TRILLOS BALLERINI LAW FIRM - Key Persons
Alejandra Pineda is Administrative Assistant at Trillos Ballerini Law Firm, P.C.
She plays a vital role in providing exceptional customer service for all our clients by answering phones, greeting visitors, and performing quality control for all outgoing petitions.
Ms. Pineda is bilingual, speaking both English and Spanish fluently. She brings a personal understanding of the immigration process, having arrived in the United States from Mexico at an early age and being a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient.
In her free time, Ms. Pineda enjoys spending time with her family and watching and playing baseball.
Ana Vega is a Legal Assistant at Trillos Ballerini Law Firm, P.C. She is responsible for managing the office calendar and answering the phones. She also provides support for employment-based immigration cases, family-based petitions, naturalization petitions, and consular matters including immigrant and non-immigrant visas.
Ms. Vega is fluent in English and Spanish. She immigrated to the United States from Mexico as a child.
Ms. Vega has volunteered at Star of Hope homeless shelter and the Houston Food Bank. She also enjoys spending time with her family and playing soccer.
Job Titles:
- Founder
- Principal
- Principal Attorney and Founder
Beatriz Trillos Ballerini is the founder and principal attorney of the Trillos Ballerini Law Firm. She immigrated from Colombia with her parents at age four and found her passion in immigration law. She has always had a keen interest in international migration and created a law firm that puts the interests of her clients and their matters first.
Beatriz Trillos Ballerini's personal motto is, "What starts well ends well, " and the firm's mission is to make this true for clients. The key to success has been to approach each client's immigration needs with a clearly defined strategy centered on the client's ultimate goal and purpose. That could be establishing a successful new business venture or investing in an existing business, conducting ground-breaking research, making headlines in the culinary industry, or, last but not least, being a leader in a global company. With this knowledge the team, with Attorney Ballerini at the helm, can define a detailed, personalized immigration strategy starting in the initial consultation. This approach has proven to be routinely successful, and having these discussions gives our clients a better understanding of the U.S. immigration process and what they can expect.
Everyone in the firm is well aware of the delicate nature of immigration matters and compassionate and understanding throughout the process. With a culture of mutual respect, the Trillos Ballerini Firm values the contributions of all its employees, and this respect and concern is transmitted to clients.
Beatriz Trillos Ballerini is the founder, principal attorney, and principal shareholder of the Trillos Ballerini Law Firm, PC.
Attorney Ballerini has more than 20 years of experience in the field of immigration law. She has wide-ranging experience in all areas of employment-based immigration, including complex cases. Her firm represents clients in a wide range of family-based immigration cases, as well.
Attorney Ballerini has been recognized on numerous occasions by organizations such as Super Lawyers Magazine, Texas Super Lawyers, and Best Lawyers in America. She was named a Top Lawyer in Houston by Houstonia magazine. The Trillos Ballerini Law Firm has also garnered the recognition of Best Law Firms in America.
Attorney Ballerini speaks frequently on immigration matters to organizations including the International Bar Association Immigration Law Section, the American Bar Association (ABA) Section on International Law, the Federal Bar Association Immigration Law Section, the State Bar of Texas, and the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA).
She presently serves as co-chair of the ABA International Law Section Immigration and Naturalization Committee. She is chair of AILA National USCIS Field Operations Committee and on the Executive Committee of the Texas Chapter of AILA. In the past, she served as Customs Border AILA Liaison for Houston.
Attorney Ballerini is licensed to practice before the Supreme Court of Texas, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Texas. She is a member of the College of the State Bar of Texas and the Federal Bar Association. She is also a charter member of the State Bar Immigration and Nationality Law Section.
Maria Loera is a Senior Legal Assistant at Trillos Ballerini Law Firm, P.C.
She is the senior case manager for the Program Electronic Review Management (PERM) Labor Certification process. Additionally, she provides support with other employment-based petitions, as well as family-based petitions and consular packages including immigrant and non-immigrant visas.
Raised in Houston, Texas, Ms. Loera is fluent in English and Spanish and is an accomplished bilingual translator. She immigrated to the United States from Mexico as a young child and is pursuing an Associate of Arts degree in Paralegal Studies. She became a U.S. citizen in 2012 with the encouragement of her family and the help of Attorney Ballerini.
Ms. Loera has been with Trillos Ballerini Law Firm for more than ten years. Prior to joining the firm, she worked for a title company. She is a registered notary in the state of Texas.
Maria enjoys reading and history and takes special joy in traveling with her daughter.
Martha Borges is Office Manager at Trillos Ballerini Law Firm, P.C.
She manages the office's daily operations and provides support to staff to ensure excellent customer service. With expertise in family-based petitions and consular matters, she is well equipped to oversee complex immigration cases.
Ms. Borges' journey as an immigrant began at a young age when she, along with her parents, made the move from Mexico to the United States from Mexico when she was just five years old. This experience motivated her to use her skills and knowledge to help others navigate the complex immigration process and achieve their own dreams of a better life in the United States. Ms. Borges is fluent in both English and Spanish and holds a bachelor's degree in Business Administration in Accounting from the University of Houston.
