About Us

An award-winning immigration legal firm, known for our client satisfaction, trial work, and commitment to public service

Our Partners

Decades of award-winning legal services make us one of the best immigration-related legal teams anywhere.

LYSANDRA PACHUTA & JACKIE BLISS KAMMERMAN

Partners

Jackie and Lysandra have a combined 30 years of experience practicing immigration and criminal law at private firms and public defenders' offices. They are expert in family immigration law, waivers, special immigration juvenile visas, and all areas of deportation defense. They are both graduates of the Washington College of Law at American University. Jackie is a member of both the California and Maryland bars and Lysandra is a member of the Virginia bar and is admitted to practice before the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. They pride themselves on leading a firm where employees are more than just employees and clients are more than just clients.

JACKIE BLISS KAMMERMAN

Partner

Jackie Bliss Kammerman obtained her J.D. from American University’s Washington College of Law and received her undergraduate degree from the University of California at Berkeley.

From 2003 to 2009, she worked at the Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights (CAIR) Coalition in Washington D.C., serving as a Baker & McKenzie Equal Justice Works Fellow from 2007-2009. While at CAIR Coalition, she directly represented and mentored pro bono attorneys representing detained immigrants in removal proceedings. She also made regular visits to detention centers throughout Virginia and Maryland where she conducted Know Your Rights presentations.

From 2009 to 2014, she practiced immigration law as an associate at Montagut & Sobral P.C. Jackie is experienced in all aspects of immigration law and specializes in removal defense and in analyzing the immigration consequences of criminal convictions. Jackie has served as faculty at a number of conferences for the American Immigration Lawyers Association and for local bar associations. She is a member of the California bar.

LYSANDRA PACHUTA

Partner

Lysandra Pachuta is originally from Pittsburgh and grew up in West Virginia. She attended college at Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh and graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Business. She received her J.D., cum laude, from American University, Washington College of Law.

Lysandra is dedicated to client-centered representation. After law school, she worked for the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia, where her practice focused on forensic science issues. Later, Lysandra was a trial attorney at the Office of the Public Defender for Fairfax. In that position, she represented hundreds of clients at all stages of litigation including numerous bench and jury trials.

Lysandra is experienced in representing clients in a wide variety of matters before state courts, the immigration courts, and the USCIS. She is proficient in Spanish, and lives in Fairfax County with her husband and three children.

Lysandria was also interviewed by Virginia Business Legal Elite. Click to read more

Our Attorneys

Our team of attorneys is unmatched in the region, protecting immigrant rights and insuring clients receive the best representation possible.

Shawna Stevens

Senior Associate

VA DC MD

Shawna grew up in the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan. She attended the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor for her undergraduate degree and majored in international studies. After obtaining her Bachelor of the Arts, Shawna worked as an intern and subsequently a junior associate at a government relations firm, focusing on grant writing and supporting local municipalities, hospitals, and nonprofit organizations. Shawna moved to Washington, D.C. to pursue her legal education. She attended the George Washington University Law School, concentrating her studies on international law and litigation. Shawna was the managing editor of the International Law in Domestic Courts Journal. She also worked in the family law clinic where she represented low-income individuals from the community on matters regarding custody, separation, and protective orders. After graduation, Shawna worked for a small firm in Virginia, focusing her practice on criminal defense, family law, and personal injury. Shawna appeared almost daily in northern Virginia courts representing individuals on traffic infractions and criminal misdemeanors and felonies, such as reckless driving, driving while intoxicated, and possession of marijuana.

Shawna joined the team at Pachuta & Kammerman, PLLC in October 2017. Here, she has pursued her love of litigation by focusing on removal defense at the Arlington and Baltimore Immigration Courts. Shawna’s practice centers on asylum, where she represents clients in their interviews before the asylum office and in their hearings before an Immigration Judge. Shawna also represents clients at bond hearings, Cancellation of Removal, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, U visas, and matters before USCIS. In addition to her immigration practice, Shawna continues to represent individuals with criminal and traffic matters before northern Virginia courts.

Shawna currently lives in Alexandria, Virginia with her cat, Margot. She enjoys watching true crime documentaries and Michigan sports, traveling, learning Spanish, and spending time with friends and family.

