About Marlen Santana Perez
Marlen is a native of Cuba. Prior to her legal career in the United States, and after she graduated with a Law Degree at Universidad Central in Villa Clara, Cuba, she was an Attorney in Remedios, Cuba, where she practiced Civil and Criminal Law. In 1998, she left to Venezuela with her four-year-old daughter, Beatriz. In 1999, she arrived in the United States through the U.S. border with Mexico as an immigrant with nothing but dreams. She was determined and always valued the unlimited possibilities this country had to offer her and her family. During her first years, she worked as a house cleaner, a factory worker, an administrator assistant, and as an interpreter for refugees.
I Believe the Art of Success is Largely the Art of Persistence
Marlen received the 2006 Public Welfare Award at UTK
After years of study and hard work, she enrolled in the Master of Social Work Program at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. Marlen graduated Summa Cum Laude from UT with a Master of Sciences in Social Work (MSSW). She was the recipient of the 2006 UT College of Social Work Rhoda O’ Meara Public Welfare Award. After graduation, Marlen started as a Social Worker at Saint Thomas Health Services, providing counseling and social services to immigrant families. After years of supervision and completing a national exam, Marlen received her License in Clinical Social Work. Currently, she is a licensed therapist in Florida and Tennessee. The social worker career provided the personal and professional fulfillment Marlen wanted. Still, she saw herself limited in the type of assistance she wanted to offer to others like her that were at a position of disadvantage. Essentially, she wanted to offer assistance beyond mental health. Thus, the legal profession suited well her goals and prior experience as a lawyer in Cuba.
Marlen went to Law School while working as a Full-Time Therapist
In 2010, Marlen attended Nashville School of Law at night while working as a social worker and legal assistant during the day. Marlen earned her Juris Doctorate at Nashville School of Law in 2014. After graduation from law school, she founded Tucasa Mental Health, a private mental health practice in Antioch, TN providing counseling services to individuals and families with a variety of mental issues and conducting psychological assessments for victims of abuse and trauma for immigration purposes and the federal court system.
Marlen struggled to obtain Legal Status in the U.S.
After passing the BAR exam, Marlen opened her law practice with an emphasis on immigration and family laws. Her admission to practice law in TN also allows her to practice Immigration in all fifty states. Marlen offers unique services to her clients based on empathy and trust. She believes that persistence, more than experience or any other factor, is the key to success. Marlen is not your typical attorney; she fled Cuba and came to the U.S. to join her husband, a refugee from Cuba already living in Nashville. What should have been a straightforward journey became an eight-year ordeal due to the ineffective advice of an immigration attorney. Her struggles to obtain legal status show the complexities of our immigration system and the importance of selecting the right attorney. She knows navigating our legal system can be difficult and discouraging, but she will persist until she wins.
Contact Us
We are here to assist. For inquiries about our services or to make an appointment, contact us by phone or email.
2396 Antioch Pike
Antioch, TN 37013
Tel: 615-540-1106