Lawson, James P.

Attorney Jennifer Varughese is the lead immigration attorney at Livesay & Myers, P.C. She is experienced in handling every type of immigration law matter, including Citizenship, Deportation, Green Cards, Temporary Protected Status and Temporary Visas, with a special emphasis on cases involving the immigration consequences of criminal convictions.

Jennifer Varughese is one of the leading attorneys in a raging legal battle involving the immigration consequences of criminal convictions in Virginia. As detailed by an article by The Washington Post, Ms. Varughese represents a lawful permanent resident who pled guilty in 1997 to petty larceny, after being told by a public defender that the guilty plea would not affect his immigration status, only to find himself facing deportation for that guilty plea in 2008. In 2009, Ms. Varughese convinced a Circuit Court Judge to modify her client's sentence to allow him to avoid deportation. Ms. Varughese now represents the man before the Virginia Supreme Court in the appeal by the government of that decision. The Virginia Supreme Court ruling in this high profile case could set legal precedent for decades to come regarding the immigration consequences of criminal convictions in Virginia.

In another high profile case, Ms. Varughese successfully petitioned for an O-1 visa for an artistic gymnastics coach to return to Lake Ridge, Virginia from his native Chile. O-1 visas are only given to those top individuals in the fields of science, arts, education, business and athletics.

Ms. Varughese has argued twice before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, resulting in two published opinions: Hussain v. Gonzales, 477 F.3d 153 (4th Cir. 2007) and Markovski v. Gonzales, 486 F.3d 108 (4th Cir. 2007).

Ms. Varughese writes about Immigration Law for The Virginia Lawyers Blog.

Ms. Varughese works out of the firm's offices in Fairfax and Manassas, Virginia, and handles cases throughout Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia.