Sylvia G. Cano Fortes has practiced U.S. Immigration Law since 2013. Prior to co-founding CANO FORTES IMMIGRATION LAW, she worked as an associate attorney in private immigration law firms. Her practice initially focused in employment-based immigration, receiving recognition from U.S. consulates abroad for her work. She has successfully obtained work and investor visas for nationals from Argentina, Canada, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Greece, Italy, Japan, Russia, Spain, Venezuela and the United Kingdom. She then became involved with humanitarian visas, including U-Visa petitions, working mostly with nationals from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. Her experience also includes family-based petitions, student and trainee visas, and naturalization.

Ms. Cano Fortes’ passion for helping immigrants stems from her own experience. She was born in Lima, Peru and moved to the United States with her family when she was 11 years old. A first-generation immigrant, Ms. Cano experienced the difficulties of moving to a new country as well as the struggle to become a U.S. Citizen. It would take her 10 years after moving to the U.S. to finally obtain her green card. Her personal experience with the immigration process in the U.S. inspired her desire to become an immigration attorney.

Ms. Cano graduated Summa Cum Laude from Florida Atlantic University in 2010, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with minors in Philosophy and Spanish for Native Speakers. She continued her education at the Shepard Broad Law Center in Nova Southeastern University, receiving her Juris Doctor degree in 2013.

During law school, Ms. Cano Fortes was awarded the Florida Bar Foundation Fellowship to help low income immigrants obtain immigration relief through VAWA Self Petitions and U-Visas at LegalAid Service of Broward County. She was awarded the fellowship a second time to conduct mediation for juvenile offenders in restitution cases. She also co-founded the Immigration Law Organization at NSU Law wherein she helped organize volunteer programs such as the Citizenship Day Clinic and the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Clinic.