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The Barrera Legal Group Team Experienced and Professional Representation
Barrera Legal Group is always ready to help in working towards your goal whether it's to visit, study, work or permanently live in the United States
John Barrera
Founder and Managing Attorney of Barrera Legal Group
Email: jbarrera@barreralegal.com
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John C. Barrera is an immigration attorney who is the owner and founder of the Barrera Legal Group and head of the firm’s Immigration and Criminal Defense practice.
John has obtained not guilty verdicts and dismissal in numerous complex criminal cases involving Drug Trafficking, Homicide, Theft Offenses and cases involving Traffic Offenses including Driving Under the Influence charges. John has also obtained countless grants and approvals in complex removal defense proceedings in immigration courts around the United States. As a Barrera Legal Group immigration attorney, John has had numerous victories keeping families together in the United States and has also has successfully represented clients in employment based immigration matters, Green Card matters such as adjustment of status and immigrant visas processes, non immigrant visitor visas, asylum applications and U-visa applications.
John is regularly consulted by the criminal defense bar and has co-hosted a weekly hour long radio show taking immigration criminal questions.
John has over twenty years of combined legal experience. John is admitted to practice in the States of New York, and Idaho, as well as the United States Court of Appeals for the Second, Ninth and Tenth Circuit and the United States Supreme Court. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from Brooklyn Law School and earned his Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from John Jay College of Criminal Justice. John is fluent in Spanish and he is Member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, (AILA), the National Immigration Project, the Idaho Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Nassau County Bar Association.
John’s desire to practice Immigration Law was developed through his Hispanic upbringing being born to Colombian parents, being married to his wife from Colombia and by being raised in the multicultural neighborhood of Jackson Heights in Queens, New York. His everyday life allowed John to interact and become part of the lives of people from many different countries and cultures and inspired John to help immigrants fight through the many challenges they face in realizing their dreams to live and prosper in the United States.
John has served as an AILA chapter liaison to the office of Immigration Customs Enforcement, (ICE).
Rolando N. Ruano
Of Counsel Immigration and Criminal Defense Attorney
Email: rruano@barreralegal.com
Rolando N. Ruano is an associate attorney at Barrera Legal Group. Rolando was born in Guatemala City, Guatemala, but moved to Salt Lake City, Utah at age seven. He graduated from Kearns High School in Kearns Utah in 1998. Rolando worked in sales, customer service, and held various management corporate positions where he gained important life experience in his field of work. Rolando decided to return to school in the fall of 2013 and fulfill a lifelong dream of becoming a licensed attorney. Rolando earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communication from the University of Utah in 2016, and a Juris Doctorate from Concordia University School of law in 2019.
As a first-generation immigrant, Rolando understands what it means to live the immigrant experience in a foreign land, and the value of helping others succeed in this country. While in law school, Rolando interned at Andrade Legal, (currently Immigrant Justice Idaho) Where he solidified his passion for helping the Immigrant community navigate through the immigration legal system. Rolando participated in the Concordia Law School Immigration clinic that specialized in helping asylum seekers present their cases before the immigration courts. In 2018, Rolando was selected to become a summer intern at the ACLU of Idaho where he worked on numerous cases that deeply impact the people of Idaho.
His desire to help others, and his passion to help the immigrant community makes him a great fit at Barrera Legal Group. Rolando enjoys spending time with his family, helping coach his sons’ wrestling team, and Latin dancing with his wife.
Email: ybarrera@barreralegal.com
Yanita Barrera
Barrera Legal Group Office Manager
Yanita is Barrera Legal Group's head paralegal and office manager. Yanita understands the legal and personal issues immigrants faced based on her history of being a native of Bogota Colombia, attending the University of La Gran Colombia to become an attorney and eventually adjusting her status to Legal Permanent Resident and becoming a United States Citizen. Her experience includes Removal Proceeding filings, applications before the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services and processes in foreign consulates around the world including Non-Immigrant and Immigrant Visas.
Tamara Zaragoza
Barrera Legal Group Paralegal
Tamara was born and raised in Los Angeles, California and is Married and has four children and four grandchildren. Tamara is married to an immigrant herself and is passionate about immigration law and loves helping people achieve their American dream has her husband has. Tamara has earned her associate degree in criminal justice from CWI and has more than ten years working on Immigration Removal Cases and Criminal Defense cases. Outside of work she spends her time with her family.
Email: tzaragoza@barreralegal.com
