About Maria Isabel
Maria Isabel Cueva grew up drawn to questions about why people make certain choices and how institutions shape those choices. She studied psychology at the University of Utah and earned a B.S. in 2006. She stayed in Salt Lake City for law school and completed her J.D. at the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law in 2009. Those academic years set the stage for a career that moves between the courtroom and community organizations.
Her early legal work began in private practice. She joined The Law Office of Millar & Smith, PLLC as an associate in 2010. That role gave her day-to-day experience managing client files, drafting pleadings and handling hearings. In 2012 she became the lead supervising lawyer at The Law Office of Higbee & Associates. There she took on supervisory duties and mentored junior attorneys while continuing to handle her own caseload. In 2015 she opened her own firm, operating as the Law Office of Isabel Cueva, PLLC. That step shifted her from employee to principal and required a blend of legal work and firm management.
Cueva’s affiliations show a clear interest in immigration law. She is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and has participated in both the Utah and Washington state AILA chapters since 2010. She also belongs to the National Lawyers Guild’s National Immigration Project, a connection that dates to 2014. Those memberships reflect ongoing engagement with professional networks and policy discussions in immigration practice. She is licensed to practice in Washington.
Colleagues describe her as steady and exacting in courtroom preparation. She handles filings and interviews with an eye for detail. Over time her practice has included representation across administrative and federal matters, client counseling and case strategy. She has experience supervising teams and handling the administrative demands that come with running a small firm.
Clients and local advocates encounter Cueva in a range of settings: in hearings, in consultation rooms and at community meetings. She balances paperwork and court appearances while maintaining ties to professional groups that track developments in immigration law. Today she leads the Law Office of Isabel Cueva, PLLC and focuses her practice on immigration matters and related administrative work.
