Erika Goncalves

I know firsthand the challenges of the U.S. immigration system. As a child immigrant from São Paulo, Brazil, I navigated the process for myself and my family long before I became an attorney. Growing up working in my family’s restaurant in San Francisco, I saw the resilience of immigrant families like mine — and felt called to dedicate my career to advocating for their rights. Today, as the founder of Fuerza Immigration Lawyers LLP, I have the privilege of helping families find stability and safety through humanitarian relief (Asylum, U-Visas, VAWA, SIJS), deportation defense, and family-based petitions. I have successfully represented hundreds of clients before the immigration court and USCIS in obtaining lawful status, especially survivors of crime and domestic violence. Fluent in English, Portuguese, and Spanish, I connect deeply with clients from across Latin America and beyond. My approach is rooted in empathy, individualized attention, and a fierce commitment to justice. I earned my B.A. in Politics and Latin American Studies (cum laude) from the University of San Francisco and my J.D. from UC Hastings College of the Law. Along the way, I studied and worked in El Salvador, Mexico, Peru, India, and Washington, D.C., building a global perspective that informs my advocacy today. Prior to founding my firm, I worked for 8 years as an associate attorney for the Law Office of Robert Lewis. During law school and college I also gained experience at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area and Centro Legal de La Raza. I am a member of the State Bar of California and am licensed to practice before the US District Court for the Northern District of California and the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Above all, I believe that every immigrant has a story worth fighting for — and I am proud to stand with my clients as they build their futures in the United States.