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REAL ESTATE

GET TO KNOW IMMIGRATION EXPERTS COSTA RICA

By Licda. Marcela Gurdián Founder and Immigration Lawyer

Immigration Experts is a law firm specialized in immigration law with more than 20 years of experi- ence in helping foreigners with their temporary residencies, permanent residencies, renewal of resi- dency cards, adjustment of status to permanent resident, work permits, visa extensions, citizenship, companies’ registration, real estate and corporate law, and much more.

F ounding attorney and senior part- ner Marcela Gurdian started prac- ticing immigration law 20 years ago and as part of her professional experi- ence she worked at the General Immi- gration Directorate, where she was part of the legal department and tasked with handling legal and judicial matters. Dur- ing her time in the General Immigration Directorate, Mrs. Gurdian got involved with every section; she learned all pro- cesses, evaluated residency applica- tions and experienced how immigration law is practiced from the inside of this government institution. She would later lead the International Affairs Depart- ment, working as primary advisor to the Director of Immigration. During her time in the International Af- fairs Department, she traveled abroad to train the officers and staff at the Costa Rican Consulate in Ecuador, Miami and Washington. This training was on mat- ters related to visas and immigration law; furthermore, she worked three months at the Costa Rican Consulate in Miami in co- ordination with the Ministry of Foreign Af- fairs to train and Costa Rican Consulates around the world on immigration matters. Prospective clients of Immigration Ex- perts Costa Rica can rest assured that their affairs will be handled efficiently. Ms. Gurdian was one of the authors and analysts of the standing immi- gration legislation in Costa Rica.

Thanks to Ms. Gurdian’s background and knowledge of how the General Im- migration Directorate works in Costa Rica, members of her legal team are able to follow up on the cases of all cli- ents by checking directly with those re- sponsible for evaluating pending appli- cations at the Directorate; to this effect, legal staff from Immigration Experts visit the central offices of the Immigration Di- rectorate on a daily basis in an effort to expedite cases. Aside from the headquarters office in San Jose, Immigration Experts Costa Rica has satellite offices in Tamarin- do Beach and Playas del Coco in the province of Guanacaste. The immigra- tion advisors get very involved in each case, advising their clients under which category they may obtain residency and helping them search for their docu- ments. The team of Immigration Experts truly care about foreigners in Costa Rica, they always give them a warm welcome and offer a very friendly and professional service. In fact, the parents of Mrs. Gurdian were once immigrants in Costa Rica before they obtained citi- zenship, and this is the main reason why the team is so passionate in help- ing foreigners beyond their legal status; they are eager to help them with their various needs. The staff members of Immigration Ex- perts Costa Rica are highly skilled in handling residency and citizenship re- quests, and the office has been proac- tive in reaching out to expat communi-

ties in Costa Rica to inform them about the immigration process. In this regard, the staff has held conferences for real estate agents in Playas del Coco and Tamarindo Beach so that these profes- sionals can explain to foreign homebuy- ers that acquiring property in our country could lead to residency if certain steps are followed. Furthermore, Immigration Experts is also one of the main sponsors of the annual Golf Tournament of the CRGAR (Guanacaste Association of Realtors) at Reserva Conchal, one of the most important charita- ble events in Guanacaste Quite a few clients of Immigration Ex- perts Costa Rica have not only obtained legal status in our country; they have also been able to find success in oper- ating their own business, and this can be attributed in great part to the legal advice they received with regard to cor- porate matters and real estate. Satisfied clients currently operate suc- cessful RE/MAX and Keller Williams real estate franchises and other clients have achieved similar business suc- cess in different areas such as hotels, restaurants, boutiques, financial, banks, free trade zones, etc. In addition to English and Spanish, the legal staff of Immigration Experts also helps clients who speak French or Italian.

72 COSTA RICA REAL ESTATE MAGAZINE