Fabienne Chatain, Partner
Fabienne Chatain has 20 years of experience in the immigration field. She assists professional workers with securing H-1B visas, corporate transferees (L-1 visas), foreign investors (E-2 visas and EB-5 immigrant visas), as well as professional athletes, artists, and individuals with extraordinary or exceptional ability. She also represents foreign workers seeking permanent residency in the United States, as well as U.S. nationals seeking to petition for foreign nationals. She represents clients in filings before the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services ("USCIS"), the U.S. Department of Labor, and the U.S. Department of State. Additionally, Fabienne is a skilled litigator in the defense against removal of aliens and in the presentation of asylum and torture claims in U.S. immigration court proceedings involving nationals from over 60 countries. She is also known for her thorough and tireless efforts to win hardship waivers and other types of relief, to enable her clients to be allowed to safely stay in the U.S. She successfully addresses complex legal issues before U.S. federal courts. She advises criminal attorneys on immigration consequences of their clients' criminal conduct. Fabienne achieved superior training, graduating with honors from law school in her native France, and was at the top of her class earning a master's degree in International Legal Studies from Georgetown University Law Center. In addition to English, she is fluent in French and Spanish. Email: fchatain@lichtmanelliot.com.
Education
- Georgetown University Law Center, LLM, 1990
- University Jean Moulin, Lyon, France; Master in Law, 1988
Bar Admissions
- District of Columbia
- New York
- France
Prior Professional Experience
- Private practice of immigration law, 1990 to present
Notable Reported Cases
- Soliman v. Gonzalez, 419 F.3d 276 (4th Cir. 2005) (on brief)
- Matter of Sesay, 25 I&N Dec. 431 (BIA 2011) (on brief)
Teaching
- The District Of Columbia Bar, Continuing Legal Education Program, “Advising Clients Facing Immigration Hurdles: Introduction to Waivers of Inadmissibility,” January 30, 2013.
- Fairfax County Bar Association, CLE Event, “Immigration Consequences of Various Virginia Criminal Offenses and Considerations in Negotiating Guilty Pleas," April 24, 2009.
- Old Dominion Bar Association, CLE Event, “Immigration Consequences of Various Virginia Criminal Offenses and Considerations in Negotiating Guilty Pleas," April 24, 2009.