About Our Firm
Powell Law, PLLC, Est. 2014
History
Sharon Powell founded Powell Law in the state of Minnesota in January of 2014. Attorney Powell relocated Powell Law to Virginia in July of 2015 and added a part-time legal assistant to the staff. Since then, Powell Law has grown to four full-time employees.
Over the years, Powell Law has mainly focused on family and humanitarian-based immigration. Recently, Powell Law’s human trafficking work has grown exponentially and Mrs. Powell has added federal litigation to the firm’s work. Attorney Powell is licensed in both Minnesota and Virginia and admitted to practice in Federal District Court for the Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia.
Today, Attorney Powell mentors other immigration attorneys who are in the process of starting their own law firms, as well as students in the William & Mary Law School’s Immigration Clinic. She also partners with local nonprofits such as Literacy for Life and 3e Restoration to host civics classes and citizenship information sessions for their English language-learners, or to work with their clientele.
Values
Experience
Attorney Powell began working in the immigration field in 2006 assisting refugees in securing permanent resident status and citizenship through her work with Lutheran Social Services of MN. Hiring an experienced immigration lawyer such as Mrs. Powell is essential because her background in the field gives her a unique ability to effectively track ever-changing developments in U.S. immigration policy and contextualize them with regards to past policies.
An immigration attorney’s primary job is to know not only the law, but also the nuances of working with confusing bureaucracies such as U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and Department of State (DOS). This takes the burden off the client’s shoulders; what seems like a stressful situation for a newcomer to the immigration system is a routine process for an experienced immigration attorney who has dealt with similar issues in the past and is informed on best practices for working with USCIS.
Having lived abroad in Tanzania for most of her childhood, Attorney Powell understands what it means to be welcomed by another country and works to replicate that feeling of belonging for all her clients. Due to the field we work in, Attorney Powell often assists individuals who have experienced deep trauma, focusing on preserving humanity during these difficult situations. Consequently, Attorney Powell has ensured that she and her staff are trained in trauma-responsiveness and client-centered approaches. Immigration is often an unpredictable system, so Powell Law patiently supports clients from the start to finish of their immigration processes.
Compassion
Before law school, Attorney Powell volunteered with Advocates for Human Rights, where she observed lawyers conducting immigration consultations for clients. The leader of the program was an initial role model for Attorney Powell; she went beyond what the client needed legally, instead choosing to see the client as a human being, not just another case. This is where Attorney Powell learned that it is not enough to be a lawyer, one must also be an advocate, and know the difference between the two roles. As an attorney advocate, Mrs. Powell believes her job is not only to know the law, but also to empower clients with legal information so they have ownership of their own cases.
Advocacy
Accomplishments
Attorney Powell has many significant accomplishments, but below are a few of the cases she is proudest of where her success was particularly hard-fought:
A U Visa Adjustment of Status case where Powell Law fought through two Requests for Evidence (RFEs) and a Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID) because USCIS did not believe that the applicant had rehabilitated after their initial entry without inspection.
A marriage-based Green Card case where the applicant had separated from their spouse by the time of adjudication. Powell Law still got the case approved on the basis of the initial good faith of the marriage.
Powell Law successfully argued a T Visa with the tricky legal challenge of tying multiple entries and exits to a client’s chain of trafficking and continued victimization.
A Green Card case where the applicant disclosed marijuana use to USCIS. Powell Law was able to get the conviction dismissed as child delinquency rather than a criminal matter and secure the client’s Green Card.
Powell Law assisted a client who had spent 20 years undocumented in applying for a Green Card based on VAWA and connected them with a faith-based community group. The client met their current spouse through the community group and Attorney Powell attended the wedding.
A visa case in which the applicant had been separated from their spouse for over five years while they waited for their case to be adjudicated at the U.S. embassy in Ghana. Powell Law successfully filed a mandamus compelling the government to rule on the case and issue the Green Card, reuniting the couple.
Powell Law assisted a client with DACA in applying for a marriage-based Green Card, then later Removal of Conditions, and finally U.S. citizenship. After becoming a U.S. citizen, Powell Law aided the client in applying for their parents, who had been undocumented in the United States for 20+ years, to obtain their own Green Cards.
A marriage-based Green Card case in which the applicant had been married to their spouse for many years without status. Powell Law helped the applicant apply for Parole in Place so they could deploy with their spouse, who is a member of the U.S. military.
