Jose Antonio Venero

Chief Operating Officer and Legal Consultant

Jose Antonio "Tom" Venero, is a second generation lawyer, following in the footsteps of his father, Dr. Jose Antonio Venero-Dominguez, a respected retired judge and Professor of Law. Jose Antonio is originally from Venezuela. He is a senior lawyer with a solid international business background and almost 30 years practicing law, including 16 years in the US, where he has worked for local law firms in Austin and also as in house counsel in Fortune 500 Corporations (Apple Inc. and Diebold Inc.). Jose Antonio obtained his law degree from the Universidad de Carabobo in Venezuela in 1994. He also graduated with a Specialist Fellowship degree in Civil Procedure Law from the Andres Bello Catholic University (UCAB) in Caracas, Venezuela. While in Venezuela Jose Antonio practiced as a trial attorney, arguing many cases in District Courts, Courts of Appeals and the Nation's Supreme Court. He worked as an Of Counsel Associate in Villalba y Asociados for many years. Jose Antonio was also appointed as a Municipal Judge in 1999. Later on Jose Antonio was a founding partner of Pimentel & Venero in the year 2000. After relocating to the US in 2004, Jose Antonio obtained his LL.M degree in US Law from St. Mary's University School of Law in San Antonio, Texas in 2005.

He is admitted to the Venezuelan Bar (1994) and has also been designated by the State Bar of Texas as a Certified Foreign Legal Consultant (2017-2019, Current Certification Pending). Mr. Venero is not licensed to practice law by the State of Texas. As a Foreign Legal Consultant, Mr. Venero is able to assist the U.S. Licensed attorneys at Venero Law, PLLC in the Firm's representation of domestic clients. He is fluent in English, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese.

Settled in Austin since 2006, Jose Antonio developed a strong connection with the city and its people, adopting Austin with love as his new hometown along with his beloved Valencia. In order to sharpen his business knowledge, Jose Antonio attended an Executive Program in Global Negotiations at Harvard Business School in 2011. In 2016 Jose Antonio reached a new career goal by opening a Law Firm in Austin, Texas, offering legal services mainly in the International law arena but also in human rights. Now he is leading Venero Law PLLC, which is a fast-growing law firm in Austin, still a family oriented practice, but committed to supporting the vibrant immigrant community across the USA. In his spare time, Jose Antonio enjoys golfing, reading about politics and economy, as well as traveling and spending time with his family and friends.

U.S. Licensed Attorneys

Oriana Venero

Oriana obtained her Juris Doctor from the University of Florida Levin College of Law in May of 2017. Previously she attended The University of Texas at Austin where she received degrees in Psychology and in Latin American Studies. Oriana has previously worked with the Travis County Attorney’s Office where she gained experience and found a passion for criminal law. Oriana later worked with American Gateways in Austin TX, where she served underprivileged immigrants as a law clerk during her Law School career, and previously as a translator while at UT as an undergraduate student. Oriana is very passionate about serving the most marginalized members of our population and humanity, prompting her to receive a certificate in International and Human Rights Law while attending law school at the University of Florida. Oriana also has a long history of community service volunteering, having started as early as her Junior year of high school and continuing throughout her college and law school careers. She very much enjoys giving back to the community and lending a hand where needed.

Oriana is first generation Venezuelan-American, having been born and raised in Valencia, Venezuela until age 14, she also considers herself to be a proud Austinite. Oriana’s love for the law started since she was very young thanks to the examples set by her father, Jose Antonio Venero Sr., founding partner at Venero Law, and her grandfather, Dr. Jose A. Venero-Dominguez, retired judge and professor of law. Oriana leads our team in the area of family-based petitions, work Visas, naturalization, and humanitarian Visas and also is part of the removal defense team. Oriana is licensed to practice law in the State of Texas.

Rafael Haros Jr

Rafael Haros Jr is an Associate Attorney at Venero Law PLLC. He is a first-generation attorney and focuses his practice in immigration law, primarily in removal defense, asylum petitions, TPS, family immigration, and other related matters. Rafael is licensed to practice law in the State of Texas and obtained his B.A. from the University of Arkansas and his law degree from the University of Tulsa College of Law. Rafael credits his time in law school for gaining exposure and experience in immigration law. He was a student volunteer for the Karnes Pro Bono Project with RAICES, where he assisted women in preparing for their credible fear interviews. He was also a clinical student for the Immigrant Rights Project, where he worked with a family on filing their I-130 petition for residency. He was also the Founder and President of the Latino Law Students Association and Secretary for the Immigration Law Society. Rafael also completed a judicial externship and clerkship for the Honorable Irma C. Ramirez at the United States District Court, Northern District of Texas in Dallas.

Rafael understands the needs of his clients based on his experiences in law school and his background as a child of immigrants from Mexico. Now in Austin, Rafael enjoys concerts, working out, playing sports, taking road trips, and paddleboarding. He is also a fluent Spanish speaker.

Hubert Montoya
(Of Counsel)

Hubert Montoya is the child of immigrants, a first-generation college graduate, and grew up in a small town in West Texas. He is licensed to practice law in Texas and he obtained his law degree from Tulane University School of Law in New Orleans, Louisiana. He first moved to Austin, Texas to attend The University of Texas at Austin, where he obtained his B.A. in Government. Before joining Venero Law, PLLC., he worked at a mid-size immigration law firm where he worked on family-base immigration and removal defense. He also worked, for a short period, at a prominent personal injury law firm before returning to immigration law. On his off time, he enjoys reading, running, and hanging out with his dog, Argus, a hurricane Harvey rescue.

Staff

Johanna Mannello De Gouveia

Johanna Mannello De Gouveia: Born in Caracas, Venezuela, Johanna is of Italian and Portuguese descendent. She obtained a degree in Social Communication from the University Arturo Michelena (VE). Johanna worked as a reporter (politics) for an important newspaper in her native country before relocating to Miami in 2017; in Miami she worked as an administration manager at a local export company. After relocating to Austin TX, Johanna joined Venero Law in 2020 where she works as Finance and Digital Marketing Assistant. Her passion is helping people and organisations in their transformation to the digital world. In her spare time she enjoys reading about politics and spending time with her husband and puppy Paris.