Leaf, Ferreira, de Araujo, LLC is Proud of its Strong Legal Team
Maralyn D. Leaf
Maralyn Leaf is a renowned immigration attorney with in-depth experience in business immigration, from basic “Green Card” petitions to the more innovative and complex National Interest and Extraordinary Ability petitions. Ms. Leaf has a long history, spanning decades, with the EB-5 program. She has successfully represented international investors seeking permanent residence through investment. She has achieved approval for “stand-alone” EB-5s, as well as with the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Pilot Program. Her experience includes approval of BirchLEAF Miami 31, LLC, one of the first successful regional centers in South Florida, which provided substantial financing in the construction of the University of Miami Life Science and Technology Park.
Ms. Leaf provides a unique blend of professional excellence, assertiveness and proven ability to manage and bring to fruition the most intricate and challenging immigration matters. She has performed extensive work for Latin American, European and Asian executives. She brings to any organization or individual strong case management capabilities, making possible the development of creative and sound strategies that expedite matters for individuals planning to immigrate to the United States.
Ms. Leaf provides a unique blend of professional excellence, assertiveness and proven ability to manage and bring to fruition the most intricate and challenging immigration matters. She has performed extensive work for Latin American, European and Asian executives. She brings to any organization or individual strong case management capabilities, making possible the development of creative and sound strategies that expedite matters for individuals planning to immigrate to the United States.
Tadeu Ferreira
Jose Tadeu C. Ferreira, Esq. is a partner of Leaf, Ferreira, de Araujo LLC, a boutique law firm focused on the highly specialized fields of foreign investment and self-initiated immigration.
Mr. Ferreira has extensive experience with immigrant and non-immigrant categories including EB-1A (Extraordinary Ability Alien) and EB-5 (Investment) immigration petitions, as well as E-2 (Treaty Investors), L-1A (Multinational Manager/Executive) and H-1B (Specialty Occupation), among others. Mr. Ferreira has advised multinational corporations, successful entrepreneurs and leading executives on immigration strategy. Today, Mr. Ferreira represents leading banks, telecommunications companies, consulting firms and affluent families. Mr. Ferreira holds a Juris Doctor from Florida International University. While at Florida International University, Mr. Ferreira was selected to participate in the Honors Internship Program at the Securities & Exchange Commission. Having exceeded expectations at the SEC, Mr. Ferreira’s internship was extended. He was given further responsibilities, including participating in the SEC investigations, oversight of EB-5 Regional Centers, as well as participation in Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) investigations. Mr. Ferreira is admitted to practice law in the State of Florida. Mr. Ferreira is fluent in English, Portuguese and Spanish.
Rodrigo L. de Araujo Santos
Rodrigo L. de Araujo Santos, Esq. is a partner of Leaf, Ferreira, de Araujo, LLC. Since joining the firm as an attorney in 2010, Mr. de Araujo has focused his practice exclusively on the fields of foreign investment and self-initiated immigration. He has successfully advised and overseen the legal arrangements of affluent families, business associations, and top professionals seeking to invest and attain permanent residence in the United States, particularly through EB-1A (Extraordinary Ability Alien), EB-2 (National Interest Waiver), and EB-5 (Investment) immigration petitions.
Prior to joining the firm, Mr. de Araujo served as a contract specialist for a Fortune 100 Telecommunication company in the United States and practiced complex commercial litigation with leading law firms in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Mr. de Araujo holds a Juris Doctor (J.D) degree from the University of Miami School of Law and a Bachelor of Law (LL.B.) degree from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro. He is admitted to practice in New York, Florida, and the Federative Republic of Brazil. Mr. de Araujo is fluent in English, Portuguese, French, and Spanish.
Camila Dell Agnolo Schmidt
Camila is an associate at the firm. She is authorized to practice law in the United States (since 2018) and Brazil (since 2006). She holds several degrees, including a Master of Law (LL.M.) and a Juris Doctor (JD), both from the University of Miami, Post-Graduation in Civil Liability from Fundacao Getulio Vargas – FGV/SP, and a BA in Law from Fundacao Armando Alvares Penteado – FAAP. She is a member of the professional associations Florida Bar Association and Brazilian Bar Association – OAB. Her professional experience includes practices at Brazilian and American national and international law firms. She has recognized expertise in the highly specialized field of International Wealth and Estate Planning, particularly for her record of achievement in conceiving and implementing successful legal structures to attract and safely place significant investments from Latin American affluent families and high net worth individuals into the United States economy. Her capacity to understand different legal and cultural systems leveraged her skills to support cross-border transactions and investments. Additionally, she has been successfully representing affluent families, high net worth individuals, high-level positions executives, and extraordinary healthcare professionals with immigrant-based petitions (e.g., EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3) and nonimmigrant-based petitions (e.g., O-1, E-2, H-1B, and L).
Ashley Gomes
Ashley is a Foreign-qualified Attorney and Senior Paralegal at the firm. He has several years of experience with U.S. immigration working in all facets of business, family, and humanitarian-based petitions. At the firm, he specializes in business immigration assisting individual professionals, small businesses, and multinational corporations across diverse industries to plan and execute their global mobility strategies. He has repeated successes with immigrant-based petitions (e.g. EB-1, EB-2, National Interest Waiver, and EB-3) and nonimmigrant-based petitions (O-1, E-2, H-1B, and L). Apart from U.S. immigration, Ashley has extensive experience with intellectual property law, merger & acquisitions, anti-trust, securities, and corporate governance. Before moving to the United States, he served as General Counsel at Pakistan’s largest multinational advertising agency overseeing the company’s legal and corporate affairs in five (5) countries.
Ashley graduated with a law degree from the University of London. He also has a bachelor’s degree in commerce from the University of Karachi. He is a certified Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) professional from the University of Toronto.
Carlos Hawker
Business Development Director
Firm Overview
Leaf, Ferreira, de Araujo, LLC represents domestic and multinational corporations and other organizations which employ foreign nationals on a temporary or permanent basis. The firm also represents talented individuals and business professionals, as well as entrepreneurs and investors who have decided to start a business, buy a business, franchise or explore business opportunities in this country.
Leaf, Ferreira, de Araujo, LLC tailors its representation for each client by addressing specific factors and needs. Based on our in-depth knowledge of U.S. immigration laws, practices and policies, our firm evaluates clients’ goals and expectations, and facilitates an appropriate course of action in order to file the appropriate petition and/or application with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) or pertinent U.S. Consulate.
Our firm enjoys a superlative record of successfully analyzing individuals’ credentials and formulating the appropriate strategy to expeditiously realize their ambition to enter the United States and contribute valued skills to the economy as a non-immigrant. Moreover, our informed judgment affords us the ability to evaluate the best process to achieve permanent residency for those wishing for immigrant status. (“Green Card”)
