Top Attorney – Deborah J. Townsend
Yalaha, FL WW/Press/– Deborah J. Townsend, Attorney with Deborah J. Townsend, P.A. is recognized and distinguished in The Top Attorneys of North America 2022-2023 edition. 
Deborah J. Townsend, P.A. is in Yalaha, Florida and serves all of Central Florida, including the greater Orlando area, Lake County, Ocala, Lakeland & Gainesville and has successfully represented corporations, businesses, and individuals throughout the United States and abroad in many foreign countries. The firm is practices exclusively in the areas of immigration and nationality law, specializing in complex business, employment, and family-based cases. The firm represents a broad range of clients, including investors, entrepreneurs, large and small corporations, foreign national employees, families, and students in all areas of immigration law.
Locating and retaining the best immigration attorney for your needs can be overwhelming. You may be a foreign national wanting to temporarily or permanently immigrate to the United States Or, you wish to become a U.S. citizen by naturalization or make a claim to derivative citizenship. Or, maybe you are a U.S. company looking to temporarily or permanently hire a foreign national to fill a position for which you cannot readily locate a U.S. person. Or, possibly you are already in the United States and find yourself under a threat of deportation. No matter what your motivation, Deborah J. Townsend. P.A. will handle all your legal needs. More importantly, you are their top priority.
The firm’s founder, Deborah J. Townsend has been practicing law for over 30 years. Ms. Townsend’s practice focuses primarily on immigration and nationality law. She represents broad range of clients including investors, entrepreneurs, large and small corporations, foreign national employees, families and students in all areas of immigration law. Ms. Townsend provides a full range of immigration law services including nonimmigrant visas – B/E/H/L/O/P/TN and others, as well as employment-based, investment-based and family-based cases for U.S. lawful permanent resident status (“green cards”), student visas, asylum, naturalization, derivative citizenship, I-9 issues, employer sanctions, representation before U.S. Consulates abroad and limited representation in Immigration Court for non-criminal aliens.
Ms. Townsend has a passion for legislative advocacy. She firmly believes that it is not enough to merely practice immigration law if one truly cares about clients. It is also necessary to advocate for them legislatively. For many years, she has advocated on behalf of Comprehensive Immigration Reform by personally meeting with Congressional offices in Washington, D.D. and locally, as well as encouraging others to contact their Congresspersons and Senators. She has also spoken to many civic and political groups about the need for legislative reform and written op-ed articles on the topic.
Prior to starting her own firm in 1995, Ms. Townsend was employed as an associate and later as a partner with the law firm of Hendry, Stoner & Brown, P.A. until 1991. From 1992 – 1994, she was a partner in the immigration law firm of Holmes, Khatri & Townsend, P.A.
Following her graduation from Albany Law School of Union University in 1979, Ms. Townsend first served as a VISTA attorney with the Haitian Refugee Center in Miami, Florida and then as a staff attorney with Legal Services of Greater Miami, Immigration Law Unit, for approximately two years. She also earned a B.A., Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Hood College, Frederick, Maryland, 1976.
Ms. Townsend is one of the founding members of the Central Florida Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA CFC) in which she has held the positions of Chapter Chair, Member, Board of Directors and Advocacy Committee Chair/Co-Chair. She has also served as the Orange County Bar Association Immigration and Naturalization Committee Chair; the Florida Bar International Law Section Immigration Committee Co-Chair and USCIS Texas service Center Liaison Committee Co-Chair.
Ms. Townsend has been a Florida bar Board Certified in Immigration and Nationality Law since 1996, was chosen as a Florida “Super Lawyer” from 2006-2009 and again, from 2015-2018 and received the American Immigration Lawyers Association Central Florida Chapter’s awards for “Excellence in the Practice of Immigration Law” and “Outstanding Contributions to the Practice of immigration Law” in 2011 and 2009, respectively.
The Top Attorneys of North America, a New York based publication, distinguishes and profiles leading attorneys who have reached a recognizable degree of success and leadership in their field. The directory is valued for promoting awareness of the accomplishments within the North American legal community.