Today we’d like to introduce you to Armand Jawanmardi.
Hi Armand, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
At a young age, I knew I wanted to be a lawyer. I grew up obsessively watching television court shows such as Judge Judy, Judge Mathis, and Judge Joe Brown. Of course, as a young kid, I never knew what they were arguing about half of the time but it struck a chord in me. In high school, I joined the debate team and in college, I took courses I felt could best prepare me for law school.
After graduating from the University of Houston I took some time off to teach 4th-grade students. I was accepted into The University of Texas School of Law and the rest was history. I dove deep into immigration law and became incredibly passionate about it. I was involved in the law school’s immigration clinic and had the privilege of being taught by two incredibly trailblazing pioneers in immigration law. I, along with my clinic partner, took a case to trial to represent a man from India who was being persecuted on account of his sexual orientation. We won the case. Changing someone’s life never gets old to me. We have such an impact in this field of law.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I never had the best grades in high school. My sister was always the bright one in the family. When I entered college it gave me a chance to start over, to start from a perfect grade point average. I took advantage of that opportunity and graduated at the top of my class. Law school was a different animal all together. Law school will challenge you in a way you have never been challenged before. There were many sleepless nights, many of which involved tears, and a lot of self-doubt. Fortunately, I had a strong support system to help pick me up when I would fall (and I fell many times). Being surrounded by some of the brightest legal minds was incredibly intimidating but it was also incredibly rewarding because you knew your peers and professors were the best of the best.
After graduating law school, you have to take the Bar exam. It is a grueling three-day exam that you spend your entire summer studying for. It was a day before the exam when I received a phone call from my home alarm company informing me that there had been a break-in and the police were on the way. Fortunately, the police caught the burglars but the stress of that moment carried with me into the exam and I missed passing the exam by 10 points (which could easily be 1-2 questions throughout the course of the three-day exam). I had to re-take the exam again months later and received a passing score the second time around. Going through this exam a second time is not for the faint-hearted but I knew attaining my dream to become a lawyer was so close.
We’ve been impressed with The Law Office of Armand Jawanmardi, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
My law firm exclusively focuses on immigration law. We are a boutique immigration law firm located in the Heights. We remodeled a 1920’s bungalow into our office space and have absolutely loved being in this community. We are known for our work in court where we litigate cases against the Department of Homeland Security. We have litigated asylum cases for individuals who have fled their country of origin because they are being persecuted and their lives are in danger to cases to those who have been battered and abused by their spouse. We also handle family petitions where a child, spouse, parent, or sibling want to petition their family member. Have you ever seen 90 day fiancé on TLC? We handle those cases as well.
I am most proud of our dedication to our clients. Being a boutique firm, we can give individualized attention to all of our clients. No one is a number here and we know all of our clients by name. Many times people come to us in a desperate situation and it is such a joy to see the relief and happiness in their face when we can tell them that their stress is gone and they are now legally in the United States.
VoyageHouston readers should know that our law firm is dedicated to assisting individuals legally adjust their immigration status in the United States. We have assisted individuals from all of the world spanning from South America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Our clients are as diverse as the city of Houston.
Contact Info:
- Email: Armand@GJLegalTeam.com
- Website: www.ajimmigration.com
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/lawofficeofaj
