Miriam Sammartino, Attorney

My Story

Facing uncertainty, my parents made the difficult decision to leave Nicaragua in 1984 and immigrated to the Untied States, with my brother and I, in search of a better future.   From a young age, I knew that we were undocumented and that this meant we lived in the shadows, making sure we did not draw attention to ourselves while working hard to meet basic needs.  My life was changed by the generosity an immigration attorney who provided us honest and compassionate legal representation in order for us to obtain our legal permanent residency.  The joy we felt when our names were called upon re-entering the United States, and being given our social security numbers - is indescribable and forever etched in my heart.  I recognize how critical this experience was for me, this experience changed the trajectory of my life forever - this gave me the opportunity to attend U.C. Davis for my Bachelor of Science in Microbiology, and then attend John F. Kennedy University, College of Law.  My motivation throughout law school, and to pass the California Bar Exam, and to open my private practice was, and continues to be, to ensure immigrants have access to trustworthy, high quality and compassionate legal representation in their immigration cases.