Get on the path to results today
Get on the path to results today
WE REPRESENT CLIENTS IN ALL STATES
1-800-416-5580
Offices Serving:
District of Columbia
1701 Pennsylvania Ave., NW Suite 200
Washington, DC
Tennessee
301 S. Perimeter Park Dr., Suite 100
Nashville, TN 37211
Virginia
3158 Golansky Blve. Suite 201
Wood Bridge, VA 22191
3808 Poplar Hill Rd. ste C,
Chesapeake, VA 23321
Our firm helps reunite families by assisting US citizens and lawful permanent residents to sponsor their relatives for US immigration.
Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, is a form filed by a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident (LPR) to establish the relationship with a foreign national relative who wishes to immigrate to the United States or in some cases the relative is already in the U.S. The purpose of this form is to initiate the process of obtaining a family-based immigrant visa or green card for the foreign national relative. We provide comprehensive citizenship and immigration services.
To be eligible to apply for Petition for Alien Relative, a person must generally meet the following requirements:
· Sponsor Eligibility: The petitioner (U.S. citizen or LPR) must be at least 21 years old and meet the requirements for their respective status.
· Relationship Categories: The form is used to establish the relationship between the petitioner and the foreign national relative. Eligible relationships include:
Spouse: A U.S. citizen or LPR can petition for their foreign national spouse.
Child: A U.S. citizen can petition for their unmarried children under 21 years old. LPRs can petition for their unmarried children of any age.
Parent: A U.S. citizen can petition for their foreign national parent.
Sibling: A U.S. citizen can petition for their foreign national sibling.
A national interest waiver is a way to obtain a green card/lawful permanent residence if your work, which related to research, science, or furtherance of human knowledge, creates a significant economic impact. The NIW is a waiver that allows you to have working authorization in the United States without a job offer. The USCIS grants NIWs to individuals who are exceptionally talented in their field, and thus it would be in the United States' “national interest” to admit such individuals to the United States.
USCIS uses a three prong test to determine an applicant's qualification for the NIW.
1. That the foreign nationals proposed endeavor (in their field of study) has an important impact in the United States. The impact does not have to be quantifiable initially. The impact can also be regional/local in nature.
2. That the applicant is well-positioned, based on their credentials and experience, to carry out the proposed endeavor.
3. That it would be beneficial for the United States to waive the DOL certification of the EB-2 category.
We have experience successfully evaluating applicant's qualifications and delivering successful results with high success rates.
Our services include helping clients apply for naturalization, obtaining certificates of citizenship, and resolving issues related to citizenship.
Form N-400, also known as the Application for Naturalization, is the form used by lawful permanent residents (also known as green card holders) to apply for U.S. citizenship. The form is used to provide information about the applicant's eligibility for citizenship, background information, and residency history in the United States.
To be eligible to apply for Naturalization, a person must generally meet the following requirements:
· Have been a lawful permanent resident for at least five years (or three years if married to a U.S. citizen, see below)
· Be able to demonstrate good moral character
· Pass an English and Civics test, unless you fall under the exception requirements available for certain individuals based on age and disability
· Be willing to take the Oath of Allegiance to the United States
To file Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, based on marriage to a U.S. citizen, there are specific qualifications that you need to meet. Here are the general requirements:
· You must be married to a U.S. citizen and have been living in a marital union for at least three years. The U.S. citizen spouse must have been a U.S. citizen during the entire three-year period.
· You must have a valid green card and have been a lawful permanent resident of the United States for at least three years.
I-485 Adjustment of Status
Adjustment of Status refers to the process by which a foreign national who is already in the United States can apply for permanent residency (a green card) without having to return to their home country. They must meet certain eligibility criteria and their immigration category permits an adjustment of status.
Eligibility for Adjustment of Status is determined by factors such as the individual's current immigration status, the availability of a visa in the appropriate category, the individual's background, and compliance with U.S. immigration laws.
To be eligible to apply for Adjustment of Status, a person must generally meet the following requirements:
· You must belong to an eligible category that allows for adjustment of status. Common categories include immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, and family-sponsored preferences.
