Terja Bouvin Larsen is the owner and Managing Attorney of Bienvenidos Law Firm, Inc. Bienvenidos Law Firm, Inc. is a for-profit community law office that provides culturally sensitive and Spanish language appropriate legal services exclusively in the area of immigration law.
Terja graduated with honors from the University of Wisconsin – River Falls with a BS in both Spanish and Mathematics in 1998. During the summers of 1998 and 1999, she worked as an advocate for migrant workers in West-Central Minnesota with Migrant Legal Services, based out of Saint Paul, Minnesota. Through her work with Migrant Legal Services, she fell in love with working with immigrants and specifically the immigration portion of her work and her career was born. She then went to law school specifically to become an immigration attorney.
She loves seeing families grow and strengthen in the security of gaining immigration status in the United States. She also loves getting to know extended families over the years as family members gain immigration status, become United States Citizens and bring more family members to the United States.
During law school, starting in the year 2000, Terja became a law clerk at Centro Legal, Inc., which was a non-profit law firm that served low income Latinos. She worked there through law school in their immigration unit. Later, in 2002, she became a staff attorney specifically focusing on the caseload involving domestic violence victims and victims of crime. While she loved her work at Centro Legal, she craved a change in lifestyle and made the decision to leave in 2006 to start her own practice Bienvenidos Law Firm, Inc. in the area of immigration law.
Through their growth, they have never lost sight of their mission to provide quality immigration legal services at a reasonable price and always remaining accessible to all. Most clients at Bienvenidos Law Firm, Inc. come to us through referrals from past and present clients, which is a testament to our service and our hearts. In the end, the reason we do this work is to see families grow and prosper through the security of gaining immigration status in the United States.
Iris Schneeberger is a Legal Assistant here at Bienvenidos Law Firm. Iris assists with various types of applications within the office, including immigrant visa applications, consular processing, and petitions for alien relatives. She also enjoys the coordination aspects that come with working with consulates overseas. She speaks fluent English as well as Spanish and holds a degree in Business Management.
In her off time, she enjoys art and theater, watching scary movies, and spending time in nature.
Sofia Siffert is our Senior Paralegal and resident asylum expert! Sofia assists with a variety of matters, including asylum-based applications, special immigrant juvenile petitions, removal defense, and civil litigation.
She was born and raised in Argentina and moved to Minnesota in 2014. Sofia received her law degree from the University of Buenos Aires Law School and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communication Sciences from the University of Buenos Aires.
Prior to joining our firm, Sofia served as an Assistant Public Defender for nine years in Argentina. She is fluent in both English and Spanish and enjoys legal research and writing. Sofia is truly passionate about helping other immigrants like her find a safe place to live.
When she isn’t in the office, Sofia enjoys traveling and spending time with loved ones.
Jazmin Rosas Torres is a Legal Assistant at the office. Jazmin holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a minor in Spanish. She is fluent in both Spanish and English.
Jazmin assists with a variety of matters here at the office including naturalization applications, DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) applications, and Legal Permanent Residency renewals.
When she isn’t working, she enjoys going to concerts, watching documentaries, and doing diamond painting and other crafts.
Sarai Estrada Rodriguez is a Legal Assistant. She graduated from college with a Bachelor of Arts in Legal Studies with an accompanying Paralegal Certificate. She spent two years in Mexico and is fluent in both English and Spanish.
Sarai assists with a variety of matters including petitions for alien relatives and DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) renewals.
When she isn’t at work, she likes to watch movies, listen to music, and hang out with her family.
Katy Boese is the Office Clerk at Bienvenidos Law Firm. Katy provides administrative and clerical support to the firm by doing various organizational tasks around the office, such as filing, maintaining paper files, and processing various paperwork for our Attorneys and Legal Assistants.
She is fluent in English as well as Spanish. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Spanish and Communications with a minor in Criminology and Criminal Justice. She spent a month during college studying abroad in Sevilla, Spain, and has visited Mexico on multiple occasions.
In her spare time, she likes to read (and write!) poetry, draw, and listen to podcasts.
Myriam Madla Sanchez is the Office Assistant here at Bienvenidos law firm. She sits at the front desk, where she performs a variety of organizational and administrative tasks to make sure our office runs smoothly on a daily basis, and is likely the voice you hear when you call the office.
She graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Global Studies. Myriam was born and raised in Mexico, and her family immigrated to the United States in 2009. She speaks both Spanish and English fluently, and has traveled to many countries, including Greece, Serbia, and South Korea.
In her free time, she enjoys reading, watching movies, and spending time with her family and pets.
Noah Stockert is a Legal Assistant. He works directly with our Associate Attorney, Mercy, to assist her with her cases.
He speaks English, Spanish, and French, and is looking to learn more languages. He has studied in the United States and Puerto Rico, and graduated with a degree in speech-language-hearing sciences.
In his free time he likes to snowboard, travel (he’s visited 18 US states and counting!), and play music.