Jacqueline is a proud El Paso native and undergraduate alum of the University of Texas at El Paso, where she studied political science and Russian. She earned her J.D. at the University of Texas School of Law. Certified in Immigration and Nationality Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, Jacqueline has practiced immigration law in Austin since 1999 and proudly joined JLW Immigration Law Group, formerly Walker-Gates Vela, in 2016.
Jacqueline began her legal career as an attorney with American Gateways, formerly the Political Asylum Project of Austin, and since moving into private practice, has maintained a dedication to public service by serving as a member of the Urban Renewal Board of Austin, teaching immigration law in the paralegal program at Austin Community College and by working as the Co-Chair of the immigration law conference planning committee at UTCLE for the past 10 years, which made her deserving of the W. Page Keeton Award for Excellence in Continuing Legal Education award in 2020. Jacqueline is also active with the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), having served the Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico Chapter as its Chair from 2015 to 2016, and the Executive Committee as its Secretary from 2022 to 2023.
Jacqueline offers twenty-four years of experience representing clients from diverse backgrounds in citizenship and naturalization applications, family-based immigration cases, defense from removal, asylum, and other complicated immigration matters. A member of the Texas Bar, she is licensed in the Western District of Texas and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Jacqueline is a frequent presenter at state and national immigration law conferences, and her expertise has been cited in publications and interviews in media such as the New York Times, the Associated Press, KUT, Fox News Los Angeles, and This American Life. In 2009, 2010, and 2011, Jacqueline was selected for inclusion in the Immigration Law section of the Rising Stars list published in Texas Super Lawyers magazine.
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