Immigration & Naturalization Law

Our client had been living in the U.S. as a permanent resident for over 22 years. At a young age, he had been convicted of a charge of burglary. Seventeen years after this conviction, the government issued a notice to appear in immigration court to respond to having committed a crime of moral turpitude and possibly be removed from the U.S. Our client had long moved from the address the government had on file seventeen years earlier, so the notice was never received and he never appeared in court. This caused an order to be entered against him in his absence, finding him removable for a felony crime involving moral turpitude. Client was subsequently picked up at his home and placed in detention. Our attorneys quickly filed a motion to reopen the order of removal, arguing that client was eligible for cancellation of removal due to significant family ties in the U.S., including his U.S. citizen parents, that he maintained steady employment, was remorseful for his past actions and have resided in the U.S. for a lengthy period of time. Our motion was granted and our client successfully continued with his application for cancellation of removal and subsequently with his naturalization application.

On January 2, 2013, the United States Department of Homeland Security announced that undocumented immigrants who were immediate relatives of United States Citizens but unable to apply for a green card from within in the U.S. because they entered without inspection, may submit an Application for a “Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver” while they were still in the U.S. before attending their visa interview abroad. Our attorneys were hired by a client from Mexico who had entered the U.S. without inspection and his U.S. citizen wife to prepare his I-130 Petition and I-601A waiver and assist him with scheduling of his visa interview abroad. Once our attorneys obtained approval of the I-130 Petition, we prepared and submitted a detailed I-601A Provisional Waiver Application. The package comprised of all the hardships the USC spouse would face, including financial hardship, separation from parents and siblings in the U.S., her poor mental health, and lack of opportunities for her should she be forced to move to Mexico to be with her husband. The Application was approved within eight months and our client successfully completed his visa interview abroad and obtained his green card.

Our client had initially entered the U.S. years earlier without inspection. He worked hard and after several years married a U.S. citizen. The couple was eager to start a new family but discovered that they were having problems conceiving. Initially our client underwent surgery as well as several excruciating rounds of in vitro fertilization. The process was financially, emotionally, and physically tolling on the couple. They were also extremely fearful of client’s illegal status in the U.S. To remedy both issues they decided to move to a third country, where the wife was a permanent resident and able to petition for her husband to live legally. The wife left the U.S., got a job, and petitioned for permanent residency for her husband, while he remained in the U.S. Once approved, our client joined his wife in the third country, hoping for a new start. Unfortunately, the wife lost her job and after a year of job searching and heavily in debt was able to find a job back in the U.S. She then was forced to move back and petitioned to bring her husband back to the U.S. through consular processing. In order to get a green card, our client would have to obtain an I-601 of admissibility for his unlawful presence in the U.S., as well as an I-212 application for a prior conviction. In order to obtain an I-601 waiver, the applicant must demonstrate “extreme hardship” to a qualifying relative.  Our client’s qualifying relative in this case was his wife. When client’s wife retained our attorneys to handle this part of the case, our attorneys submitted our client’s I-601 and I-212 waiver applications with substantial documentation of his wife’s financial hardships, her significant medical issues of depression and more importantly the necessity that the couple remain together to continue with their in vitro fertilization treatments. USCIS approved our client’s waiver applications within 6 months of submission and client was able to return to the U.S. He now has his green card and is able to live peacefully with wife without fear of separation and pursue his dream of having children.

Client, a permanent resident of the U.S. had been previously charged with a misdemeanor drug possession and successfully completed his probation. Subsequently, upon return from a trip from his home country, he was questioned by immigration officers about his arrest and referred to Deferred Inspection with complete records of the arrest for a determination as to whether this charge would render him inadmissible to enter the U.S. At the appointment, he was placed into custody and charged as an “arriving alien”, subjecting him to mandatory detention, meaning no release on bond until his hearing on the inadmissibility issue. When the client requested that the government release him on bond as a discretionary matter, his request was denied based on the fact that he had not established that he would not pose a danger to the community or national security. Our attorneys prepared a strong petition for writ of habeas corpus, arguing that the government had a duty to properly consider our client’s request in exercising its discretion in the release of our client and that a decision by the government citing no facts to the contrary was insufficient and an abuse of discretion. Our client was released two days after the petition was filed.

Client had been ordered removed from the U.S. after an Immigration Judge had determined that he was not eligible for asylum. The client then appealed to the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) and the BIA dismissed his appeal. The client was now fearful of having to leave the U.S. and leaving his family behind. Our attorneys carefully reviewed his asylum case and filed a motion to reopen his case based on his well-founded fear of future persecution if removed to his native country. Our legal papers pointed out and, our attorneys argued that our client’s well-founded fear of future persecution was based on changed country conditions based on evidence that was not available at the time of his removal hearing. Our attorneys concurrently filed a Stay of Removal with ICE so the client could remain in the U.S. until his asylum case was heard. Our request for the Stay of Removal was approved.

