ILT MAGAZINE l ISSUE NO.
02
08
IMMIGRATION LAWYERS TOOLBOX
The Interview
Authenticity, Vulnerability, and Following Your Instinct:
How Kathia Quiros Turned A Major Life Crisis Into A Thriving Law Practice
When
the Pandemic erupted, shockwaves went out through the Immigration world. The global movement of people came to a halt. Travel Bans emerged. And the future of immigration law and practice came under doubt. My law practice was affected too: fewer calls, emails, and consultations. I knew I had to do something and make a change. The solution came from daily Instagram notifications when Immigration Attorney Kathia Quiros would go live. While I was frozen in place, I saw that she continued to do her videos every day. I realized she was on to something. I took a page from her book and did the same and completely changed my practice within a year. I was lucky enough to have a great interview with her that I wanted to share with you. John Khosravi. For the full interview, please check out Episode 188 of the Immigration Lawyers Podcast.
Kathia Quiros did not originally want to become an immigration lawyer. In fact, just twenty years ago, she did not plan on becoming a lawyer at all. Born and raised in Peru, she studied dentistry and journalism, and even practicing dentistry before moving to the United States in 1996. Five years later, she found herself in law school.
Today, Kathia runs a robust law firm that helps families and undocumented immigrants, especially those who are seeking protection through U Visas, VAWA petitions, and the like. With a following of 200,000 subscribers on YouTube and 500,000 more across other social media platforms, she also serves hundreds of thousands of immigrants through her online content. However, the journey for Kathia was not smooth sailing. To get where she is now, she had to endure what she describes as a major life crisis. She did not know it then, but that hurdle would be the jump-off point to a greater, more majestic height in her career.
Immigration Lawyers Toolbox: How did you get into immigration law? Kathia Quiros: I started law school thinking I was gonna be a commercial transactions lawyer. That was my dream. I wanted to make lots of money [laughs]. So I did the whole nine yards to become a commercial transactions lawyer. But then, this guy comes up to me and says, “I’m gonna start an Immigration Clinic and you’re the only one who is Hispanic in your class. We need you to serve the Latino community.” I said I wasn’t interested. I was only interested in my resume, my grades, and I was clerking for a judge… so the guy said, “Well, this could give you an A,” to which I responded, “Where do I sign up?” [laughs]
Kathia Quiros, Esq. That was the moment that changed my life. Once I started the Immigration Clinic, I was sent to immigration court and I saw the eyes of a 16-year-old in shackles. He had been caught at a bridge in Chicago. They brought him all the way from Brazil to work at this bridge and he was in court and he ended up being removed. I was pregnant when that happened so I just couldn’t stop sobbing. So that day, I decided I was gonna be an immigration lawyer.