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction for a corporate client’s employee to remain in status and continue working while challenging a visa denial in federal court
- Successfully responded to USCIS requests for additional evidence and notices of intent to deny on the issues of eligibility for both immigrant and non-immigrant visas, including H-1B, L-1A, EB-5 (I-526, I-829)
- Reopened denied cases through motions and overturned denials with USCIS
- Reopened and corrected denials at various consulates for improper visa denials
- Corrected negative CBP records through DHS TRIP
- Secured travel ban waivers for Iranian nationals under Presidential Proclamation 9645
- Prepared non-immigrant visas, including B-1/2, H-1B, J-1, TN, E-2, F-1, and L-1
- Oversaw the filing of employment-based and family-based immigrant petitions, including attending interviews at USCIS with clients
- Successfully completed citizenship applications with USCIS and naturalization denial hearings (N-336)
Education
- Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, California
- J.D.
- University of California, Los Angeles
- B.A.
- Major: English and Political Science – International Relations
Published Works
- Author, Case of Expelled Dominicans and Haitians v. Dominican Republic, 38 Loy. L.A. Int’l & Comp. L. Rev. (2016)
- Author, Sawhoyamaxa Indigenous Community v. Paraguay, 38 Loy. L.A. Int’l & Comp. L. Rev. (2016)
- Author, Veliz Franco et al. v. Guatemala, 38 Loy. L.A. Int’l & Comp. L. Rev. (2016)
Professional Associations
- Litigation Liaison, Southern California AILA Chapter (2020 – Present)
- Member, Los Angeles County Bar Association (LACBA)
- Member, Orange County Bar Association (OCBA)
- Member, American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA)
- Member, Mommy Esquire
Practice Areas
- Immigration
Bar Admissions
- California
- U.S. District Court Central District of California
- U.S. Court of Appeals 9th Circuit
Pro-Bono Activities
- During law school, Megan worked for the Loyola Immigrant Justice Clinic, where she successfully handled cases for immigrant victims of domestic violence pursuant to U-Visa and defensive asylum cases, along with advocating on behalf of those wrongly included in the Los Angeles Gang Database in conjunction with Homeboy Industries. She also served as a legal intern at the Immigration Center for Women and Children helping clients with severe mental disabilities in Immigration Court through their Franco project.