· Nonimmigrant Status or Entry without Inspection: Generally, you must be physically present in the United States and maintain a lawful nonimmigrant status or have entered the country without inspection. There are exceptions and special provisions for certain individuals, such as immediate relatives of U.S. citizens
· Inspection and Admission or Parole: Generally, you must have been inspected and admitted into the United States by an immigration officer, or you must have been paroled into the country. Individuals who entered the U.S. without inspection or who have violated their nonimmigrant status may have limited options for adjustment of status.
It is important to note that Adjustment of Status is not available to everyone and may be subject to certain restrictions, limitations, or conditions.
Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS)
Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) is an immigration classification available to certain undocumented immigrants under the age of 21 who have been abused, neglected, or abandoned by one or both parents. SIJS is a way for immigrants under twenty-one to apply for and obtain legal permanent residence in the United States. It provides Immigration Relief for Abused Children. We file application with USCIS SIJS.
There are very specific requirements for a child to qualify for SIJS, and the criteria are:
1. The applicant must be under 21 years old;
2. He/she must be unmarried;
3. He/she must be declared dependent in a juvenile court. This means that the Family Court must take jurisdiction over a petition addressing the needs of the applicant;
4. Reunification with one or both of the child’s parents must no longer be a viable option due to abuse, neglect, abandonment or a similar basis under state law; AND
5. It is not in the best interests of the minor to return to his/her country of nationality or last habitual residence.
Benefits to obtaining Special Immigrant Juvenile Status
SIJS waives several types of inadmissibility that would otherwise prevent an immigrant from becoming a lawful permanent resident (getting a green card).
Two main stages in obtaining Special Immigrant Juvenile Status
Receipt of this order is a pre-requisite to applying for SIJS status.
WRIT OF MANDAMUS IS A POWERFUL TOOL RELIEVE DELAYED ADJUDICATION
A writ of mandamus lawsuit does not guarantee approval of the application, but it does ensure that the case will not remain in indefinite limbo. The government will be compelled to review the file, evaluate the evidence presented, and take action on the application.
A Writ of Mandamus is a petition filed with a District Court requesting that an order be issued compelling an officer of the United States to perform their duty, as required by 28 U.S. law Code § 1361, such as adjudication of a long pending petition. It applies in various areas of the law, including immigration law. You are not asking USCIS to approve your application; you are asking them to make a decision. Almost every type of immigration case can use writ of mandamus to expedite their processing at USCIS if such cases are experiencing abnormal delay. Cases abnormally delayed in U.S. consulate or embassy can be benefited by writ of mandamus as well. A writ of mandamus is filed in a U.S. Federal District Court. There is no law or strict rule on how long a person must wait before filing a lawsuit. However, if your application is pending for more than 12–24 months or is time sensitive, it may be time to consider such action. In some cases, the government does not wish to litigate your case, and will offer to make a final decision on your pending case in exchange for a voluntary dismissal of your Writ of Mandamus petition. You should attempt all recommended methods to resolve the problem before filing the Writ of Mandamus.
Do you have an upcoming immigration court date or a Notice to Appear in Immigration Court?
Our attorneys have experience in representing clients in deportation and removal proceedings, including asylum cases and appeals. If your uscis immigration status is in question, we can help.
An asylee—or a person granted asylum—is protected from being returned to his or her home country, is authorized to work in the United States, may apply for a Social Security card, may request permission to travel overseas, and can petition to bring family members to the United States. Asylees may also be eligible for certain government programs, such as Medicaid or Refugee Medical Assistance.
After one year, an asylee may apply for lawful permanent resident status (i.e., a green card). Once the individual becomes a permanent resident, he or she must wait four years to apply for citizenship.
A person who is not in removal proceedings may affirmatively apply for asylum through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), a division of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
If the USCIS asylum officer does not grant the asylum application and the applicant does not have a lawful immigration status, he or she is referred to the immigration court for removal proceedings, where he or she may renew the request for asylum through the defensive process and appear before an immigration judge.
A person who is in removal proceedings may apply for asylum defensively by filing the application with an immigration judge at the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) in the Department of Justice.
In other words, asylum is applied for as a defense against removal from the U.S. Unlike the criminal court system, EOIR does not provide appointed counsel for individuals in immigration court, even if they are unable to retain an attorney on their own.
Asylum seekers who arrive at a U.S. port of entry or enter the United States without inspection generally must apply through the defensive asylum process. Both application processes require the asylum seeker to be physically present in the United States.
