Melissa spent the past 21 years working exclusively in the area of immigration law, focusing on business and family. She started out as a Legal Assistant in 2000, serving fortune 500 clients, tier one universities and large corporations including Novell, Inc. She later joined Novell as Immigration & Relocation Manager and after completing law school, as In House Corporate Counsel. She was responsible for the inbound and outbound transfer of 200 plus employees, immigration issues in relation to Merger and Acquisition and a budget of $1 million. Since Novell, Melissa has continued to practice immigration within the private sector with her professional areas of focus:
PERM Labor Certification, H-1B, L-1 A/B, TN, EB-1 International Executive or Manager, EB-1 Outstanding Researcher, EB-1 Extraordinary, EB-2 & EB-3 categories, Complex Waivers, Family Based Immigration, Naturalization and troubleshooting of complex immigration cases. She opened her own practice, VenLaw, P.A. in summer 2009 based in Miami, Florida. She serves as a legal educator, hosting Univ of Miami Law students in firm internships since August 2007. She taught PERM Labor Certification at Florida International Univ Law and at Univ of Miami Law Temporary Protected Status for the award winning Haitian TPS clinic program and Immigration Options for Undocumented Clients at the Health and Elder Law Clinic in September 2010. She served from 2017 to 2020 as Clinic Coordinator providing pro bono immigration services to people in need via Justice for Our Neighbors a 501(c)3. Melissa earned her Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in Political Science & International Relations from Boston University, cum laude, in 2000. In 2003, Univ of Massachusetts, Boston awarded her a Master of Science degree in Public Affairs, cum laude, full tuition stipend. In 2006, she graduated from Suffolk Univ Law School, Boston, Massachusetts Juris Doctor degree. Melissa speaks fluent Spanish& Portuguese.