• Bio

Alexandra Ribe

Partner

Alexandra Ribe focuses her practice on removal defense, humanitarian petitions, waivers of inadmissibility, family applications, and complex criminal immigration matters. She regularly advises criminal attorneys on safe and alternate criminal pleas as well as makes arguments before the Immigration Court on why a client’s criminal record should not make him or her deportable. Alexandra is also an adjunct professor of law at the Georgetown University Law Center where she teaches a course focused on gender based asylum law.

Alexandra has been exclusively practicing immigration law since 2011 when she graduated from American University Washington College of Law. Prior to joining Murray Osorio PLLC she was a partner at Immigrants First PLLC in Manassas, Virginia. She has also worked with the Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network in Denver, Colorado, representing detained immigrants and giving legal orientation presentations.

Alexandra is an active member and past president of the Virginia Women Attorney Association. She is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and the liaison to the Executive Office for Immigration Review for the D.C. Chapter of AILA. She lectures frequently on immigration law, including presenting at Continuing Legal Education conferences for AILA, the Federal Bar Association, and the Virginia State Bar. She is also a frequent speaker for the Prince William County Bar Association, the Winchester-Frederick Bar Association, and at various churches, fairs, and community events.

Alexandra is an immigrant from Russia so personally understands the struggles and hopes of her clients and their families.

Bar Admissions

  • Virginia State Bar
  • Colorado State Bar
  • Fourth Circuit, U.S. Court of Appeals
  • Eastern District of Virginia, U.S. District Court
  • U.S. Supreme Court

Memberships

  • AILA and AILA-DC
  • Federal Bar Association
  • Virginia Women Attorney Association, Northern Virginia Chapter

Awards/Recognitions

  • 2020 - 2022 Super Lawyers Washington, DC and Virginia, Super Lawyers Magazine
  • 2023 Ones To Watch for Immigration Law, Best Lawyers Magazine

Select Speaking Engagements:

  • "Are you ready to appear before EOIR," FBA Immigration Section 2023 National Conference, May 2023
  • Advanced Waivers – AILA DC Chapter Conference 2022
  • Navigating Marriage Based I-130 Petitions – Federal Bar Association National Conference 2022
  • You Say Cannabis, I Say Marijuana, Where Do We Start? A Lawyer’s 101 Introduction to
  • Legal Possession and Sale – Virginia State Bar Conference 2021
  • Asylum: The Current State of Particular Social Groups – AILA National Conference 2021
  • Crime-Imm Issues in Court – AILA DC Chapter Conference 2019
  • Asylum I – Federal Bar Association National Conference 2019
  • Criminal Defense Strategies When Representing Foreign Nationals – Virginia State Bar Conference 2018

Representative Matters

4th Circuit:

  • Alvarado Escobar v. Barr, No. 20-1952 (4th Cir. 2021) – won a Fourth Circuit remand and ultimately asylum for a mom and her two young daughters because MS13 gang members threatened her after her husband refused to pay extortion and the family filed a police report.
  • Garcia Hernandez v. Garland, 27 F.4th 263 (4th Cir. 2022) - The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals granted the petition for review of BIA's order finding that the the BIA acted contrary to law by applying the wrong standard to the petitioner's motion to reopen. The Fourth Circuit also held that the framework from Zambrano, which discussed the standards in examining changed circumstances, should have been applied to the petitioner's asylum application.

Board of Immigration Appeals:

  • Won an appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals after denial of asylum and Convention Against Torture to a former MS13 gang member because the Immigration Judge did not fairly consider the articulated protected grounds.
  • Won an appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals after denial of withholding of removal and Convention Against Torture to a Turkish national with who would be imprisoned upon his return due to an outstanding Interpol Red Notice.
  • Won an appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals finding that VA Code 18.2-374.3 is not a categorical match to an aggravated felony because it does not categorically involve a minor victim.

Executive Office for Immigration Review:

  • Secured asylum for a Nepali national who escaped torture by the Maoist.
  • Won Cancellation of Removal for Certain Nonlawful Permanent Residents for a Mexican national with a felony assault conviction based on exceptional hardship to his US citizen mother.
  • Successfully obtained bond for a Mexican national where the government argued he was subject to mandatory detention because of a conviction for a hit and run.

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services:

  • Won asylum for a Russian national who published books and openly criticized the Russian government.
  • Obtained adjustment of status for a Peruvian national who worked with a fraudulent social security card.
  • Secured a U Visa for a Salvadoran man whose son had been the victim of a crime a decade previously and the police were never able to find the perpetrator.

Media Appearances

  • On an interview with TRT, a Turkish public broadcast service: US imposes $15,000 visa bond on 15 mostly African countries
  • TRT interview: Parents of 545 children split up at US border can’t be found
  • Frequent Speaker on TRT World regarding immigration issues
  • Quoted by the Baltimore Banner, “Push to clear massive immigration court backlog ends up causing chaos for some Maryland clients, attorneys say” October 24, 2022
  • Interview with TRT about confusion at US-Mexico border as COVID-19 era rules expire
  • Interview with Telemundo about the fight of a trans migrant to obtain asylum in the US after being deported

While Murray Osorio is proud of its past accomplishments, every case is different and past success is no guarantee of future results.

Interesting Fact

Alex likes to spend quality time with her husband, two daughters, dog and cat. She also likes yoga, oil painting, and traveling to new places as much as possible.