Hampton University Hires Ms. Laura Tanganelli as Inbound Immigration Specialist for the International Office

HAMPTON, Va. (February 4, 2020) – Hampton University welcomes Ms. Laura M. Tanganelli as the Inbound Immigration Specialist for the Hampton University International Office. Ms. Tanganelli comes to Hampton all the way from the South of France. In this role, Tanganelli will oversee all matters related to U.S. immigration regulations for international students.

“Hampton University is pleased to welcome Ms. Laura Tanganelli to our International Office as the Inbound Immigration Specialist. She has done a tremendous job already by assisting the students from the University of the Bahamas campus who were displaced by Hurricane Dorian,” said Hampton University President, Dr. William R. Harvey. “We know that Ms. Tanganelli will provide excellent service to our international students and faculty, and continue to recruit more scholars to our ‘Home by the Sea.’”

Tanganelli attended law school in Nice and received a Bachelor of Law degree from the University of Nice, France. She also completed her Master of Law in International and European Law as a study abroad student at the University of Westminster, in London, U.K. “Before going to London, my English was not the best, so I asked my university in Nice about English programs available on campus. They mentioned that a law school in San Diego, CA had a faculty-led study abroad program for their students at our University during the summer. I submitted an application and was selected for the program,” Tanganelli said.

The study abroad program was an amazing experience for Tanganelli and was the stepping-stone to everything else that came afterwards. At the end of the program, Tanganelli was awarded a scholarship to study at the Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego.

Tanganelli then came to the United States for the first time as an F-1 international student in 2013 and completed her Master of Law degree in American Legal Studies from the Thomas Jefferson School of Law. “After the encouragement and support of my professors, I applied to take the California Bar Examination, and passed the hardest bar in the country in July, 2015. I am now admitted to practice law in California (for California state law) and the U.S. (for Federal law),” Tanganelli said.

After working in law for a few years, including founding her own solo-practitioner firm, providing immigration law services for various types of visas, Tanganelli moved to Virginia in 2019 and started working at Hampton University this past August as the Inbound Immigration Specialist, providing services to F-1 international students, J-1 students and scholars and H-1B faculty. In this role, Tanganelli interprets and implements U.S. immigration laws and regulations in regards to international students. “I am also the SEVIS Designated School Official (DSO), process requests for I-20 extensions, travel endorsements, changes in program start and end dates, and loss of status and reinstatement issues,” Tanganelli said. She also assists students with obtaining U.S. driver’s licenses, social security numbers and much more.

Tanganelli is excited about her position. She wants to help international students come and study at Hampton University. “In addition to providing excellent services to our existing international students and faculty, my goal is to internationalize and globalize Hampton University by increasing the number of international students coming to study at our campus,” Tanganelli said.

She has also really enjoyed helping the Bahamian students who attend Hampton University who were displaced by Hurricane Dorian. “Helping the Bahamian students come to Hampton University in this time of crisis has been the most rewarding undertaking,” Tanganelli said. “I also want to thank Ms. Georgiana Lau, our International Office Secretary, who has made it very easy for me to transition to my position. She is a wonderful person and her dedication to international students is outstanding.”

“We are pleased that Ms. Laura Tanganelli has joined the Hampton University Community of Scholars. Her training as an immigration attorney makes her well suited to handle both faculty and student matters in our International Office,” said Hampton University Chancellor and Provost, Dr. JoAnn W. Haysbert.

Fun facts about Laura Tanganelli:
She did not learn English until she was 22 years old.
She does not know how to whistle or how to make a bubble with gum.

When she was 18, she got stuck at the top of the Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in France, and had to be rescued.
She cannot eat spicy food.

Ms. Laura Tanganelli