Cassandra Rosa

Senior Associate

Denver, CO

Cassandra Rosa is originally from Cleveland, Ohio. She received her J.D., cum laude, from the University of Akron School of Law with a Certificate in Litigation (Trial Advocacy and Dispute Resolution). During law school, she was a leading member of the Akron Law Trial Advocacy team where she won two regional championships and was selected as one of the 16 best advocates in the country to compete in an invitation-only mock trial competition. She also served on the Student Bar Association, Dean’s Student Advisory committee, and was elected as President of the Law Association for Women. She is a member of the Florida Bar.

Cassandra’s practice is focused on removal defense, including asylum and withholding of removal. She represents and advocates for non-citizens facing deportation in the United States. Cassandra handles all aspects of litigation in the Virginia and Maryland Immigration Courts and helps clients navigate through the complex immigration system.

Zeliha Arslan

Associate

VA DC MD

Yucheng "Johnny" Wang joins Pachuta & Kammerman, PLLC as an associate attorney in June 2022 after spending 4 years working as an immigration attorney in nonprofit organizations in the DMV area. Johnny focuses on Special Immigrant Juvenile Status cases as well as Cancellation of Removal cases at PKLegal. Johnny graduated from the George Mason University School of Law with a Juris Doctor degree under the immigration concentration in 2018. While in law school, Johnny interned at several nonprofit organizations and law firms which helped him realize his passion in immigration law. Johnny is an immigrant himself and speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese and Taiwanese. Johnny is a proud member of the LGBT+ community. Johnny is licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Abby Beckman

Associate

VA DC MD

Ivana Djuric

Associate

VA DC MD

Audrey Vorhees

Associate

VA DC MD

Francisca Perez

Law Clerk

VA DC MD

Our Staff

We have a dedicated staff of professionals aiming to make your journey through the legal maze as seamless as possible.

Hilsia Adames

Director of Client Services

VA DC MD

Bio Coming Soon

Katherine Alvarado

Bio Coming Soon

Receptionist

VA DC MD

Anna Meyer

Administrative Specialist

VA DC MD

Jaqueline Castro

Bio Coming Soon

Office Manager

VA DC MD

A'idah Defilippo

A’idah is a paralegal at Pachuta & Kammerman, PLLC, and a recent graduate of Georgetown University.

She is the primary paralegal assigned to hardship waivers and other matters involving the preparation and presentation of equities.

She works on cases before the Immigration Court as well as USCIS.

Paralegal

VA DC MD

Jeannette Diaz

Jeannette is the managing paralegal at Pachuta & Kammerman, PLLC.

She is an experienced immigration paralegal and came to the firm with a wealth of knowledge in the field. She helps train and manage the paralegal team in all practice areas.

In addition to her managerial responsibilities, she is the primary paralegal responsible for consular processing and applications before USCIS.

Senior Paralegal

Denver, CO

Daniela Gomez

Dani is a paralegal at Pachuta & Kammerman, PLLC. She works on the litigation team, primarily on removal defense cases and affirmative applications to USCIS. She also works as a Spanish-English interpreter. Dani is a proud first-generation American born to Venezuelan immigrants and speaks four languages, English, Spanish, French, and Arabic. She is a recent graduate from Swarthmore College and is a graduate student at Johns Hopkins University. Dani is a mezzo-soprano and a member of the Congressional Chorus, and she likes to knit and read in her free time.

Paralegal

VA DC MD

Natalie Ramirez

Natalie is a paralegal at Pachuta & Kammerman, PLLC since 2020.

She handles a variety of matters, ranging from supporting the removal defense team by working on asylum cases in court to affirmative applications with USCIS.

As a first generation daughter of immigrant parents, she has a deep understanding of our clients’ needs and is dedicated to helping our firm navigate our clients' own immigration process successfully. She dedicates her weekends working in nonprofit organizations to further more help in the community.

Paralegal

VA DC MD

Edward Ryan

Paralegal

VA DC MD

Jacqueline Silva

Jacqueline is a member of the administrative team at Pachuta & Kammerman, PLLC.

As the longest standing administrative employee, she has seen the firm grow firsthand and is familiar with all aspects of the administrative side of the office.

Her primary role is to handle invoicing and billing.

Case Manager

VA DC MD

Yesenia Washington

Yesenia is on the administrative team at Pachuta & Kammerman, PLLC.

Yesenia is one of two administrative assistants responsible for handling incoming calls, digital contacts, and taking payments. She is also responsible for managing the calendar and communicating with existing clients about ongoing cases.

Yesenia is an excellent multitasker and calm communicator, both essential traits to the challenges of being the primary point of communication with clients at the firm.