Immigration Law
US immigration laws are complex. Policies are unpredictable and changing. If you are considering working or living in the United States, adjusting your status, or becoming a U.S. Citizen, you need to talk to a lawyer. Period. Mistakes made by accident, even by good people, can cause major trouble, even being banned from the US.
Our attorneys and of counsel offer comprehensive knowledge and services to those seeking:
Visas
- E-1Visa
- E-2 Visa
- F -1/M-1 Visa
- H-1B Visa
- J-1 Waiver
- L-1A Visa
- L-1B Vsia
- Blanket Petition for L-1
- O-1 Visa
- R-1 Visa
- T-Visa
- U-Visa
- VAWAS, Petition for Battered Spouse, Child or Parent of US or LPR Citizen
Employment or Investment-Based Green Cards
- EB-1(a) Extraordinary Ability
- EB-1(b) Outstanding Professors/Researchers
- EB-1(c) Multinational Manager/Executive
- EB-2 with PERM Advanced Degree/Exceptional Ability
- EB-2 National Interest
- EB-3 Skilled Workers/Professionals/Other workers
- EB-4 Religious Workers/Special Immigrants
- EB-5 Investor Program
- PERM
Family-Based Green Cards
- Immediate Relative of a U.S. Citizen
- Family Member of a U.S. Citizen (preference category)
- Family Member of a Green Card Holder
- Fiancee Visa
Asylum and Deportation Defense
When facing deportation, immigration authorities may try to convince you that it is not worth fighting, and to simply to consent to deportation. However, you have rights. If you consent to deportation, you give up your rights and defenses. If you or a loved one is facing deportation, contacting an attorney is the best thing to do. An immigration attorney will help you understand the process and help you to make a plan to fight.
For example, some defenses include:
- Potential qualifications for citizenship or adjustments of status,
- Asylum
- Deferred action or temporary protected status (TPS), though these options are decreasingly available.
Asylum
You may qualify for Asylum if you are a refugee and have a well-grounded fear of persecution by your home country. If you are thinking of filing for asylum, contacting an attorney is important to help establish your fear with evidence of persecution, evidence of your qualifying activity or category, and to help you present the best case against sending you back to your country because of threatening conditions. If you are in a situation where you fear returning to your home country, call to discuss whether you may have a legitimate claim for asylum.
Naturalization
“Naturalization” is the legal term for the process of becoming a US citizen. Naturalization is used by people who did not obtain US citizenship at or after birth. Through naturalization, new citizens will gain the same rights, obligations, and benefits as are given to citizens by birth.
Requirements are set by federal law and include:
- The ability to speak, read, and write the English language
- Knowledge and understanding of US history and Government
- Attachment to the values expressed within and by the US Constitution
- To feel favorably about the US
- Physical presence in the US for a specific period of time; and
- Good moral character
If you feel that you may possibly meet these qualifications, call for a consultation and case assessment.
Note that, in the current environment where many immigrants are fearful of new US policies, many people are taking advantage of this fear, taking thousands of dollars from immigrant hopefuls, making false promises, knowing there may be no hope for a person’s case. In fact, many “immigration agencies” you see online or in ads are not even lawyers. Be careful who you trust with your critical personal matters.
You don’t have to know what kind of application you want or need. Most people don’t know. Call now to speak with a lawyer about your options. Your consultation with us is free and always 100% confidential.
International Student Practice
It is well-known that the United States is home to some of the world’s most prestigious prep-schools and universities. Young people from all over the world come to the United States to study every year. The firm’s International Student Practice consists of two parts; immigration planning and student assimilation.
As soon as your student comes here they will begin to consider a college major and their senior thesis. At the same time, a student should begin to consider whether they potentially may want to work in the US after university and what types of majors will help them to get a job, and a visa. Consulting with an attorney will help give your family an understanding of the possibilities and avenues you can choose. Of course, immigration law is always changing. Nevertheless, understanding the basic options is a good choice for the students and the families who support them.
Also, students often hit stumbling blocks that may jeopardize their status and need to remain vigilant and responsible to remain in good standing. Having a relationship with an attorney you can trust throughout your child’s experience here is a comfort you will find well worth it.
Student Assimilation & US Constitutional Rights
Time after time, bright young students find themselves in trouble with the US legal system unintentionally. If your student finds him or herself in trouble with police, will he or she know how to use their rights guaranteed by the US Constitution to protect themselves? Probably not. Call us to arrange a special session with you and/or your child to discuss the basic principles of the US Constitution and the Constitutional Rights everyone in the US enjoys, including immigrants.
This is more important now than ever before. Imagine sending your children to prep school and university, spending hundreds of thousands of USD on their education, and then right before graduation, they go out with friends and get pulled over by police for speeding and police claim they sense drugs in the car? Then what?
A criminal conviction could not only cause your child to be deported, but can also cause him or her to be permanently barred from the United States!
It is absolutely imperative that your child know his or her rights while here in the US, guaranteed by our Constitution, and how to use those principles to protect themselves. Some kids only get one chance. Don’t let your child be unprepared. Call now.