Irene Arfaras Steffas began her practice in 1983 in Texas with a focus on maritime law.
Collisions at sea, salvage and Jones Act cases were wonderful to study, but not as interesting in real practice. Like a strong
current, her deep family roots moved her back to her native state of Florida where she worked in a small civil law firm and
volunteered to help a beloved colleague with her adoption caseload. After training Irene to respect the strength
of birth mothers, attorney Linda Hochberg bequeathed her adoption practice to Irene.
In 1986, Irene founded
the Law Firm of Irene Arfaras, P.A. The Florida Supreme Court then granted Irene permission to change her name
to Steffas (her husband’s surname) and so her business also changed its name. Practicing law in the Greek community
of Tarpon Springs, Irene had direct contact with many immigrants and therefore decided to immerse herself in this area of
the law to assist the people in her community. Irene also gained an interest for the growing field of assisted reproduction
technologies and worked on her first surrogacy case in 1992. The Law Firm of Irene Steffas, P.C. now specializes in all three
fields of practice: adoption, immigration and assisted reproduction technologies.
In 1993, Irene and her husband
moved to Georgia, and embarked in their own journey through adoption, applying the advice that Irene had so often given to
her clients. The open adoption process, communications with birth parents and reunion meetings are not abstract concepts to
Irene but are real life lessons that Irene and her family have joyously experienced. Irene then gave birth to her youngest
child.
During the following years, Irene researched issues present in intercountry adoptions and wrote numerous
articles on the topic. By the late 1990’s Irene had distinguished herself as an expert in the area of intercountry
adoptions by speaking at national conventions for the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys (AAAA), the American Immigration
Lawyers Associations (AILA) and state Continued Legal Education (CLE) seminars. Irene has also committed herself to assisting
children in foster care who do not have legal immigrant status in the United States. Among other notable accomplishments,
Irene participated in INS’s First Children’s Conference in 2000 (Irene was the only non-government attorney to
participate in the conference). She has also been serving the US State Department, Bureau of International Information
Program as a good will ambassador in such countries as Spain, Armenia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine. Adoption agencies continue
to seek Irene's advice and assistance as they process visas for adopted children through the US Embassies, while foreign
courts refer to Irene's expertise as they request Legal Opinions on the rights of adopted children in the United States.
Now an Angel in Adoption, Irene shares her practice with an associate attorney from France, Carine Rosalia-Marion.
Like Irene, Carine has a deep commitment to children’s issues and immigration law and, together they will continue to
grow the practice of adoptions, immigration and assisted reproductive technology.
Irene, her husband and two children
are members of Holy Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church where the boys keep the family tradition by dancing at the Marietta
Greek Festival.
Irene is a member of:
- State
Bar of Georgia
- State Bar of
Texas
- Florida Bar
- American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA)
- American Academy of Adoption Attorneys (AAAA)
- Georgia Association of Licensed Adoption Agencies (GALAA)
- Resolve
Languages: English and Greek
Carine Rosalia-Marion, JD
Associate Attorney
carinelrm@SteffasLaw.com
Carine started her legal studies in France, where she was born, and obtained a Maîtrise de
Droit Privé from the Law School of the University of Grenoble, France. She was then selected to be part of a European
program (ERASMUS) to study law for one year at the University of Kent at Canterbury, United Kingdom, where she received a
Diploma in English Law. Carine was admitted at Tulane University Law School where she completed her Juris Doctor. Carine is
licensed to practice law in Georgia and is an active member in good standing with the State Bar of Georgia.
As the petitioner for her husband’s
immigration family petition, Carine has had first hand knowledge of the immigration experience. Carine expanded her knowledge
of immigration procedures while interning for a law firm in San Francisco and volunteering her time to help immigrants through
different organizations such as the National Center for Refugee and Immigrant Children (NRCIC), the Atlanta Bar Asylum Project
(ABAP) and the Latin American Association (LAA).
Since 2002, Carine developed a passion for adoption law and children’s issues. She gained substantial
experience with adoptions as an intern for the Adoption Office of the Conseil Général de l’Isère,
in France, and as a research assistant for the Collaboration to AdoptUsKids. Both positions allowed Carine to explore the
domestic and international sides of adoptions, while becoming familiar with the unique issues faced by all members of the
triad (child, biological parent and adoptive parent). She demonstrated her advocacy skills by leading a team in the first
Adoption and Child Welfare Moot Court Competition organized by Capital Law School. She was later awarded a scholarship from
the National Center for Adoption Law and Policy to attend the Summer Adoption Law Institute (SALI) in Columbus, Ohio.
Carine
joined Steffas & Associates, P.C. in May 2007.
Carine is a member of:- State Bar of Georgia (Family Law Section, Immigration Section, and International Law Section)
- American Bar Association (ABA)
- American Lawyers Association (AILA)
- Georgia
Association of Counsel for Children (GACC)
- National
Association of Counsel for Children (NACC)
- DeKalb Bar
Association
- Solosez
Languages: English and French
Omayra Elder
Office Manager and Notary Public
oelder@SteffasLaw.com
Omayra was born in Colombia
and grew up in New York. She studied at New York University, where she developed a strong financial and administrative background.
She is currently working as an office manager in charge of the billing, purchasing and advertising for Steffas & Associates,
P.C. In the summer of 2007, Omayra expanded her workload to include domestic independent adoptions.
Omayra has a great understanding of immigration procedures because she was
an immigrant herself and she assisted family members obtain citizenship.
Omayra joined Steffas
& Associates, P.C. in 2002.
Languages: English and Spanish.
Beatriz Vega
Immigration Paralegal and Notary Public
bevega@SteffasLaw.com
Beatriz was born and raised
in Colombia. She obtained a degree in industrial Engineering from Politechnical de la Costa of Colombia. Majoring in engineering,
Beatriz has an excellent eye for detail and precision that has served her well in completing rigorous forms for the Department
of Homeland Security. Beatriz has also developed great organizational skills to continuously track immigration and naturalization
cases.
Beatriz
understands the hurdles that new immigrants must face because she was the beneficiary of a family petition filed by her husband
and she learned English upon coming to the United States.
Beatriz joined Steffas & Associates, P.C. in May of 2006.
Languages: English and
Spanish.
Jyotika Acharya
Adoption Paralegal and Administrative Assistant
jacharya@SteffasLaw.com
Jyotika was born in Nepal and
grew up in the State of Georgia. Georgia State University granted her a double Bachelor’s degree in finance and marketing.
She brings her enthusiasm for adoptions, as well as her knowledge and skills in marketing and finance to our firm. Jyotika
works as an adoption paralegal and administrative assistant to attorney Steffas.
Jyotika understands both immigration and adoption issues having had the experience of an
immigrant herself and having taken part in her family’s journey to adopt orphan cousins from Nepal.
Jyotika joined Steffas & Associates, P.C. in the fall of 2006.
Languages: English, Nepali and understands Hindi.
