Melissa Oklan practices exclusively in the area of immigration and nationality law, having previously practiced immigration law at a prominent firm in Miami, Florida, as both an Associate and then later as a Supervising Attorney. During her time in Florida, Ms. Oklan represented clients at master and individual hearings for relief under asylum, withholding of removal, the Convention Against Torture, and Cancellation of Removal for both Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs) and non-LPRs. She also prepared waivers of the grounds of inadmissibility and applications for advance permission to return to unrelinquished domicile. Ms. Oklan also worked on a variety of appellate cases including cases before the Board of Immigration Appeals and United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
Ms. Oklan also has experience in preparing a variety of business immigration visas and green cards including but not limited to H-1B Specialty Occupations, L-1A Intracompany Transferee for Executives and Managers, and O-1 Individuals with Extraordinary Ability / Achievement. She has also successfully prepared a variety of immigrant petitions including employment based preferences 1 through 5 with and without National Interest Waivers.
Ms. Oklan is admitted to the Florida Bar, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, and the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
She received her Bachelor of Science and her Master of Science in Criminal Justice from Florida International University; her Juris Doctor from the University of Miami School of Law and she is a native Spanish speaker.
In addition to her work at the Ranchod Law Group, Ms. Oklan is also employed on an online basis as an Adjunct Professor at Florida International University. Ms. Oklan is also employed on an as needed
basis by the Florida Board of Bar Examiners, assisting the Board in pretesting questions for future Florida Bar Exams and grading the Bar Exam.
In her spare time, Ms. Oklan enjoys spending time with her spouse and their dog. She also enjoys cooking and going to the movies.