immigration -- SPECIALTY AREAS

Not all immigration cases are easy. Many law firms and legal service companies can handle simple immigration cases involving the completion and submission of immigration forms for relatively straightforward cases. But what if your case is not that simple? What if you had a felony conviction for marijuana possession? What if you got into a fight and have a criminal record? What if you were sued for breach of contract? What if you dropped out of school and you are now out of status? Will you face deportation? Do you want to trust any low-cost legal aid service to help you with your case and risk being deported and never able to return to the United States? The outcome of this immigration application can have a profound impact on your life for the next 10 years, 20 years, or even the rest of your life! If you have such concerns about your immigration case, you need to find a lawyer with the necessary experience and expertise in immigration law. Our firm can help you with complex issues of:

DEPORTATION

Foreign nationals can be removed from the United States only after a deportation proceeding is held before an immigration judge. The hearing allows the judge to weigh evidence and decide, first, if you should be removed from the United States and, if so, whether your removal can be prevented by waiver. You may be subject to deportation if you:

  • Entered the United States without prior authorization
  • Violated the terms of your visa 
  • Engaged in criminal activity 
  • Affiliated with certain prohibited organizations 
  • Compromised the interest of national security
  • Are afflicted with certain illness

Yet, a number of different waivers are available, including waiver 212(c) to prevent consideration of previous criminal convictions, and it can be complicated to know which you can rely on to keep your green card. 

DEFERRED INSPECTION

Deferred Inspections are conducted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. If you received a Deferred Inspection Referral when you arrived at the Port of Entry, go to the address listed on the referral for your deferred inspection.

There are 70 Deferred Inspections Sites throughout the United States and the outlying territories where incoming aliens are referred when documentation requires additional review and/or possible correction.

Deferred inspections are used when an immediate decision concerning the immigration status of an arriving traveler cannot be made at the port-of-entry due to a lack of documentation. On a case-by-case basis, the port-of-entry may schedule the traveler to report to a Deferred Inspection Site at a future date in order to present the necessary documentation and/or information. The traveler will be given an Order to Appear-Deferred Inspection, Form I-546 explaining what information and/or documentation is required to resolve the discrepancy.

CRIMINAL MATTERS

If you have a friend or relative who is in custody for a crime and faces deportation, our firm can help. If possible, we will get your friend or relative released from USCIS custody and represent him before the Immigration Court. We may also arrange to visit your friend or relative in custody when necessary to represent him. We will even go into Federal Court, as appropriate, to protect the rights and interests of our clients. Our attorneys are experienced in litigating in the Federal courts.

Our firm also handles matters involving convictions that are defined by Immigration as an aggravated felony or a crime involving moral turpitude and assess whether there is relief from these grounds of deportation or the definition meets the crime for which the person was convicted.

POLITICAL ASYLUM

Asylum may be granted to people who are already in the United States and are unable or unwilling to return their home country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. If you are granted asylum, you will be allowed to live and work in the United States. You also will be able to apply for permanent resident status one year after you are granted asylum.

To be eligible for asylum in the United States, you must ask for asylum at a port-of-entry (airport, seaport or border crossing), or file an application within one year of your arrival in the United States. You may ask later than one year if conditions in your country have changed or if your personal circumstances have changed within the past year prior to your asking for asylum, and those changes of circumstances affected your eligibility for asylum. You may also be excused from the one-year deadline if extraordinary circumstance prevented you from filing within the one-year period after your arrival, so long as you apply within a reasonable time given those circumstances.

Your eligibility will be based on information you provide on your application and during an interview with an Asylum Officer or Immigration Judge.

  • If you have not been placed in removal proceedings, an Asylum Officer will interview you and decide whether you are eligible for asylum. Asylum Officers will grant asylum, deny asylum or refer the case to an Immigration Judge for a final decision.
  • If you have been placed in removal (deportation) proceedings in Immigration Court, an Immigration Judge will hear and decide your case.
  • If you are in valid immigrant or nonimmigrant status and the Asylum Officer finds that you are not eligible for asylum, the Asylum Officer will send you a notice explaining that the USCIS intends to deny your request for asylum. You will be given an opportunity to respond to that notice before a decision is made on your application.
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