Overview
Maria Romero is a Business Immigration Attorney based in Gunster’s Fort Lauderdale office. She focuses her practice on U.S. Immigration and Nationality Law, with an emphasis on employment‑based immigration.
Maria advises multinational corporations, emerging companies, and senior professionals on a wide range of U.S. business immigration matters, including temporary visa matters such as H‑1B and E‑3 specialty occupation visas, L‑1 intracompany transferee visas, O‑1 extraordinary ability visas, and TN professional visas. She also counsels clients on employment‑based permanent residence matters, including PERM labor certifications, EB‑1, EB‑2, and EB‑3 immigrant petitions, and adjustment of status applications, as well as select family‑based immigration matters. In addition, Maria assists foreign students with workforce‑related immigration needs, including transitions from academic programs to employment‑based status.
In her practice, Maria prepares and manages the filing of petitions and applications with U.S. immigration agencies. She works closely with in‑house counsel, human resources leadership, and executive stakeholders to design and implement immigration strategies aligned with global workforce objectives and provides employers with training and guidance on employment eligibility verification, Form I‑9 compliance, and related corporate compliance obligations.
Prior to joining the firm, Maria worked as a Court Program Specialist for the Honorable Timothy L. Bailey of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit of Florida and previously served as an Immigration Law Clerk at Gunster during her final year of law school. While in law school, Maria also served as a teaching assistant in Legal Research and Writing.
Honors
- Member of Gunster's immigration law practice ranked "Band 1" by Chambers USA, 2014-19
News & Insights
- "Navigating ICE enforcement actions: How HR can prepare and protect a workforce," HR Dive, co-author, May 2025
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Gunster’s Women’s Leadership Forum, Annual Associate “Ask Anything” Panel, panelist, December 12, 2024
- “Employment Eligibility Verification in the Digital Era – Obligations and Opportunities for Employers, The New Form I-9, Compliance & Federal Updates,” co-presenter, Premier Pipeline Construction Company, December 6, 2023
- “The Table of the Future,” co-moderator, Globalaw 2023 Annual Members Meeting (GLAMM), October 25, 2023
- “Employment Eligibility Verification in the Digital Era – Obligations and Opportunities for Employers, The New Form I-9, the New Permanent Virtual Verification Option & Federal Updates,” co-presenter, Investment Management Firm, September 18, 2023
- “Employment Eligibility Verification in the Digital Era – Obligations and Opportunities for Employers,” co-presenter, TPG Legal and Compliance Network May Presentations, May 3, 2023
- “Immigration Issues You Need to Know to Make Hiring Decisions,” panelist, Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce: Tourism & Hospitality Council and Law Council, March 2023
- “Issues for Associates in Today’s Legal World,” panelist, Globalaw 2022 Annual Members Meeting (GLAMM), September 21, 2022
- “The Accidental American,” panelist, Globalaw 2022 Americas Regional Meeting (GLARM), March 28, 2022
- “Employment Eligibility I-9 Training,” co-presenter, Leading Firm in Wireless Communications Infrastructure, January 26, 2022
- “The New Era of Broadened Immigration Enforcement: Employment Eligibility Verification,” co-presenter, Florida Community Health Centers, June 23, 2021
- “The Immigrant Visa (“Green Card”) Process, What you need to know about Immigrant Sponsorship of Foreign Nationals for Lawful Permanent Residence,” co-presenter, Asset Management Firm, December 17, 2020
- “The COVID-19 Pandemic and Employee-Employer Relations and Responsibilities,” co-presenter, Globalaw, November 17, 2020
- “U.S. Immigration Strategies for Ultra-High Net Worth Individuals in the Era of COVID-19,” co-presenter, Goldman Sachs Family Office Team, November 2020
- “U.S. Immigration Strategies for High Net Worth Individuals in the Era of COVID-19,” co-presenter, Merrill Lynch Private Wealth Strategic Advisory Services, October 2020
- “Navigating U.S. Immigration Laws during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic,” co-presenter, JP Morgan Latin America Private Wealth Advisors, April 26, 2020
Speaking Engagements
Publications
Involvement
Professional Associations & Memberships
- Leadership Broward, Class XLIV, 2025-present
- Advisory Director, Globalaw, 2024-present
- American Immigration Lawyers Association, 2019-present
Civic & Community Service
- Volunteer, Immigration Legal Clinic, Americans for Immigrant Justice, September 14, 2019
- Completed intakes for potential immigration cases
Practices
Education
- Nova Southeastern University, Shepard Broad Law Center, J.D., 2018
- University of Houston, B.S., Psychology, 2013
Admissions
- Florida, 2019
Languages
- Spanish
