Two law degrees — one from Tomsk State University in Russia (1996) and one from Capital University in the United States (cum laude, 2003), with an externship at the Supreme Court of Ohio — provide the educational foundation for an immigration practice that serves both multinational companies and individual clients. Luba Seliavski established her Virginia Beach practice in 2016 after more than two decades in immigration law, and her background in both Russian and American legal education is directly relevant to the businesses and entrepreneurs she represents: clients whose immigration matters often involve cross-border employment, investor status, and corporate compliance.
Overview
The Law Office of Luba Seliavski, PLLC is a Virginia Beach immigration firm established in 2016. Attorney Luba Seliavski (also known as Lioubov Seliavski) has practiced immigration law for more than twenty-one years and brings a dual legal education — Russian and American — to a practice that serves national and multinational companies, foreign entrepreneurs, and individual immigrant clients.
The firm focuses primarily on business immigration: employment-based visa categories, corporate compliance, and green card processes for employees of U.S. and international businesses. It also handles family-based immigration and naturalization. Child support is listed in some directories as a practice area, though the firm’s website and primary public profile center on immigration law.
Seliavski serves on the Board of Directors of the Russian American Association of Virginia and is involved with the Norfolk Sister City Association’s Kaliningrad program and Open World Program Committee. She is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and the Virginia Beach Bar Association. Consultations are by appointment only.
Practice Areas
Employment-Based Visa Petitions. The core of the firm’s business immigration practice involves nonimmigrant work visas and employment-based green cards. Nonimmigrant categories include H-1B (specialty occupation workers), L-1 (intracompany transferees), L-2 (spouses and children of L-1 holders), E-2 (treaty investors), O (extraordinary ability), P (athletes and entertainers), and TN (Canadian and Mexican professionals under trade agreements). Each category carries distinct eligibility requirements and procedural pathways, and the firm navigates all of them.
Permanent Residence (Employment-Based Green Cards). For employees transitioning from temporary visa status to permanent residence, the firm handles the full process: PERM labor certification through the Department of Labor, and immigrant visa petitions in the EB-1, EB-2, and EB-3 categories. The EB-1 category serves Outstanding Researchers, multinational managers and executives, and aliens with extraordinary ability — a category that requires demonstrating sustained national or international acclaim rather than a job offer. The firm has experience representing clients in this demanding category.
EB-5 Investor Petitions. The EB-5 immigrant investor program provides a green card pathway for qualifying foreign investors who invest in U.S. commercial enterprises and create jobs. The firm handles these petitions, which require careful attention to investment thresholds, regional center requirements, and source-of-funds documentation.
Employer Compliance and I-9 Audits. Businesses that employ foreign workers face compliance obligations including proper completion and retention of I-9 employment eligibility verification forms. Seliavski assists employers with compliance procedures and represents businesses in the event of Department of Homeland Security I-9 audits.
Family-Based Immigration. The firm handles family-based petitions (I-130), fiance visa petitions (I-129F), removal of conditions (I-751), and adjustment of status (I-485) for individuals seeking lawful permanent residence through family relationships with U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
Naturalization. The firm assists eligible permanent residents with naturalization applications and the accompanying interview process.
Consular Processing. For beneficiaries of approved visa petitions who are located abroad, the firm handles consular processing through U.S. embassies and consulates.
Appeals. The firm handles appeals to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO), and the Federal Court of Appeals for denials of immigration benefits.
Attorney Profiles
Luba Seliavski (Lioubov Seliavski) is the founder and principal attorney. She holds a J.D. from Tomsk State University in Russia (1996) and a J.D. from Capital University in Ohio (cum laude, 2003), where she also completed an externship at the Supreme Court of Ohio. She has practiced immigration law for more than twenty-one years. She is admitted to the Virginia bar (active) and the Ohio bar (inactive). She is a member of AILA and the Virginia Beach Bar Association, serves on the Board of Directors of the Russian American Association of Virginia, and is involved with the Norfolk Sister City Association’s Kaliningrad program and Open World Program Committee. She previously served on the AILA D.C. Chapter essay contest committee. She conducts consultations by appointment only. The firm is bilingual in English and Russian.
Location and Service Area
The Law Office of Luba Seliavski, PLLC is located at 4768 Euclid Rd, Suite 105, Virginia Beach, VA 23462. Phone: (757) 689-7507. The website is https://seliavskilaw.com/
Consultations are by appointment only. The firm serves Virginia Beach and surrounding Virginia. For business immigration matters, the firm represents U.S. and multinational companies nationally and internationally, appearing before USCIS and U.S. consulates on behalf of clients across the country.
Client Focus
The firm’s primary client base consists of national and multinational businesses that employ foreign nationals, foreign entrepreneurs seeking E-2 investor or EB-5 investment visas, and employees at various stages of the business immigration process. The firm’s dual English-Russian capability is relevant for Russian-speaking entrepreneurs, executives, and employees navigating the U.S. immigration system. Individual clients seeking family-based immigration benefits and naturalization are also served.
Employers with I-9 compliance concerns or who are navigating a DHS audit will find the firm’s employer compliance practice relevant. The ability to handle appeals to the BIA, AAO, and federal courts means the firm can continue a case beyond an initial denial.
FAQ
What types of businesses does the firm typically represent in business immigration matters?
The firm represents national and multinational companies that employ foreign workers in H-1B, L-1, E-2, and other visa categories. This includes employers who need PERM labor certifications for green card-sponsored employees and businesses seeking to transfer executives or managers under the L-1 category.
What is the EB-1 Outstanding Researcher category, and who qualifies?
The EB-1 Outstanding Researcher and Professor category provides a green card pathway for researchers and academics who can demonstrate international recognition for outstanding achievements in their field. Unlike most employment-based green cards, it does not require PERM labor certification. The firm has represented clients in this category, which requires assembling documentation of peer recognition, published research, and professional contributions.
What is an I-9 audit, and how should an employer respond?
An I-9 audit is a review by the Department of Homeland Security of an employer’s employment eligibility verification records. Employers are required to complete I-9 forms for every hired employee, and audits can result in significant civil fines for technical or substantive violations. The firm assists employers with preemptive I-9 compliance reviews and representation during audits.
Does the firm serve clients who speak only Russian?
Yes. Luba Seliavski is bilingual in English and Russian, and the firm can serve clients who communicate primarily in Russian. This is relevant for Russian-speaking business clients, entrepreneurs, and individual immigration clients.
How are consultations scheduled?
The firm accepts clients by appointment only. Prospective clients should contact the office at (757) 689-7507 to schedule.
Closing
Dual law degrees from Russia and the United States, twenty-one years of immigration practice, and a client base that spans multinational corporations and individual immigrants reflect a practice that took shape through both formal legal education in two countries and sustained work in an area of law that changes constantly with shifts in policy and regulation. The Law Office of Luba Seliavski, PLLC handles the corporate and individual immigration matters that bring these two sides of its founder’s background into use at the same time.