Attorney Profiles - Immigration

Stephen D. Jeffries began his career at Brown University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, cum laude, with the highest honors in his major. While at Brown he was elected to the national honor society Phi Beta Kappa. Mr. Jeffries attended Cornell University on a Ford Foundation Scholarship, where he earned a M.Phil from the Sage School of Philosophy in 1971. Upon graduating from Cornell University, Mr. Jeffries spent four years lecturing logic and philosophy to students at Louisiana State University. Mr. Jeffries earned a Juris Doctorate degree in 1979 from New York University Law School, one of the top five law schools in the U.S. Mr. Jeffries has benefited numerous professionals and businesspeople wishing to immigrate to the United States since establishing Stephen Jeffries and Associates in 1980. Throughout the past twenty-one years, Stephen Jeffries and Associates has cultivated a unique base of knowledge that renders the firm a leader in the practice of professional and businesspeople immigration law. Now with more than twenty-five lawyers and paralegals, the practice has developed a reputation for its expertise on O-1, extraordinary ability and physician-related immigration matters. Send email to:sjeffries@jeffries-law.com

Dina M. Corigliano, Esq. is the Senior Managing Attorney at SJA. With over eight years of immigration experience, Ms. Corigliano has successfully assisted clients in immigrating to the U.S. through a number of strategies that included EB1/NIW, H1B, O-1, J-1 waivers, extenuating circumstances transfers, and other immigrant and nonimmigrant options. For three years, she worked exclusively on Extraordinary Ability petitions for professionals, with a focus on physicians, and currently assists clients in creating long term strategies for immigration. In addition, Ms. Corigliano trains and supervises the staff of SJA attorneys as they compile client applications. In 1994, Ms. Corigliano earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from St. Johns University graduating Magna Cum Laude. She continued her education at Hofstra University Law School, where she earned a Juris Doctorate degree in 1998. She is a member of the American Immigration Lawyer's Association. For a detailed assessment of your options, please email your CV to dcorigliano@jeffries-law.com .

Desiree Goldfinger Holds a Juris doctorate Degree from George Washington University law school. Already interested in a career in immigration whilein law school, she worked for Catholic Immigration Network and the Jacob Burns community legal clinic representing indigent clients in deportation proceedings and taught immigration to paralegals for the immigration advocate training course. After graduating, Ms Goldfinger entered private practice where for two years she gained experience in all aspects of business immigration and the representation of clients in the removal proceedings. She joined SJA in 1999. Send email to: dgoldfinger@jeffries-law.com

Daniel Kikel is the Managing Attorney for extraordinary and exceptional ability immigrant and non-immigrant visas. As a result of the firm's unique approach and experience in this area, Mr. Kikel oversees the preparation and successful filing of hundreds of petitions every year. Mr. Kikel graduated as a 1999 valedictorian of St. John's University and is a 2002 graduate of Fordham University Law School. He is a fluent speaker of German and French. Send email to dkikel@jeffries-law.com

Eva Frecker is the Managing Attorney for H-1B petitions. Ms. Frecker provides legal advice with respect to visa options and strategies regarding the H-1B cap, status maintenance issues, extensions beyond the sixth year, employer LCA compliance requirements, J-1 waiver transfers based on extenuating circumstances, and consular processing of visas. In addition, she has successfully processed numerous petitions on behalf of start up and "virtual" businesses. Ms. Frecker also handles other employment visa petitions (E-2, L-1, P3, R1), immigrant petitions as well as State Health Agency and HHS waivers. She joined SJA after graduating from New York Law School in 2003. Ms. Frecker is fluent in Spanish and Korean. She is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. Send email to efrecker@jeffries-law.com

Vanessa V. Seckin, Esq. is the Managing Attorney for Labor Certification Cases (PERM) at SJA. Ms. Seckin joined the firm in December 2004 and successfully devised office procedure and protocol for the filing of labor certifications under the new PERM system. Under Ms. Seckin's expert guidance, SJA has seen great success with such cases and currently boasts a 99% approval rating with these applications which include physician and non physician cases. SJA provides meticulous advice in every aspect of the recruitment process, preparation of audit files, responding to audit requests from DOL, ability to pay issues, etc. Ms. Seckin also handles employment-base immigrant and nonimmigrant petitions including H-1B petitions, I-140 EB-1/EB-2, adjustment of status, and J-1 waivers. Ms. Seckin is fluent in Spanish and is a member of the American Immigration Lawyer's Association. Send email to vseckin@jeffries-law.com

Survi Parvatiyar earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biology in 1999. Thereafter, she attended graduate school for Women's Studies in the nation's first joint degree JD/MA law program at the University of Cincinnati. While in law school, Ms. Parvatiyar was able to combine the two disciplines and work on Violence Against Women Act immigrant petitions for domestic violence survivors at the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project. After law school, Ms. Parvatiyar continued advocating for immigrant survivors of domestic violence through pro bono work. She also distinguished herself as the National Lawyer's Guild 2003 CB King Award recipient for her civil rights activism throughout her law school and graduate school career. Ms. Parvatiyar joined SJA in 2005 and enjoys a wide array of practice areas, including I-140 petitions, O-1 petitions, hardship waivers, and adjustment interviews. An immigrant herself, Ms. Parvatiyar feels privileged to be able to give back to the immigrant community. She is currently the Managing Attorney for hardship waivers, persecution waivers, and asylum cases. Send email to sparvatiyar@jeffries-law.com

Douglas Carman earned his J.D. from the University of Washington School of Law and an M.A.I.S. from the Jackson School of International Studies in Seattle. He also holds a Master's Degree in English with a focus on Applied Linguistics. He has a number of publications to his credit on various aspects of foreign and international law. He has been with SJA since 2004, except for a one-year interval in which he worked for the UNHCR Branch Office in Moscow. He has handled a variety of employment-based immigrant and nonimmigrant petitions, but currently acts as Managing Attorney for hardship waivers, persecution waivers, and asylum cases. Send email to: dcarman@jeffries-law.com

Lucy Magardichian joined SJA in 2004. She earned a BA from Binghamton University and JD from New York Law School. Her career in immigration began while in law school. During her first summer of law school, she completed an internship at the Arlington Asylum Office. She is interested in all aspects of immigration. Ms. Magardichian handles O-1, H-1B, I-140, and labor certification cases, as well as hardship and persecution waivers. She is fluent in Bulgarian, Armenian and English. Send email to: lmagardichian@jeffries-law.com