Attorney Profile
Karin Guttormsen-Compitiello has over 14 years of legal experience handling complex and diverse immigration matters on behalf of governmental agencies, individuals, and businesses throughout the United States and worldwide. Mrs. Compitiello is a member of The Florida Bar and the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA). As a member of The Florida Bar, she is authorized to represent clients before all U.S. government immigration agencies anywhere in the United States and before consulates throughout the world.
Upon graduating with honors from the University of Florida School of Law, Mrs. Compitiello was selected from the U.S. Attorney General's Honors Program within the U.S. Department of Justice to serve as an attorney for the U.S. Immigration Judges in Miami, Florida. She was subsequently selected to serve as an Assistant District Counsel for the INS (now Department of Homeland Security) from 1995-2003 where she received numerous outstanding performance ratings, various awards and commendations for her representation of the U.S. Department of Justice.
As an Assistant District Counsel, Mrs. Compitiello supervised the INS Miami District's Criminal Alien Program, where she represented the government before the U.S. Immigration Court and handled complex criminal immigration matters throughout Florida. On a daily basis, she would field numerous legal questions from the various operational components at INS including the District Director's office, Investigations, Deportation, Adjudications, Inspections and Border Patrol. Mrs. Compitiello also provided training regarding criminal alien legal issues to management and employees at the various INS offices throughout Florida.
As supervisor of the Special Case Litigation Unit at INS, Mrs. Compitiello litigated and provided oversight on some of the highest-profile national security cases at INS which involved counterterrorism, organized crime, espionage, fugitives, and human rights violators. Prior to leaving INS for private practice, Mrs. Compitiello managed and oversaw INS' Federal Litigation Unit responsible for providing litigation support to the United States Attorneys throughout the state of Florida. She also managed and oversaw the Special Assistant United States Attorneys from INS who were assigned to represent INS in federal district court. Mrs. Compitiello was directly responsible for the daily oversight and advice provided to branches of the U.S. Border Patrol and the Office of Inspections located at various international airports throughout Florida.
INS Headquarters selected Mrs. Compitiello to serve on its Rapid Response Team where she researched and drafted responses for various issues raised daily by the White House, Congress, and the Attorney General. Over the years that she worked at INS, she forged positive working relationships with all of the operational units at INS, the Executive Office for Immigration Review, and other state and federal law enforcement agencies. Mrs. Compitiello's legal advice and recommendations were sought daily by INS attorneys, agents, examiners, inspectors and district management.
Mrs. Compitiello's diverse and lengthy experience with INS and its various components has uniquely qualified her to handle a variety of immigration matters while in private practice. Other immigration lawyers frequently refer cases involving complex matters, such as criminal immigration issues and waivers, to her. Her extensive working knowledge of how the various immigration agencies operate internally has allowed her to provide clients with a unique perspective and strategies for their immigration matters. Mrs. Compitiello is dedicated to providing superior, personalized legal representation.