Mr. Fikremariam has been a client advocate in African Services' legal services program since 1999. In this role, he prepares political asylum cases and immigration applications and represents clients at SSI hearings. Since 2001, he has been representing clients before USCIS adjustment interviews and in immigration court as a Board of Immigration Appeals-accredited representative. Prior to joining African Services, Getachew worked as an independent paralegal on immigration cases. Originally from Ethiopia, he was a civil court judge in Addis Ababa for seven years and provided legal counsel for five years. Getachew holds an LLB (Law) from Addis Ababa University and has completed legal training at Cornell University in immigration law and trial advocacy. He speaks Amharic, French and some German, in addition to English.