Immigration

We offer proactive, creative and successful solutions to your immigration needs, and we keep you informed you are notified of progress and changes on your case on a regular basis.

Citizenship

Becoming a United States Citizen is the dream of most immigrants. At times, uninformed immigrants with past criminal acts file an Application for Naturalization on their own and they end up in Removal Proceedings in front of an Immigration Judge. This is because they did not consult to a trained person who has reviewed their past history to assess whether they are able to naturalize. Other times, individuals do not apply for naturalization because they are unable to speak English or learn History, and are unaware that certain individuals can file a waiver to waive both tests.

In essence, prior to filing for naturalization, If the applicant has a criminal history background, it is paramount that a skilled immigration person be consulted. Individuals are often surprised and find out that they are already U.S. Citizens by operation of law.

Common Obstacles to Citizenship, Naturalization

Everyone makes mistakes. But if your goal is U.S. citizenship, even a small mistake many years ago can stand in the way of your dream.

Other potential problems for applicants for citizenship include:
Voting in U.S. elections as a permanent resident
Failure to pay child support
Failure or omission to pay Taxes
Failure to register for selective service (for man only)
Staying outside the U.S. for a long period of time
Separation from your husband or wife

Immigration Options for Family of Certain Military Members and Veterans

What is Parole in Place? Parole in place allows a foreign national who came into the United States without authorization by an immigration officer to stay for a certain period of time. Parole in place is granted on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit. Parole is considered a lawful immigration status for purposes of certain immigration benefits, such as a Green Card. Parole, however, does not excuse any periods of unlawful presence outside of the parole period.

What is Deferred Action? Deferred action is a discretionary decision to postpone someone’s removal from the United States for a certain period of time. Deferred action does not provide lawful status, and it does not excuse any periods of unlawful presence outside of the deferred action period.

Am I eligible for deferred action? You may be eligible for deferred action in two-year increments if:
• You are the spouse, widow(er), parent, son, or daughter of:
- An active-duty member of the U.S. armed forces;
- An individual in the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve; or
- A military veteran (whether living or
deceased, as long as he or she was not dishonorably discharged) who served in active duty or in the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve; or
• You are an enlistee - or the spouse, parent, son, or daughter of an enlistee - in the Department of Defense Delayed Entry Program (DEP), including through the Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest (MAVNI) program.

Green card Renewal

Before proceeding with the green card renewal process, you should first determine if you are eligible to renew your green card. Generally, you can get a new green card if:

your card is expired or expires within six months
your card is lost, damaged, or has been stolen
your card contains incorrect information, for instance, if your name is misspelled.

You have legally changed your name or other biographic information since you received your card; or
you never received the card that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) initially mailed to you.
USCIS provides an extensive list of reasons to renew or replace your green card on their website. That said, there are some instances when you should not replace your green card. If you have recently completed a citizenship application, such as Naturalization, you do not need to renew your green card to remain in lawful permanent resident status.

DACA

DACA allows “certain people who came to the United States as children and meet several guidelines may request consideration of deferred action for a period of two years, subject to renewal. They are also eligible for work authorization. Deferred action is a use of prosecutorial discretion to defer removal action against an individual for a certain period of time. Deferred action does not provide lawful status.”

You may request DACA if you:

Were under the age of 31 as of June 15, 2012
Came to the United States before reaching your 16th birthday
Have continuously resided in the United States since June 15, 2007, up to the present time
Were physically present in the United States on June 15, 2012, and at the time of making your request for consideration of deferred action with USCIS
Had no lawful status on June 15, 2012
Are currently in school, have graduated or obtained a certificate of completion from high school, have obtained a general education development (GED) certificate, or are an honorably discharged veteran of the Coast Guard or Armed Forces of the United States; and
Have not been convicted of a felony, significant misdemeanor, or three or more other misdemeanors, and do not otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety

Other Services

Preparation of documents U Visa process

Congress created a U visa status in 2000 to help victims of crime. The purpose of the U visa is to encourage crime victims to help law enforcement agencies investigate and prosecute crimes without fear of deportation.The U visa does not cover all crimes but does include domestic violence, stalking, , sexual assault and felony assault, among other crimes.

PARDONS

Penalties for: 3 years, due to a single illegal entry into the United States.
Penalties for: 10 years, two illegal entries and a certain number of days accumulated unlawful presence in the United States.

PETITIONS

If you would like to become a permanent resident of the United States and obtain your Green Card, an Immigrant Petition needs to be filed on your behalf by either your relative, your employer, or in some cases by yourself. Two types of Immigrant visa Petitions are:
• Family-based Petitions
• Employment-based petitions

FOIA

Under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) you can request: Immigration records, whether your own or someone else's with their permission; and. Agency policies, data, communications, and other records.
Anyone, whether a citizen or not, can request it. FOIA is a valuable tool for immigration cases, since with it, the lawyer can know the entire immigration history of the applicant.

USCIS

(United States Citizenship and Immigration Services)

The USCIS provides the processes and procedures for lawful immigrants wishing to become a United States citizen. Through the naturalization process, an eligible applicant can submit an application to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services. Once USCIS determines an applicant is prima facie eligible, he or she will have an ‘interveiw’ with an immigration officer at the local USCIS office to confirm the information in the application and administer the English and civics examination.

If your case is outside of normal processing times, you believe USCIS has made an error in processing your case or you believe you meet the USCIS criteria for expedited processing, us office can submit a formal inquiry on your behalf. We will not be able to submit a “case status” inquiry to USCIS if your case is still within normal processing times and you do not qualify for expedited processing, as the status of your case will be shared on the case status portal on the USCIS .