One final option for deportation defense may be available to certain undocumented individuals who have lived in the United States for a long time and have been placed into removal proceedings. It is possible to obtain lawful status and a green card through Non-LPR Cancellation or Removal.
To qualify for cancellation, you must meet all of the following requirements:
Unfortunately, you cannot proactively sign up for this benefit. It’s only available to someone facing removal in immigration court. Meeting all the requirements above is just the minimum criteria. There’s also a limit of 4,000 green cards issued annually under this law. In other words, there are many people who satisfy all the requirements but do not receive the cancellation of removal. It’s incredibly important to get the assistance of an immigration attorney experienced with deportation defense and establishing the merits of your hardship.
One of the most common paths to legal status is for undocumented immigrant who marry a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident. The foreign spouse of a U.S. citizen qualifies as an immediate relative. For the immediate relatives of a U.S. citizen, obtaining a green card may be a fairly straight forward process. In fact, a lawyer may not even be necessary. However, certain conditions must be in place. Otherwise, the process gets complicated. But often there are viable paths to legal status.
The immediate relative category includes the spouse, parent and unmarried child (under age 21) of U.S. citizens. Provided the immediate relative had a lawful entry to the U.S., he or she may adjust status to permanent resident. In other words, an undocumented immediate relative may generally apply for a green card from inside the United States. The lawful entry is essential. The undocumented individual must have entered the United States with valid documentation and made face to face contact with a U.S. immigration officer and that officer acknowledged the person's entry to the U.S. Therefore, an individual who overstays a visa and then marries a U.S. citizen may generally obtain a green card through adjustment of status, regardless, if the visa overstay was only six months or six years; the undocumented immediate relative has the ability to apply for a green card.
In 2000, the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Prevention Act created the U visa to protect non-citizens who have been victims of certain crimes and who have aided law enforcement. The law was created to encourage victims to cooperate with police and prosecutors without the fear of deportation. A U visa provides legal status, employment authorization, and can also provide a path to permanent resident status (green card) in some circumstances.
There are four eligibility requirements for a U visa:
Asylum status is available to anyone in the United States who has suffered persecution in his or her home country or who has a well-founded fear of persecution if he or she were to return to that country. It is important to understand that the persecution must be done by the government, or by a group that the government is unwilling or unable to control.
In U.S. immigration law, persecution is fairly well-defined. Most importantly, the persecution must be on account of one of the following five groups: race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion.
In general, eligibility for asylum requires that you:
I-601A Provisional Waiver
By law, if the foreign spouse and children entered the U.S. without inspection and remained in the U.S., they must leave the country and conclude their immigration process through U.S. consulates abroad to obtain the immigrant visa (green card). More importantly, if the immigrating spouse and/or children over 18 years of age resided in the U.S. unlawfully for at least 180 days (6 months), they could then be automatically barred from re-entry to the U.S. for 3 to 10 years once they leave they U.S. However, in many cases these individuals can qualify and apply for a waiver of the 3- and 10-year bars if they can demonstrate that their absence from the U.S. would cause an “extreme and unusual hardship” to the U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse or parent. In the recent past, the waiver process required that the individual first travel out of the U.S. and apply from his or her country of origin.
A “provisional” waiver is available that can be applied for and obtained while the applicant is still in the United States. The provisional waiver offers individuals some level of certainty that, once approved, the applicant will be able to return to the United States after a successful consular interview. The provisional waiver program covers the undocumented spouse and children of U.S. citizens.
The goal of the provisional waiver program is to maintain family unity. “Extreme and unusual hardships” can generally include: family ties to the United States and the country of removal, conditions in the country of removal, the age of the U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse or parent, the length of residence in the United States, relevant medical and mental health conditions, financial hardships, and educational hardships.
A provision in our current immigration law, known as “registry,” allows certain long-term, undocumented residents of the United States to “register” for lawful permanent resident (LPR) status.
To qualify, applicants must have entered the country on or before a specified date (known as the “registry date”) and must demonstrate good moral character and continuous residence since their entry. Undocumented individuals may be eligible to apply for a green card (permanent residence) under the current registry provisions if they meet all of the following conditions:
ESTATUS DE PROTECCIÓN TEMPORAL (TPS)
A las personas que llegan a los Estados Unidos desde ciertos países se les puede otorgar el Estatus de Protección Temporal (TPS) cuando deportarlos a su país de origen representa una amenaza para la seguridad de esa persona. El TPS se otorga cuando el país de origen de la persona está experimentando dificultades o conflictos que hacen que el regreso sea insostenible, o una amenaza directa para el bienestar y la seguridad de esa persona.
