When Lauren Vogt and Laura Jacobson met in law school, they realized they had similar interests that extended past a simple appreciation of country music: they both had a zest for immigration law.
In September 2012, the College of William and Mary law grads realized their dream of opening their own practice, launching L&L Immigration Law, PLLC in Alexandria. Now, they are expanding their practice to a Williamsburg address in upper York County. They celebrated the office’s grand opening Saturday.
Despite being from two very different parts of the U.S. – Vogt is from Jupiter, Fla., and Jacobson is from rural Galva, Iowa – both had experiences with immigration in their childhood.
South Florida has a large Hispanic population, with several immigrants from Guatemala, Vogt said; it was common for her to hear people speaking Spanish and to see signs translated into Spanish. Prior to law school, she traveled to Costa Rica and Central America, learning Spanish and experiencing the culture of the people living in those areas. She became more interested in immigration through that trip.
Later, Vogt traveled with Jacobson to Guatemala, where she met up with a group from an immigrant resource center in Jupiter where Vogt had previously interned. They teamed up to visit with the families of immigrants living in Jupiter, bringing them pictures of their family members who had traveled to the U.S. to find work and collecting pictures of the families to bring to the immigrants in Jupiter.
“It made the world seem much smaller,” said Vogt, who speaks conversational Spanish.
Jacobson grew up on a family farm, which raised soybeans, corn, cattle and pigs. Her grandfather, father and brothers mainly worked the farm. Down the road from her town is Storm Lake, which has turkey farms and a meat processing plant that employs immigrants.
She observed a struggle the immigrants faced to adapt to the different culture because of the rural, well-established population of the area. The people from Iowa also struggled with how to deal with the immigrants, such as trying to decide whether to ask the immigrants to speak English.
“A lot of small towns are having those same conversations, but it was interesting to see it in Iowa where there’s not typically a lot of diversity,” said Jacobson, who is fluent in Spanish.
While attending Northwestern College in Iowa, Jacobson went on a study abroad program to Ecuador, which included a four-day trip into the jungle to spend time with the Huaorani, or Waodani, people. The Huaorani are the focus of a book and subsequent movie related to the 1950s murder of American missionaries who traveled to the village. Later, the wives and children of the killed missionaries went to the village to spread Christianity.
Jacobson and the group from Northwestern experienced the lifestyle of the people, spending time playing soccer with children, swimming and joining in on a canoe trip in a long, handmade single-log canoe. Jacobson encountered with a 17-year-old girl who shared her concerns about the language barrier she would face in attending college in a nearby town. The Huaorani people do not speak Spanish as their first language.
Jacobson said the language struggle is similar to what immigrants coming to America also face, and that similarity struck a chord with her.
“I think that [trip] really inspired my passion to continue with immigration law,” said Jacobson, who originally dreamed of being a journalist but felt a career in law would allow her the opportunity to help solve the problems immigrants face.
While students at William and Mary, both Vogt and Jacobson worked as interns for the Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights Coalition, a DC-based group, helping with intake at an immigration detention center. They helped inform detainees about the rights and the process they would face in immigration court.
Additionally, Jacobson founded De Vecino a Vecino (From Neighbor to Neighbor), a student organization devoted to giving legal presentations to the Hispanic community. Both Vogt and Jacobson were active in the group, giving monthly presentations to a Spanish mass through St. Bede’s Roman Catholic Church at the Catholic Campus Ministry at William and Mary.
The pair has been helping Williamsburg-area citizens with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals applications. Children of immigrants can apply for DACA if they were brought to the U.S. before the age of 16 and are currently over the age of 15, are enrolled in school or have graduated, have not committed certain types of crimes, and meet a few other criteria. If received, DACA gives children protection from deportation for two years, with an option for renewal, and gives them eligibility for work authorization.
“There are a lot of undocumented kids who qualify who didn’t have access to those benefits before,” Jacobson said.
In addition to Deferred Action applications, the firm offers a range of services including applying for family-based immigrant visas, non-immigrant visas, employment-based visas and in obtaining U.S. citizenship. They also provide deportation defense.
L&L Immigration Law’s new office, adorned with trinkets from their shared trip to Guatemala, is in the Historic Triangle Community Services Center at 312 Waller Mill Road. The center also houses non-profits and human service organizations.
“We think there’s going to be a lot of overlap of people who come in for those services who need an immigration lawyer, as well,” Jacobson said.
Although the Alexandria office will be the firm’s primary, the York County location will be staffed two times per month with the flexibility to be staffed more frequently in response to increased demand. At this time, Vogt and Jacobson do not have plans to move to the Williamsburg area but are open to the possibility.
“Coming back here always feels like coming home,” said Jacobson.
Click here to visit the firm’s website to learn more about Jacobson, Vogt and their services. For legal assistance, contact L&L Immigration Law at 571-429-3439 or fill out the firm’s online form.
