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Bio:

Ginger E. Jacobs received her J.D. degree with cum laude honors from Harvard Law School in 1998 and her Bachelor of Arts degree with magna cum laude honors from Duke University in 1995. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. After law school, Ms. Jacobs moved to New York City and worked as a litigator at the New York firm of Cahill Gordon & Reindel and the international law firm of Covington & Burling. She gained valuable experience advocating on behalf of her individual and corporate clients in state and federal courts, as well as before the Securities and Exchange Commission and the New York State Commission on Lobbying. In 2001, Ms. Jacobs received a pro bono recognition award from Covington & Burling for her successful representation of a detained asylum seeker. Inspired by her asylum case, Ms. Jacobs decided to change her focus from commercial litigation and white-collar criminal defense to immigration law. She moved to San Diego, California, and practiced with a well-regarded sole practitioner for two years before co-founding the firm (formerly known as Guerrero Jacobs & Schlesinger LLP) with her former law partner and renowned immigration advocate, Andrea Guerrero.

Ms. Jacobs focuses her practice on employment- and family-based immigration cases, as well as asylum, Violence Against Women Act cases, removal cases in Immigration Court, and consular processing through U.S. embassies and consulates abroad. Her employment-based cases have included labor certifications, extraordinary ability immigrant visas for research scientists and performing artists, and various non-immigrant, employment-based visas, including H-1B visas for workers in specialty occupations, P-1 visas for outstanding athletes, R-1 non-immigrant visas for religious workers, E-2 visas for immigrant investors, and TN visas for professionals from Mexico and Canada. She has also handled numerous cases in Immigration Court, including asylum, adjustment of status (with multiple waivers), and cancellation of removal for both lawful permanent residents and individuals with no lawful status. Ms. Jacobs has successfully litigated many asylum cases for clients from the throughout the world, including former Soviet Union, sub-Saharan Africa, Egypt, Central America, and Iraq. She has also handled multiple petitions for permanent residence pursuant to the Violence Against Women Act. Her other cases have included family-based adjustments of status (many with complex issues), naturalizations, consular processing cases, and petitions to reopen previously denied cases. Further, Ms. Jacobs is an expert on the crossover between immigration and criminal law and frequently advises criminal attorneys with respect to the immigration consequences of a client’s conviction and/or plea deal.

Ms. Jacobs is admitted to the bar of the State of New York. She is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and a former member of the Executive Committee of her local AILA chapter. In 2007, Ms. Jacobs received the prestigious President’s Commendation from the national AILA organization for Outstanding Achievement in Coalition Building in her Community. Ms. Jacobs is a member of the American Bar Association. She is an active member of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce where she is especially involved with the International Committee thereof and advises the Chamber on immigration and border-related legislative and regulatory issues. She is fluent in Spanish. Ms. Jacobs frequently gives presentations and workshops in the community and for professional organizations on various topics in immigration and nationality law in both English and Spanish.