Mark became interested in U.S.-Latin American relations early on, growing up in southern California where there is a large Latino population. He studied Spanish all through elementary and high school, and in college worked with Professor Wayne Cornelius in the Political Science Department at University of California, San Diego and was an assistant on his San Diego County migration research project.

In 1995 he began working during the day as an immigration paralegal utilizing his Spanish language fluency while attending Santa Barbara College of Law. Instead of clerking for a judge, he was accepted as an intern with the Los Angeles County Bar Immigration Legal Assistant Project, assisting low income and indigent immigrants. After passing the California bar on his first attempt in 1999, he began working as an immigration attorney in Santa Barbara. In 2003 he opened his own immigration law office in Santa Barbara and moved to Nashville in July of 2004 to open up a second office. Mark has specialized exclusively in immigration law, and has experience providing all types of immigration services. He’s had articles written about his practice in magazines and newspapers, and enjoys lecturing to professional and civic organizations about immigration law and participating in media discussions and talk shows about immigration issues.

In addition to practicing immigration law, Mark is also a certified coach and has a passion for helping other attorneys manage their own immigration law practices. He is also an active member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and has presented to that organization, as well as the Federal Bar, Tennessee State Bar and California State Bar.