Una vez que un país recibe el Estatus de Protección Temporal, cualquier ciudadano de ese país o una persona apátrida que haya residido habitualmente en ese país y que ya esté en los Estados Unidos puede solicitar TPS. Cualquier persona que ingrese a los Estados Unidos después de la fecha de designación generalmente no puede solicitar el estatus de protección en ese momento.
El Estatus de Protección Temporal de un país suele ser por 6, 12 o 18 meses, y puede extenderse a discreción del Secretario de Seguridad Nacional. Si la designación es "redesignada", cualquier persona del país que vino a los Estados Unidos después de la designación original puede solicitar las protecciones. Si se extiende la designación de un país, el estado de aquellas personas que actualmente tienen TPS se extiende hasta la nueva fecha de extensión.
Para ser elegible para TPS, una persona debe:
A partir del 1 de marzo de 2021, los siguientes países están actualmente designados para el Estatus de Protección Temporal
País Fecha de posible vencimiento
Afganistán Válido hasta el 20 de noviembre de 2023
Birmania Extendido hasta el 25 de mayo de 2024
Camerún Válido hasta el 7 de diciembre de 2023
*El Salvador Continuará mientras una orden judicial preliminar permanezca vigente
Etiopía Válido hasta el 12 de junio de 2024
*Haití Válido hasta el 3 de agosto de 2023 para aquellos a quienes se les otorgó TPS bajo la nueva designación
*Honduras Continuará mientras una orden judicial preliminar permanezca vigente
*Nepal Continuará mientras una orden judicial preliminar permanezca vigente
*Nicaragua Continuará mientras una orden judicial preliminar permanezca vigente
Somalia Extendido hasta el 17 de septiembre de 2024
Sudán del Sur Extendido hasta el 3 de noviembre de 2023
Sudán Válido hasta el 19 de octubre de 2023 para aquellos bajo la nueva designación TPS. Otros están cubiertos por una orden judicial preliminar
Siria Extendido hasta el 31 de marzo de 2024
Ucrania Válido hasta el 19 de octubre de 2023
Venezuela Extendido hasta el 10 de marzo de 2024
Yemen Extendido hasta el 3 de marzo de 2023
People arriving in the United States from certain countries may be granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS) when deporting them to their country of origin poses a threat to that person’s security. TPS is granted when the person’s home country is experiencing difficulties or conflicts that make returning untenable, or a direct threat to the wellbeing and safety of that person.
Once a country receives Temporary Protected Status, any national of that country or a stateless person who had habitually resided in that country who is already in the United States may apply for TPS. Anyone who enters the United States after the date of designation generally may not apply for protective status at that time.
A country’s Temporary Protected Status is usually for 6, 12, or 18 months, and can be extended at the discretion of the Secretary of Homeland Security. If the designation is “redesignated,” anyone from the country who came to the United States after the original designation may apply for the protections. If a country’s designation is extended, the status of those people who currently hold TPS is extended until the new extension date.
To be eligible for TPS, a person must:
As of March 1, 2021, the following countries are currently designated for Temporary Protected Status
Country
Date of Potential Expiration
Afghanistan Valid through November 20, 2023
Burma Extended until May 25, 2024
Cameroon Valid through December 7, 2023
*El Salvador Will continue as long as a preliminary injunction remains in effect
Ethiopia Valid through June 12, 2024
*Haiti Valid through Aug. 3, 2023 for those granted TPS under the new designation announced Jan. 26, 2023.
*Honduras Will continue as long as a preliminary injunction remains in effect
*Nepal Will continue as long as a preliminary injunction remains in effect
*Nicaragua Will continue as long as a preliminary injunction remains in effect
Somalia Extended until September 17, 2024
South Sudan Extended until November 3, 2023
SudanValid through October 19, 2023 for those under the new TPS designation. Others are covered by a preliminary injunction
Syria Extended until March 31, 2024
Ukraine Valid through October 19, 2023
Venezuela Extended until March 10, 2024
Yemen Extended until March 3, 2023
We provide legal assistance to individuals seeking protection under DACA and other immigration programs designed to protect Dreamers and other immigrants.
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