Irene Arfaras Steffas

My husband and I ran into some very difficult legal complications 1 week before our adopted-baby-to-be was born due to our status as Canadians living in the US on work visas. Although we had satisfied all the requirements to adopt, we were notified at the last minute that due to recent changes in ado...ption law, our adoption would be considered international (despite living in California since 2016 and purchasing a home a week before this took place). The agency handling our adoption told us they could no longer help us and recommended finding an international adoption lawyer. Along came Irene, who right from the start was reassuring, friendly, and professional. Irene took up our cause and reached out to the agency that dropped us and convinced them to have their legal team collaborate with her to create a case for the courts that argued in our favor. Irene is someone you want in your corner because she has a lot of friends in high places, many of whom she contacted in order to streamline our case. After working with Irene for just 3 weeks, and only 2 weeks after the birth of our son, we were able to take him home with us to California. Since our return, Irene continues to check in on our son. The cost of her services is remarkably inexpensive for the expertise, compassion, and resourcefulness that Irene brings to the table. Thank you "Auntie" Irene - we will forever be in your debt!!!

I am returning to the States after 10 years of living abroad in Costa Rica. I am a US citizen but I am bringing my wife and daughter from Coast Rica with me. Irene is assisting us in this process. She has provided to date excellent services. She is extremely knowledgeable of the process and makes... us all feel at ease with her professional handling of our petitions. I would highly recommend Irene Steffas for your needs in the area of immigration.

My husband and I, in a very round about way, found ourselves embarking on a journey adoption from Sint Maarten, a country with no current path to adoption. We found out mid way through we needed to work through a Hague approved attorney or agency. There were no agencies working in Sint Maarten so we ...immediately started looking for an attorney. We are SO happy we were able to find Irene and her team. Irene was VERY frank from the get go. She didn't sugarcoat anything which we appreciated so much. We had been told this and that and were given false hope a lot throughout this process and were very discouraged, so to have someone so open and honest about the hurdles we would need to get through was so refreshing. Irene was able to outline all of the steps her team would take to see this through. She was open with the fact that it wasn't a sure deal, but that they would take steps to analyze the entire situation before moving us forward and would do anything in their power to help us adopt these boys. They have taken point on some of the paperwork and processes that were bogging us down and causing a lot of frustration, she and her team clearly know how to navigate the adoption legal system. They've always kept in tight communication throughout the entire process. I've never felt like I can't reach out to Irene directly if I had questions and she has always been so responsive (along with her team). Our adoption isn't complete yet, but things are looking good. I would absolutely recommend Irene to anyone who is looking to adopt, especially in a situation where you may be paving the way. It's clear she is passionate about her work and her clients and I will be ever grateful we made the choice to partner with her and her team in this process.

We used Irene Steffas and her team to fulfil the adoption of our grandson, through the Hague Adoption process. We live in the USA, and our grandson was born in the UK. The whole International adoption process is so complicated and involved, that we didn't even know what we didn't know! It takes a ...real team of experts to navigate through the process. Irene, Jyotika and Beatriz were our contacts at Steffas. They are incredibly knowledgeable, right up to date on the ever-changing process, pro-active, so helpful. Everyone involved in our case was on the same page - which was really great. Jyotika was our front-line contact. She was great about keeping us up to date on progress, answering all our many questions, very quick to respond to phone calls and e-mails, and several times she talked us through the longest, darkest hours, of a long, complicated and stressful process. Irene and her team were even in a position to educate the UK local authority, and UK attorney, on the Hague process. Without their knowledge and expertise, we're sure the process would have taken much longer. One of the best tools we had, was a binder, which Steffas provided us with. It contained documents and copies of everything we needed to finalize our application with the Embassy in London. Fabulous tool. The overall organization was awesome. We could not have been in better hands.