In 2020, co-counseling an en banc victory at the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals that reversed a wrongful denial of Special Immigrant Juvenile Status set a precedent that extended protection to a category of vulnerable young people whose cases had been mishandled at the agency level. That case — Perez Perez v. Cuccinelli — is one data point in Andres Lopez’s record as an immigration attorney in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he has practiced since 2007. The Lopez Law Firm, PLLC handles the full range of immigration matters: family-based petitions, employment visas, asylum, removal defense, federal court appeals, and complex waivers — all exclusively immigration law, all in a practice built by an immigrant from Medellin, Colombia who knows the process from both sides.
Overview
The Lopez Law Firm, PLLC is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, and practices exclusively immigration and nationality law. Founder Andres Lopez is an NC State Bar Board Certified Specialist in Immigration Law — a designation that requires demonstrated competence, peer evaluation, and ongoing continuing education in the specific area of law. He is also a Director on the AILA Board of Governors for the 2024-2027 term, representing nearly 17,000 immigration attorneys nationally. From 2017 to 2024, he served as Chair of the AILA Carolinas chapter.
Lopez was born in Medellin, Colombia, studied at Georgetown University on a Foreign Service track with a concentration in International Economics, and then earned his J.D. at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has been a member of the Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy board since 2020 and has appeared on NPR discussing immigration matters. The firm serves clients throughout North and South Carolina and provides nationwide representation before federal courts and immigration agencies.
Attorney Rachel Bernard is also on the firm’s roster, admitted to the North Carolina bar. A second attorney, Carlos Lopez, has been referenced in client accounts as practicing at the firm.
Practice Areas
Family-Based Immigration. The firm handles immediate relative petitions and preference-category family-based petitions, including I-130 petitions for alien relatives, fiance visa petitions (K-1), marriage green cards, and accompanying adjustment of status applications. These are the most common pathways for families to reunite through the immigration system.
Removal Defense and Deportation Defense. Removal proceedings are among the highest-stakes immigration matters an attorney handles. Lopez represents clients in immigration courts in Charlotte and Atlanta, before Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and at the Stewart Detention Center in Georgia. He has handled appeals of immigration court decisions to the Board of Immigration Appeals and, when necessary, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
Asylum. The firm handles asylum claims before both the USCIS Asylum Office (affirmative asylum) and the Immigration Court (defensive asylum). The matter of A-B- in 2018 — in which the firm assisted in a successful appellate reversal of an asylum case after the Attorney General had reversed the initial grant — illustrates the firm’s willingness to fight adverse decisions at the highest administrative levels.
Waivers. Grounds of inadmissibility and deportability can prevent immigration benefits from being granted even when the underlying relationship or basis for the claim is strong. The firm handles waivers for a wide range of grounds, including provisional unlawful presence waivers, which allow applicants to process abroad with reduced periods of separation from family in the United States.
Humanitarian Immigration. Beyond asylum, the firm handles U Visas for victims of qualifying crimes, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) for minors, and other humanitarian pathways. The Perez Perez v. Cuccinelli victory on SIJS reflects particular depth in this category.
Naturalization and Citizenship. The firm assists lawful permanent residents with naturalization applications and related citizenship matters, including analyzing eligibility and preparing for the naturalization interview process.
Employment-Based Immigration. The firm handles employment-based visa categories and petitions before USCIS and the U.S. Department of State.
Federal Litigation. The firm litigates immigration matters in the U.S. District Courts for the Western and Eastern Districts of North Carolina and before the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. Federal court experience is not standard for most immigration practices, and Lopez’s record in appellate proceedings reflects a willingness to pursue clients’ cases beyond the administrative level.
