Your Trusted Partner For All Your Citizenship And Immigration Services

WE REPRESENT CLIENTS IN ALL STATES

1-800-416-5580

Offices Serving:

District of Columbia

1-800-416-5580

1701 Pennsylvania Ave., NW Suite 200

Washington, DC 

517-231-0201

Virginia

Boston, Massachusetts

Seattle, Washington

Orlando, Florida

Now Serving

Nashville, Tennessee  

615-779-4440

301 S. Perimeter Park Dr., Suite 100

Nashville, TN 37211

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:

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·  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

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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:

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·  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.

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To be eligible to apply for Adjustment of Status, a person must generally meet the following requirements:

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·  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.

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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). 

• SIJS waives unlawful entry, working without authorization, status as a public charge, and certain immigration violations. 
• Once a minor receives SIJS, he/she will be able to adjust his/her status to that of a lawful permanent resident, obtain work authorization, and eventually apply for U.S. citizenship.

Two main stages in obtaining Special Immigrant Juvenile Status

• First, the minor must engage in a proceeding in the Family or Surrogate’s Court in the county where he/she resides, (i.e., custody, adoption, or guardianship).  As part of this proceeding, the minor must obtain a “special findings order” that declares the minor’s eligibility for SIJS. Although guardianship is the most common way for the Family Court to obtain jurisdiction over a minor, it is also possible to bring a motion requesting the order though a custody, neglect, adoption, permanency hearing for children in foster care, or PINS (Person in Need of Supervision) proceeding.  

Receipt of this order is a pre-requisite to applying for SIJS status.

• The second stage, after receiving this order from the Family or Surrogate’s Court, the minor may then apply to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) for SIJS.

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:

• You have been living and continuously physically present in the U.S. for at least 10 years;
• Your removal (deportation) from the U.S. would cause “exceptional and extremely unusual hardship” to your U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse, child, or parent;
• You can show that you have good moral character for the past 10 years; and
• You have not been convicted of certain crimes or violated certain laws.

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:

• The individual must have suffered substantial physical or mental abuse as a result of having been a victim of a qualifying criminal activity;
• The individual must have information concerning that criminal activity;
• The criminal activity violated U.S. laws; and
• The individual must have been helpful, is being helpful, or is likely to be helpful in the investigation or prosecution of the crime.

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:

• You are present in the United States (by legal or illegally entry);
• You are unable or unwilling to return to your home country due to past persecution or have a well-founded fear of future persecution if you return;
• The reason for persecution is related to one of five things: race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion; and
• You are not involved with an activity that would bar you from asylum.

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:

• Entered the United States prior to January 1, 1972;
• Resided in the United States continuously since entry;
• Are a person of good moral character;
• Are not ineligible for naturalization (citizenship); and
• Are not removable (deportable) under Section 237(a)(4)(B) the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). They are not inadmissible under Section 212(a)(3)(E) of the INA or as a criminal, procurer, other immoral person, subversive, violator of the narcotics laws or noncitizen smuggler.

We provide legal assistance to individuals seeking protection under DACA and other immigration programs designed to protect Dreamers and other immigrants.