Services & Industries
Education
J.D., Lewis & Clark Law School, 2011
B.A., University of California, Berkeley, 1996
Bar & Court Admissions
Oregon State Bar
Melany represents clients of all sizes from a variety of industries, guiding employers and foreign nationals through the maze of immigration laws. She handles a wide range of nonimmigrant work visas, including specialty occupation categories, intracompany transfers, extraordinary ability in business and arts, internationally recognized artists and performers, religious workers, cultural exchange workers, and TN NAFTA status for Canadian and Mexican nationals. Additionally, Melany has extensive experience with PERM labor certifications, and immigrant visa petitions for multinational executives and managers, as well as individuals meeting the extraordinary ability threshold.
Melany’s most recent pro bono work has helped crime victims, with U visa petitions. She has also provided pro bono services to several organizations involved in immigration matters, including Surviving Spouses Against Deportation, and securing artists’ visas for participants in Portland-area arts events and festivals.
Melany’s interest in art is more than legal. She studied Byzantine mosaic techniques in Ravenna, Italy and has created and installed custom mosaics in tile and stained glass.
Community Involvement & Activities
Art4Life
2015–Present, Board Member
Business for Culture and the Arts
Art of Leadership Program 2016
Professional Memberships
American Bar Association
American Immigration Lawyers Association
Multnomah Bar Association
Oregon Women Lawyers
Recent News
Tonkon Torp Immigration Attorneys Speak at AILA P.L.A.N. Conference
Tonkon Torp partners Melina LaMorticella and Melany Savitt were featured speakers at the 2023 P.L.A.N. Conference, hosted by AILA Oregon and designed for paralegals, law students, assistants, and new practitioners.
Melany Savitt Provides In-Depth Form I-9 Review for BOLI
On February 22, Tonkon Torp business immigration attorney Melany Savitt presented a deep dive into Form I-9 for attendees of the Oregon Bureau of Labor & Industries (BOLI) Wage and Hour/Payroll issues seminar.
Business Immigration Group Hosts Annual Immigration Update
Tonkon Torp business immigration lawyers Alan Perkins, Turid Owren, Melina LaMorticella, and Melany Savitt hosted their Annual Immigration Update for employers.
Tonkon Torp Immigration Attorneys Speak at AILA NW Regional Conference
Attorneys from Tonkon Torp’s Immigration Practice spoke on panels at the September, 2022 AILA NW Regional Conference.
Alan Perkins and Melany Savitt Provide Form I-9 Deep Dive for BOLI
Tonkon Torp business immigration attorneys Alan Perkins and Melany Savitt provided a deep dive into Form I-9 for attendees of the Oregon Bureau of Labor & Industries (BOLI) Wage and Hour/Payroll issues seminar.
Recent Publications
FY2024 H-1B Cap Registration – What You Need to Know
By Melina LaMorticella, Turid Owren, Alan Perkins, and Melany Savitt – Registrations for the FY2024 H-1B quota must be submitted electronically to USCIS in March 2023. We expect USCIS to designate a two-week registration period shortly. Last year USCIS charged a $10 fee per registration.
2024 DV Lottery Registration Open Oct. 5 to Nov. 8
Online registration for the 2024 Diversity Visa Lottery (DV2024) opened Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2022 at 12:00 PM (noon) Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4), and closes Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022 at 12:00 PM (noon) Eastern Standard Time (EST) (GMT-5).
FY2023 H-1B Cap Registration – What You Need to Know
By Melina LaMorticella, Turid Owren, Alan Perkins, and Melany Savitt – Registrations for the FY2023 H-1B quota must be submitted electronically to USCIS in March 2022. USCIS will designate a registration period shortly, which should be a minimum two week window. USCIS will charge a $10 fee per registration.
Biden Administration Lifts COVID-19 Travel Bans, Adds Vaccine Requirement
This week the Biden Administration issued a new Presidential Proclamation that will take effect on November 8, 2021, ending the U.S. COVID-19 travel restrictions that applied to most foreign national nonimmigrants traveling from Brazil, China, India, Iran, Ireland, the Schengen Area, South Africa, and the United Kingdom.
2023 DV Lottery Registration Open Oct. 6 to Nov. 9
Online registration for the 2023 DV Lottery (DV2023) opened Wednesday, October 6, 2021 at 12:00 PM (noon) Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) (GMT-4), and closes Tuesday, November 9, 2021 at 12:00 PM (noon) Eastern Standard Time (EST) (GMT-5).
Publications & Presentations
“H-1B Forms,” P.L.A.N. Conference, American Immigration Lawyers Association, Oregon, March 2023
“Annual Immigration Update,” Jan. 2023
“FY2024 H-1B Cap Registration – What You Need to Know,” Tonkon Torp Legal Update, Jan. 2023
“What You Need to Know About FY2023 H-1B Cap Registration,” Tonkon Torp Legal Update, Jan. 2022
“Annual Immigration Update,” Nov. 2021
“Business Immigration Update,” Sept. 2020
“Trump Proclamation Suspends Entry of Immigrant Visa Applicants Into U.S. for 60 Days,” Tonkon Torp Legal Update, April 2020
“H-1B Cap Season 2020,” American Immigration Lawyers Association, Oregon Chapter, Feb. 2020
“U.S. Employment Options Post-Graduation for International Students,” Reed College, Feb. 2020
“H-1B Cap Season 2020,” Feb. 2020
“Worksite Enforcement Business Immigration Briefing,” Sept. 2019
“Visas – Who Can Come? Who Can Stay?” Annual Labor & Employment Law Update, May 2019
“Advanced PERM and PERM-based I-140 issues,” NW Regional Immigration Law Conference, Seattle University, Feb. 2019
“Business Immigration Review and 2019 Forecast Briefing,” Dec. 2018
“Business Immigration for Startups,” Nov. 2018
“L1A/L1B Petitions and Multinational Executives/Managers Immigrant Petitions: Overview, RFE Trends, & Practice Pointers,” Annual Northwest Regional Immigration Law Conference, American Immigration Lawyers Association, Seattle, March 2018
“H-1B Breakfast Briefing,” March 2018
“Worksite Enforcement, Compliance Best Practices & Forms I-9,” June 2017
“H-1B Cap Season 2017 and Trump Administration Executive Orders,” Feb. 2017
“Business Immigration 2017,” Feb. 2017
“Employment-Based Immigration,” American Immigration Lawyers Association, Oregon Chapter, May 2016
“H-1B Cap Subject Petitions,” NW Regional Immigration Law Conference, Seattle, March 2016
“L1 Visas: Overview, RFE Trends, & Practice Pointers,” Annual Northwest Regional Immigration Law Conference, American Immigration Lawyers Association, March 2015
“The Role of the Human Resource Department in Facilitating International Assignments,” Global Special Interest Group of PHRMA, Feb. 2015
“Employment Based Immigration Update,” Labor & Employment Law Seminar, May 2013