Attorney Profiles
Andres Lopez is the founder and principal attorney. He holds a B.S. in Foreign Service with a concentration in International Economics from Georgetown University (class of 2000) and a J.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He was admitted to the North Carolina bar in 2007. He is an NC State Bar Board Certified Specialist in Immigration Law and has served on the AILA Carolinas chapter in every leadership role from Secretary through Chapter Chair (2017-2024). He now serves as a Director on the AILA Board of Governors (2024-2027). He is a Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy Board Member and a former Chair of the Mecklenburg County Bar’s Immigration Section. He is admitted to the U.S. District Court for the Western and Eastern Districts of North Carolina and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. He is bilingual in English and Spanish. He was born in Medellin, Colombia and immigrated to the United States, a personal history he brings to his representation of immigrant clients.
Rachel Bernard is an attorney at the firm admitted to the North Carolina bar. Additional credential details are not publicly specified.
Carlos Lopez has been referenced in client accounts as practicing at the firm and is admitted to the North Carolina bar. Additional credential details are not publicly specified.
Location and Service Area
The Lopez Law Firm, PLLC is located at 5701 Executive Center Drive, Suite 102, Charlotte, NC 28212. Phone: (704) 568-9228. The website is lopezcarolinas.com/
The firm represents clients throughout North and South Carolina, including Charlotte, Raleigh/Durham, Greensboro/Winston-Salem, Asheville, the Outer Banks, Columbia, Greenville, Charleston, Myrtle Beach, and Wilmington. The firm also provides nationwide representation before federal courts and immigration agencies. For clients detained by ICE or CBP, the firm refers to the Carolina Migrant Network at (704) 740-7737.
Client Focus
The firm serves the full spectrum of immigration clients: families petitioning for relatives, individuals facing removal, asylum seekers, crime victims seeking U Visas, minors qualifying for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, and applicants for naturalization. Spanish-speaking clients are served without a language barrier; Andres Lopez is bilingual and the firm’s practice reflects a deep familiarity with the immigrant communities of the Carolinas.
The firm’s federal litigation capability makes it relevant for clients who have exhausted administrative remedies and need an attorney willing to appeal to federal court. The AILA national board position places Andres Lopez in contact with developments in federal immigration policy and litigation strategy that most regional practices cannot access.
FAQ
What does it mean to be an NC State Bar Board Certified Specialist in Immigration Law?
Board certification in North Carolina requires demonstrating substantial involvement in immigration law, passing a written examination, obtaining favorable references from judges and attorneys who have observed the attorney’s work, and completing continuing education requirements. It is the state bar’s formal recognition that an attorney has achieved a measurable standard of competence in a specific area. Andres Lopez holds this designation, which is not required to practice immigration law but reflects a voluntary commitment to demonstrating expertise.
What happened in Perez Perez v. Cuccinelli (2020)?
This was a Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals case decided en banc — meaning the full court, not just a three-judge panel — in which Lopez co-counseled a victory reversing a wrongful denial of Special Immigrant Juvenile Status. The decision established a precedent for how SIJS cases should be evaluated, protecting a category of vulnerable minors whose cases had been improperly denied at the agency level.
Can the firm help someone who has already received a denial from immigration court?
Yes. The firm handles appeals to the Board of Immigration Appeals and, where appropriate, petitions to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Administrative denials are not always the end of the road, and the firm has experience litigating immigration matters at the federal court level.
Does the firm handle cases throughout the Carolinas, or only Charlotte?
The firm represents clients throughout North and South Carolina and handles nationwide representation before federal courts and immigration agencies. Clients in Raleigh, Greensboro, Asheville, and cities across South Carolina are within the firm’s service area.
What should a client do if they or a family member is detained by ICE?
The firm recommends contacting the Carolina Migrant Network at (704) 740-7737 for immediate assistance in ICE or CBP detention situations. The Lopez Law Firm can be contacted directly for ongoing representation in removal proceedings.
Closing
Board certified in immigration law, a Director on AILA’s national board, a Fourth Circuit en banc victory on Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, and a founding story rooted in the founder’s own experience as an immigrant from Colombia — The Lopez Law Firm, PLLC is built from the inside of the immigration system, not from outside observation of it. For clients in the Carolinas navigating immigration processes that can determine whether families stay together or countries of origin must be returned to, that combination of credentials and firsthand understanding is not incidental to the work.