Nico is an Attorney with Contreras Edin Law, PA. who represents individuals in a broad range of immigration, civil, and criminal matters.

Nico handles all types of immigration cases, including: asylum claims, deportation defense (including representation before the immigration court and, if necessary, the Board of Immigration Appeals), family-based petitions, adjustment of status applications, bond requests and redetermination requests, applications for waivers of inadmissibility, U-visa applications for crime victims, VAWA applications, employment-based visa applications (both immigrant and nonimmigrant), investor visas, affidavit of support enforcement, tourist visa applications, requests for stays of removal, and motions to reopen prior removal orders. Nico has even helped a client obtain from the Minnesota Board of Pardons the first absolute pardon the Board had granted in 35 years. Owing to his previous experience in the University of Minnesota’s tax clinic, Nico occasionally handles immigration-related tax issues. Nico has extensive experience dealing with USCIS, ICE, and DHS and can help you navigate any type of immigration issue.

Nico also has wide ranging civil litigation experience in both the State and Federal spheres, and he has litigated cases before the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, and has been heavily involved in drafting Writs of Certiorari to request review by the Supreme Court of the United States. Nico’s federal civil litigation experience includes numerous successful lawsuits under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) seeking to compel intransigent agencies to respond to requests for information. Nico has represented numerous individuals in challenges to USCIS’ erroneous denial of their application for immigration benefits, and he filed a class action lawsuit seeking to invalidate a rule promulgated by the Attorney General which operates to disallow people in deportation proceedings from being able to apply for a provisional unlawful presence waiver (I-601A). Nico’s experience includes filing requests for injunctive relief, and even complicated post-conviction habeas corpus petitions challenging involuntary guilty pleas and unconstitutional sentencing practices. Occasionally, Nico sues the government to force them to do their job and perform a duty they are supposed to perform but which they are refusing or failing to perform. Outside of District Court, Nico has litigated many cases before the Federal Circuit Courts of Appeals. Nico has recently become quite involved and has had great success in litigating important questions surrounding denials of U-nonimmigrant status, denials of waivers of inadmissibility submitted on Form I-192, denials of applications for adjustment of status from U-nonimmigrant status, and he assists people who have been deprived of their civil or constitutional rights by government actors.

Outside of immigration and litigation, Nico has experience forming business entities, drafting corporate and nonprofit governance documents, drafting and advising businesses on residential lease agreements, purchase agreements, licensing agreements, and tax matters. He has also assisted clients with filing third-party or single-party custody petitions in state family court. In 2020, Nico provided pro bono representation to numerous protesters who were arrested and charged with crimes while attending the protests related to the murder of George Floyd.

Nico is a graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School. Nico also holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Washington State University.

During law school, Nico worked in the Ronald M. Mankoff Tax Clinic, helping low-income clients resolve their tax issues with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Minnesota Department of Revenue (MNDOR). Nico also served as a staff member for the Minnesota Journal of Law, Science and Technology. Nico was a Human Rights Center Fellow who worked with “Phillips Black” in Saint Louis, MO to help research and the effects of race on death penalty sentencing.

Admitted

Minnesota Supreme Court
U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
U.S. Tax Court
Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR)

Memberships

American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA)
American Bar Association (ABA)
Federal Bar Association (FBA)
The Federalist Society

Attended
Juris Doctor, University of Minnesota Law School, May 2018
Bachelor of Arts, Washington State University             

Languages Spoken
English