Rhodora Derpo

Rhodora is a first-generation Filipino American.  She received her law degree from the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, William S. Richardson School of Law, graduating with a certificate in Asian-Pacific Legal Studies. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and a minor in Asian American Studies from the University of California, Davis. Rhodora served as a law clerk to Circuit Court Judge Elizabeth Eden Hifo in Honolulu.

Prior to joining Becker & Lee LLP in 2016, Rhodora practiced immigration law in Chicago for seven years. While in Chicago, she was a monthly immigration columnist for a Filipino American newspaper.  At Becker & Lee LLP, Rhodora concentrates her immigration law practice on providing direct representation to detained and non-detained clients in custody redetermination hearings, defensive asylum, withholding of removal, Convention Against Torture, non-LPR and LPR cancellation of removal, and waivers.

In addition to her experience in removal defense, Rhodora has represented a diverse base of clients across a variety of industries and helped them obtain nonimmigrant visas (e.g., B-1 in Lieu of H, E-2, E-3, H-1B, J, L-1A, L-1B, O-1A, O-1B, and TN) and assisted clients with immigrant visa filings and applications for citizenship.  Rhodora has also represented clients of outstanding achievement in their EB-1A filings and has filed EB-2 immigrant petitions with a National Interest Waiver for exceptional athletes and scientists.

Rhodora has conducted immigration law seminars and workshops for community-based and nonprofit organizations. She is a long-time practitioner and teacher of capoeira, an Afro-Brazilian martial art. Her immigrant experience and background in martial arts inform her practice as an immigration attorney. Rhodora is fluent in Tagalog.

Speaking Engagements

• “Trial Skills Workshop: Challenging the Form I-213,” Acacia’s On-Site and Remote Cross-Program Training, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, April 28, 2023.
• “Immigration Presentation on the Asylum and Refugee Process,” Public Health Nursing Division for the Alameda County Public Health Department, San Leandro, CA, July 2, 2019.
• “The Role of Psychological Evaluations in Immigration Cases,” California School of Professional Psychology, San Francisco Campus, Alliant International University, San Francisco, CA, March 19, 2018.
• “Building Coalitions:  Legal & Mental Health Perspectives on Developing Strategies When Working with Central-American Refugees & Immigrants,” Universidad Centroamericana Jose Simeon Canas, San Salvador, El Salvador, November 11, 2017.
• “Eligibility Requirements to Become a U.S. Citizen,” Daly City Parks and Recreation, Daly City, CA, September 10 and October 8, 2011
• “Basic Concepts of Immigration Law & Procedure,” Daly City Parks and Recreation, Daly City, CA, March 28, April 25, and May 23, 2010.
• “Family-based Immigration Based on Marriage,” ABADÁ-Capoeira San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, October 11, 2009.