Our client, a U.S. citizen, had married a woman in his home country several years earlier and had decided to move back to the U.S. and bring her to the U.S. to stay permanently. He had been previously married in the U.S. but had separated from his first wife many years, had signed all the documents pertaining to the divorce and asked his first wife to finalize it. When he retained our attorneys to handle the visa processing for his current wife, our attorneys requested a list of documents, including his divorce judgment. His ex-wife provided him with a copy of the divorce decree, however the date of divorce was after the date of his marriage to his current wife! In fact, he had unknowingly been married to two women for some time until the divorce had been entered. Our attorneys pointed out this issue to our client and advised him to move ahead with the filing of the I-130 Petition but be prepared to deal with the denial of the initial petition. The I-130 Petition was initially denied but as our attorneys anticipated the denial, we quickly filed an appeal arguing that the denial of the I-130 Petition was erroneously entered. To support our position we pointed out that our client was subject to provisions of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act and a marriage entered into prior to the dissolution of an earlier marriage was prohibited but said impediment is removed by the entry of the decree divorcing him from the first spouse. As such, parties to the second marriage who cohabit, like our client and his wife, were lawfully married as of the date of the divorce and client’s I-130 should be approved. USCIS agreed with our position and approved the I-130 petition four months after submission.

Client had been placed in removal following his completion of probation on a stalking charge but no bond had been set for his release. Our attorneys quickly filed an emergency motion, arguing that “stalking” is not a crime of moral turpitude which would require mandatory detention, that the client has no history of violent crimes, had close family ties to the U.S. and had relief in immigration court. The judge granted our request and reasonable bond was set for our client’s release.

Client had met and married his U.S. citizen wife in the U.S and moved in with her, along with his young son from a previous relationship. Our client asserted that he had been subjected to extreme cruelty during the course of his marriage; that his wife’s attitude changed towards him after they both lost their jobs and had to move in with his mother in law, that she was verbally abusive, made derogatory marks about his culture and threatened him with deportation in front of his son. The wife was eventually impregnated by another man, and the couple separated and divorced. Our attorneys submitted our client’s I-751 Petition along with a psychological assessment report, corroborating the abuse. Our client’s I-751 was approved and he obtained his permanent resident card.

Client had an arranged marriage in her home country and entered the U.S. with a conditional green card. Shortly after entering the U.S., client’s husband informed her that he did not wish to remain married to her, wanted her to leave the marital residence, and return to her home country. He then filed for divorce. We assisted our client in finalizing her divorce proceedings and filed her I-751 Petition based on divorce. Our attorneys provided documentation that the marriage was bona fide, that it ended through no fault of our client, and that she had made a life for herself in the U.S. and could not return to her home country, as she would be ridiculed for her failed marriage. Our client’s I-751 Petition was approved within five months without an interview and her permanent green card mailed to her shortly thereafter.

Client was born in Mexico but was the biological son of U.S. citizen parents. His father lived in the U.S. at the time of his birth and his mother had brought him to the U.S. through the Mexican border when he was two months old. He had remained in the U.S. since his entry almost sixty years earlier and had always believed to be a U.S. citizen. He was now being refused his employment benefits as he had no proof of his citizenship. Our attorneys filed an N-600 Application and submitted documents with the application establishing that the applicant was the child of U.S. citizen parents, born outside of the U.S. with one parent residing in the U.S. prior to his birth. Our attorneys argued that since our client met all the aforementioned requirements, he was already a U.S. citizen and must be provided with a certificate of citizenship verifying the same. USCIS agreed with our position and our client’s N-600 Application was approved.

Client was returning from a trip abroad when he was referred to deferred inspection. Client had been previously charged with assault and sexual assault and USCIS had taken the position that because of said charges he was inadmissible to the U.S. and his green card should not be released to him. Our attorneys obtained all pertinent records pertaining to the charges and prepared client for his interview with the USCIS. At the interview, our attorneys assisted client in responding to the officer’s questions and argued that since said charges had occurred prior to client obtaining his green card and said charges had been completely disclosed at the green card interview, our client’s green card should be released. The officer agreed with our position and client’s green card was released to him.

Our attorneys represented a client who needed to renew his green card but had two felony burglary charges, one resulting in probation and the other in a twenty-four month jail sentence. Our attorneys submitted the I-90 Application along with all relevant documents related to the client’s criminal history and a memo explaining the circumstances related to each arrest and evidence of client’s reformation. Client’s application was approved and client received his green card within 10 months of submission.