Mary Teruya is an attorney who focuses her practice in the field of immigration law. Ms. Teruya was born in Lima, Peru from a Japanese immigrant father and a Peruvian-Chinese descendent mother. Ms. Teruya speaks fluent Spanish and English and has a basic knowledge of Mandarin and French. As an immigrant herself, Ms. Teruya knows firsthand the complexity endured by families, individuals and businesses when dealing with immigration issues. Her main goal is to help immigrants in achieving their dreams in this country.

In 2001, Ms. Teruya received a law degree from the University of Lima in Peru. Ms. Teruya is licensed to practice law in Peru. While in Peru, Ms. Teruya worked as an Assistant Prosecutor in the Criminal Division at the Office of the Public Prosecutor (Ministerio Público). In this position, Ms. Teruya reviewed complaints and determined which cases should be prosecuted as charging attorney, including cases involving murder, rape, robbery, assault, drugs, negligence, possession of firearms, defamation and corruption.

Ms. Teruya immigrated to the United States in 2002. She received a Juris Doctor degree from Florida Coastal School of Law in 2006. While in law school, Ms. Teruya began her career as an advocate for immigrant rights. Ms. Teruya volunteered with World Relief, an Immigrant Assistance Non-Profit Organization, and was a legal intern for the Refugee Immigration Project at the Jacksonville Area Legal Aid. In these capacities, Ms. Teruya assisted refugees and asylees in their adjustment, naturalization and waiver applications.

In 2006, Ms. Teruya was admitted to the Florida Bar. She is authorized to appear before all Florida state courts, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and the Florida Supreme Court.

Ms. Teruya joined Stoller & Moreno, P.A. in August 2006 as an associate attorney. Ms. Teruya’s primary area of practice is immigration and nationality law. She has extensive experience in all aspects of removal, business and family immigration procedures. She represents clients with their family immigration ranging from K-3 visas, fiancé and immigrant visas, adjustment of status, but also with their extension and change of status, asylum, naturalization, business visas and with their removal defense, deportation, and federal litigation.

During her stay in the United States, Ms. Teruya has maintained a close relationship with the Hispanic community. In 2006, Ms. Teruya was elected as the South Atlantic Regional Director of the National Latina/o Law Student Association (NLLSA) where she represented the states of Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Puerto Rico. Ms. Teruya was also the recipient of the 2005-06 Mayor’s Hispanic Advisory Council Scholarship nominated by the Hispanic Bar Association of Northeast Florida. In 2008, Ms. Teruya was elected a Board member of the Peruvian American Chamber of Commerce of Central Florida.

As a citizen of the world, Ms. Teruya enjoys learning about other cultures and countries. Ms. Teruya undertook law courses at the Zhongzhan School of Law in Zhuhai, China during the summer of 2004. In 2005, she participated in the research and drafting of a prima facie legal case for the Attorney General in Trinidad and Tobago. Currently, Ms. Teruya has a pending application for homologation of her law degree at the Department of Education (Ministerio de Educación) of Spain that will allow her to practice law in Spain and the European Union. Ms. Teruya is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the American Bar Association, the Hispanic National Bar Association, the Florida Bar Association, and the Florida Coastal Alumni Association.