With over a decade of experience at our firm, plus prior service as as legal assistant at another immigration law firm, Ms. Borges is a valuable member of the team. She is also a registered notary in the State of Texas.
When not at work, Ms. Borges finds joy in spending quality time with her family, especially her three children and her husband. She also takes advantage of her leisure time by indulging in a variety of interests and hobbies, including staying informed through podcasts and audiobooks, pushing herself physically on her exercise bike, and exploring the great outdoors.
Michele Strickland is an Associate Attorney at the Trillos Ballerini Law Firm, PC.
She joined the firm with almost twenty years of employment and family-based immigration law experience. Attorney Strickland developed her passion for immigration law because of her grandparents' immigration experience and her desire to help others.
Attorney Strickland has extensive experience with all types of immigrant and nonimmigrant visas. She represents international investors, academic scholars, multinational corporations, professionals, and persons of extraordinary ability. She also represents individuals with family-based applications and assists individuals seeking to obtain U.S. citizenship.
She earned her Bachelor's degree in Communications from the University of New Orleans and her Juris Doctor degree from Quinnipiac University in Connecticut. She is a member of the Connecticut and New York Bars.
She is an active member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and currently serves as co-chair of the AILA Houston Section. She has held leadership positions in the past including chair of the AILA Connecticut chapter, member of the Board of Governors, member of the Vermont service center liaison committee, and chair of the AILA National Day of Action in Connecticut.
Attorney Strickland is a frequent speaker on immigration topics. She has spoken to AILA national conferences, local bar association continuing legal education (CLE) workshops, businesses, community groups, and schools. She has authored several articles on employment-based immigration.
She has previously been an adjunct professor of law at the University of Connecticut School of Law and H-1B Program Manager in the Office of International Students and Scholars at Tulane University.
She often volunteers in the community. Some of her past volunteer experiences include providing pro bono counsel for a refugee resettlement organization, working as an ESL coach, co-chairing an annual fundraiser, working as PTA co-president, and serving on the board of a local theater booster club.
Ms. Strickland resides in The Woodlands, Texas, with her husband and college-age daughters. In her free time, she loves to travel, bike ride, read, and root for the New Orleans Saints.
Miguel Maldonado, Jr., is an Associate Attorney at Trillos Ballerini Law Firm, P.C.
Mr. Maldonado has worked in immigration law since 2019. Prior to joining the Trillos Ballerini Law firm, he served as a clerk at several boutique immigration firms in the Houston area. He has supported startup companies in the business immigration sector in making nonimmigrant and immigrant employment-based petitions. He has also supported family-based immigration processes such as naturalization and adjustments of status, and he has experience with asylum proceedings.
Mr. Maldonado is fluent in English and Spanish. He was born and raised in Laredo, Texas, and earned a bachelor's degree in communications from the University of Texas at San Antonio. He moved to Houston to attend the Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University, where he is currently a student. While in law school, Mr. Maldonado was a recipient of the Justice John Paul Stevens Foundation Public Interest Fellowship. This grant funded his legal internship at Lawyers for Civil Rights Boston, a nonprofit civil rights organization where he worked on immigrant's rights matters and assisted minority, immigrant, and women business owners.
During his time off, Mr. Maldonado enjoys reading mystery/crime thrillers, getting in as much exercise as he can, supporting his beloved San Antonio Spurs, and spending time with his friends and family.
Mike Castro is a Legal Assistant with Trillos Ballerini Law Firm, P.C.
As a member of Trillos Ballerini Law Firm, he specializes in assisting clients with employment-based immigration matters and is well-versed in other areas of immigration law.
Born in Houston, Texas, to immigrant parents, Mr. Castro is fluent in both English and Spanish. He honed his skills at the Center for Advanced Legal Studies and has wealth of practical experience from prior work at immigration law firm in Houston. He is an experienced Legal Assistant with more than a decade of experience with U.S. immigration procedures. He is also a registered notary in the state of Texas.
When not helping clients navigate the complexities of immigration law, he enjoys exploring his interests in meditation, writing, music, and diverse topics such as philosophy, mysticism, history, and religions.
Teresa V. Marin is a Legal Assistant at Trillos Ballerini Law Firm, P..C.
She assists with family-based applications, as well as some employment-based applications and immigrant and non-immigrant consular matters.
Ms. Marin is the latest addition to the Trillos Ballerini Law Firm team, where she expects to continue building her legal career. Prior to joining our team, she was a senior paralegal at an immigration law firm in New Jersey, where she handled criminal and family-based immigration matters.
Ms. Marin has lived in Ecuador and Venezuela. A fluent Spanish and English speaker, she was always a dedicated student who loved learning all types of subjects, English being an all-time favorite. When Ms. Marin is not on legal assistant duty, she enjoys spending time with her loved ones, going to museums, hiking, and traveling.