Stephanie Liermo

Country Expert on Cuba and the Caribbean — Immigration & Asylum Law, International Relations

Summary

Multilingual attorney (Florida Bar) and international relations professional with a background in representing immigrants and small businesses, and hands-on experience in immigration and asylum matters. Combines a Juris Doctorate and a cum laude degree in International Relations with practical geopolitical and political/social analysis skills. As a Cuban-American attorney and member of the Cuban American Bar Association, she brings both professional and personal grounding in Cuban conditions — well suited to country-conditions research and expert-report review for asylum cases concerning Cuba and the wider Caribbean.

Countries of Expertise

Cuba (primary); wider Caribbean “crisis islands” — regional political, human-rights and asylum context.

Details of Country Expertise

Immigration/asylum legal expertise combined with international-relations and political analysis, applicable to country-conditions research relevant to asylum claims.

Areas of expertise:

• Immigration and asylum law (CALI Excellence for the Future Award in Immigration Law; USCIS documentation)
• International relations, geopolitical analysis, and political & social analysis
• Contract, corporate and tax law; compliance and risk management
• Legal research (Westlaw & LexisNexis certified); intake and client relations

Professional services provided:

• Legal and country-conditions research and analysis
• Drafting and review of legal and immigration documents
• Case-by-case risk assessment and compliance review
• Client intake, interpretation and relations (English/Spanish)

Experience

Managing Attorney, Stephanie Liermo PLLC, Miami (2021–present) — drafting contracts, corporate, immigration and estate documents; client relations. Counsel, Anderson Robins PLLC, Miami (2023–2024) — tax law consulting, IRS compliance, risk-management analysis. Legal Intern, FIU Law Carlos A. Costa Immigration & Human Rights Clinic (2021) — drafting USCIS documents, client intake. Legal Intern, FIU Law Business Innovation & Technology Clinic (2020) — contracts, incorporation, trademark filings. Legal Intern, CABA Pro Bono Legal Services (2020) — legal research and drafting. Community service: Contracts Counsel, Animal Lovers Rescue (2024); Intake Volunteer, Americans for Immigrant Justice (2020); Interpreter, Immigration Justice Campaign (2020).

Education

Juris Doctorate, Florida International University College of Law, Miami (2021) — Full Dean’s Scholar (merit-based full tuition); CALI Excellence for the Future Award in Immigration Law; member of the ACLU, Cuban American Bar Association and Hispanic National Bar Association. Bachelor of Arts in International Relations, cum laude, Florida International University (2018) — minor in Political Science and Italian Language & Culture.

Certifications

Florida Bar (Barred in FL); Real Estate Associate; Notary Public; Westlaw Essential Legal Research Certified; LexisNexis Advance Certified.

Languages

English (Native), Spanish (Native), Italian (Fluent), French (Beginner), Portuguese (Beginner).

Ethnic Groups

The population of Cuba — communities of European (largely Spanish) descent, Afro-Cuban (African-descended) and mixed/mulatto communities, and the small Chinese-Cuban minority; alongside Afro-Caribbean communities across the wider Caribbean.

Political Groups

Political dissidents and opposition activists; participants in independent civil-society movements and protests (e.g., the July 2021 “11J” protests, the San Isidro Movement, the Ladies in White); independent journalists and artists; human rights defenders; former political prisoners; and individuals at risk for their real or imputed anti-government opinion.

Religious Groups

Roman Catholics; Protestant and evangelical Christians; practitioners of Afro-Cuban religions (Santería / Regla de Ocha, Palo Monte, Abakuá); Jehovah’s Witnesses; and religious leaders and communities facing state restriction.

Other Social Groups

Refugees, asylum seekers and exiles; former political prisoners and their families; women at risk of gender-based violence; LGBTQ+ individuals; independent artists and journalists; and persons persecuted for political dissent.