About Us
About Us
Neena Dutta
Seattle University (B.A. 1997)
New York Law School (J.D. 2003)
is the principal of the Dutta Law Firm in NYC and Special Counsel to McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney and Carpenter, LLP. Her practice is primarily business, along with naturalization and family-based cases.
She is currently President of NAWBO NYC, Vice Chair of the National Client Resources Committee and Co-Chair of the AILANY Advocacy Committee. She was formerly an elected Director on the American Immigration Lawyer’s Association’s (AILA) Board of Governors.
She has lectured numerous subjects but is known for her expertise on PERM and Labor Certifications, Entrepreneur Visas, Extraordinary Ability NIVs and IVs and the Fundamentals of Immigration.
She has worked with numerous entities in the financial sector such as fund administrators, private equity firms, hedge funds and family offices. She has worked alongside non-profits and service providers on special pro bono projects, such as Citizenship Day, NYCAI and volunteered at several pro bono projects in immigration detention centers.
Ms. Dutta has spoken and written on the topic of immigration law in various venues and conferences.
She has previously been recognized as an attorney in the New York Metro Rising Stars, Super Lawyers and Top Women Attorneys and the SABANY Pro Bono Attorney of the Year.
She has appeared on numerous international news reports as an expert in immigration on channels such as NPR, AP, WNYC, NY1, CGTN and I-24 News.
After emigrating from the UK to the US in 2000, she is now a dual national of both countries.
She is a graduate of Seattle University and New York Law School, and a member of the state bars of New York and New Jersey.
Jennifer Durkin
SUNY Buffalo (B.A. 1992)
University of California, Los Angeles School of Law (J.D. 1999)
Jennifer has over 25 years of experience practicing immigration law. Most recently, she served as an Immigration Judge at the Varick Immigration Court. Prior to that she was Deputy Attorney-in-Charge of the Immigration Law Unit at the Legal Aid Society in New York.
From 2020 to 2022, Jennifer was a supervising attorney at the Legal Aid Society on the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project, which represents detained immigrant New Yorkers facing removal. Before joining Legal Aid, she was in private practice. Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of State.
She brings a wealth of experience in removal defense, complex waivers of inadmissibility, humanitarian relief such as VAWA, U and T visas, and the consequences of criminal convictions on immigration status.
Jennifer has been an active member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) for over 20 years and has served as chapter chair for the New York chapter. She is former chair of several local AILA committees including EOIR, ICE, and pro bono. Jennifer currently serves on the board of the Immigration Law Section of the Federal Bar Association. She has spoken and written on the topic of immigration law in various venues and conferences.
Jennifer will handle our removal defense and humanitarian immigration matters including, on the removal side: Applications for cancellation of removal for lawful permanent residents or non-lawful permanent residents (EOIR-42A and 42B); VAWA cancellation, defensive asylum applications, and other relevant defenses to removal. Humanitarian-based relief such as VAWA, U visas, T visas, and affirmative asylum applications.
Jennifer will also provide advice to clients regarding the immigration consequences of criminal convictions.
She is a graduate of the State University of New York at Buffalo and the University of California Los Angeles School of Law and a member of the state bars of California and the District of Columbia. Her practice is exclusively limited to federal immigration law.
Nelly Nersesyan
Moscow State Linguistic University (MS 2004)
Nelly graduated from Moscow State Linguistic University with a degree in linguistics and translation/interpretation. She has over twenty years of experience as a translator and creative writer.
A native Russian speaker, she reads and understands Ukrainian and is fluent in Spanish.
In the recent years, she has been working as an interpreter in immigration, which inspired her to become a paralegal. The process of learning has always been one of her favorite things and, as an immigrant herself, she feels a special connection to our clients.
Nelly enjoys the creative aspect of O-1 visas and finds immigration law in general quite fascinating.
She loves to read and write, enjoys theater and music and anything to do with her favorite family, the Moomin trolls.