About Kivu Immigration Law
Kivu Immigration Law PLLC is a social enterprise that provides affordable, convenient, and high-quality legal representation. It is a private law firm in Worthington, Minnesota that handles only immigration matters. Situated in rural southwest corner of Minnesota, Kivu Law aims to serve the tri-state area of Minnesota, Iowa, and South Dakota where there is a growing number of immigrants but limited legal resources available close to home.
Kivu Law’s owner, Erin Schutte Wadzinski, won the Initiative Foundation’s Initiators Fellowship in 2019 with the idea to open her very own immigration law firm. Thanks to the support of the Southwest Initiative Foundation and many local community members, Erin launched Kivu Law in early 2020. Kivu Law’s office is located in downtown Worthington on Main Street across from the restaurant “El Azteca”.
Kivu Law charges flat fees for its legal services based on the type of immigration case the client has. Kivu Law is committed to transparency up front so that prospective clients have a clear understanding of all costs involved with filing an immigration application. Kivu Law will also evaluate a prospective client’s eligibility for a USCIS fee waiver to reduce the costs associated with filing the application.
Attorneys
Erin Schutte Wadzinski
Attorney/Owner
Jacob Bies
Attorney
Sissi Lopez Diaz Jensen
Kivu Law Fellow
Thea Porisch
Of Counsel
Staff
Alba Mendez
Administrative Assistant
Eugenio Lopez
Executive Assistant
Garrett Lieffring
Associate Director of Employer Relations
Gabriela Bruning
Legal Assistant
Kendra Jean
Legal Assistant
Delmia Euceda
Communications Specialist
Maritza Orozco Gaytan
Finance Specialist
Legal Assistant
Javier Ramirez
Administrative Assistant
Andrea Fatima Rojas
Legal Assistant
Celeste Alvarez
Intern
Kate Schlauch
Volunteer
About our name
Kivu Immigration Law PLLC is named after Lake Kivu, one of Africa’s largest lakes. Attorney Erin visited Lake Kivu in 2016 while on a work trip to Rwanda. She fell in love with the eucalyptus and pine-covered hills jutting out of the deep, still waters of Lake Kivu. The photo above of Lake Kivu was taken by Attorney Erin from the lodge where she stayed, nestled in the tropical hills near Kibuye, Rwanda.
Lake Kivu is situated in Africa’s Great Rift Valley and straddles the border of western Rwanda and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in East Africa. Due to volcanic activity, there is a significant amount of dissolved methane gases in Lake Kivu’s deep waters that may be developed as energy sources in the future.