CASE: Asylee Green Card

CLIENT: Chinese

LOCATION: Virginia

Our client and his family members came to the United States from China with a B-2 visa and through our representation, was granted asylum on February 2011 by the USCIS.

Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, an asylee may apply for lawful permanent resident status after he or she has been physically present in the United States for a period of one year after the date he or she was granted asylum status.

Around February 2012, one year after he got his asylee status in the United States, our client contacted our office again and sought legal assistance for his and his family members’ green card application.

We prepared and filed his I-485 Green Card Application on March 7, 2012. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notice and fingerprint appointment all came on time. On March 4, 2013, the USCIS approved our client’s Adjustment of Status application. He and his family members are now permanent residents of the United States.

FREE CONSULTATIONS

If you have any questions, please fill out the free consultation form below, and we will respond as soon as possible privately. 

For other asylum approvals, please click here.

For other success stories, please click here.

Also feel free to contact our office if you have any questions.

{ 0 comments }

CASE: I-821D Application for Consideration for Deferred Action of Childhood Arrivals / I-765 Employment Authorization Document

APPLICANT / BENEFICIARY: Filipino Client in Virginia

As our office explained before on our website, the USCIS issued a memorandum in August 2012 regarding deferred action of childhood arrivals cases (DACA). According to the USCIS Deferred Action Memorandum issued in August 2012, an individual who meets the following criteria may apply for deferred action:

• Was under the age of 31 as of June 15, 2012;
• Came to the U.S. before reaching his/her 16th birthday;
• Has continuously resided in the U.S. since June 15, 2007, up to the present time;
• Was physically present in the U.S. on June 15, 2012, and at the time of application to the USCIS;
• Entered without inspection before June 15, 2012, or lawful immigration status expired as of June 15, 2012;
• Is currently in school, has graduated or obtained a certificate of completion from high school, has obtained a GED, or is an honorably discharged veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard or the U.S. Armed Forces; and
• Has not been convicted of a felony, a “significant misdemeanor,” three or more other misdemeanors, or does not otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety;

Our client initially came to the United States in April 2000 with a valid H-4 visa as a derivative of an H-1B visa holder when he was only 15 years old.

As of June 15, 2012, our client was twenty-eight (28) years old.

Our client also finished high school and college in the United States.

Also, since his last entry to the United States in April 2000, our client never left the United States.

He was physically present in the United States on June 15, 2012 and has continuously resided here since April of 2000.

Our client has never been convicted of a felony, a “significant misdemeanor,” three or more other misdemeanors, and does not otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety.

Our client retained us on August 28, 2012. We informed him of all supporting documents we would need. Our client and his family members sent us supporting documents that proved our client’s education history, physical presence in the United States, and his initial entry to the United States. Our office also prepared Form I-821D and I-765, and drafted a detailed cover letter demonstrating why our client should merit this relief.

On September, 2012, our office filed his I-821D and I-765 to the USCIS. Our client went to the ASC Appointment (Biometric appointment) at the Alexandria, Virginia USCIS office on October 17, 2012. On December 4, 2012, the USCIS approved our client’s I-821D and I-765, good for two years.

Our client can now work and study in the United States lawfully.

FREE CONSULTATIONS

If you have any questions, please fill out the free consultation form below, and we will respond as soon as possible privately. 

For other deportation related success stories, please click here.

For other success stories, please click here.

Also feel free to contact our office anytime for free consultations.

<a href=”https://plus.google.com/107743308565341841259/posts?rel=author”>Google</a>

{ 0 comments }

CASE: Asylee Adjustment of Status
CLIENT: Chinese
LOCATION: Virginia

Our client came to the United States in January 2011 after she was granted derivative asylum status as the spouse of an asylee. Her husband was granted asylum in February 2010.

Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, an asylee may apply for lawful permanent resident status after he or she has been physically present in the United States for a period of one year after the date he or she was granted asylum status. This also applies for derivatives.

In February 2012, one year after she entered the United States, our client contacted our office and sought legal assistance for her adjustment of status application. Our office was retained on February 8, 2012, and we prepared and filed her I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on February 29, 2012. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notice and fingerprint appointment all came on time. On August 30, 2012, the USCIS approved our client’s Adjustment of Status application. She’s now a permanent resident of the United States.

FREE CONSULTATIONS

If you have any questions, please fill out the free consultation form below, and we will respond as soon as possible privately. 

For other success stories, please click here.

Also feel free to contact our office anytime for free consultations.

{ 0 comments }

CASE: 2nd Circuit Appeal / Asylum / Christianity – Religion
CLIENT: Chinese
LOCATION: Virginia

Our client came to the United States without a valid visa and passport from China in 1996.  In 2006, our client filed an asylum application based on the fact that he has two children. This application was referred to the New York Immigration Court.  In April 2007, the New York Immigration Court granted our client’s asylum application. The government appealed and in August 2008, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) reversed the Immigration Court’s decision. In 2009, our client filed an amended application so that he can pursue his claim based on religion – that he was baptized subsequent to the Board’s decision.  Unfortunately, in October 2009, the Immigration Judge denied the asylum application, withholding of removal, and protection under the Convention Against Torture claims. Our client filed an appeal immediately, but the BIA dismissed the appeal. The BIA found that the time limitation barred our client’s asylum application.

In November 2011, our client contacted our office for her Second Circuit Appeal. Our office determined that our client has a good chance for winning an appeal with the Second Cicuit. Our client retained our office on November 30, 2011 for his appeal to the federal Second Circuit Court. On April 13, 2012, our office filed a brief to the Second Circuit stating that the Board of Immigration Appeals abused its discretion when they denied our client’s asylum application.  Specifically, we argued that although the asylum was filed outside the one year period, the time limitation does not bar our client’s asylum application due to the fact that he became a Christian less than a year before he filed his second asylum claim. On July 12, 2012, the Second Circuit Court remanded our client’s case to the BIA for further consideration of our client’s previous asylum claim.

FREE CONSULTATIONS

If you have any questions, please fill out the free consultation form below, and we will respond as soon as possible privately. 

For other success stories, please click here.

For any questions, feel free to comment below or contact our office directly.

{ 0 comments }

CASE: G4 Son and Daughter I-360 and I-485
CLIENT: Filipino
LOCATION: Arlington Virginia

Our clients (son and daughter of their G4 visa holding mother – employee of an international organization) came to the US on G4 derivative visas in 2004. One came at the age of thirteen, and another at the age of nine. They have resided in Virginia ever since, on valid G4 status, as their mother worked for an international organization on a G4 visa also since 2004. They’ve heard of a process in which a G4 son or daughter can apply for permanent residency after meeting certain age and physical presence requirements, and having been here since 2004 on G4 visas, they consulted with attorneys. They retained our firm in March 2012 for their I-360 Special Immigrant Self-Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Green Card Application (Permanent Residency),

The I-360 sought to classify the self-petitioner as a special immigrant unmarried son or daughter of an international organization employee (their mother on a G4 visa) under INA § 203(b)(4).

INA 101(a)(27)(I)(i) defines such an alien as “an immigrant who is the unmarried son or daughter of an officer or employee, or of a former officer or employee, of an international organization described in paragraph (15)(G)(i), and who:

(I) While maintaining the status of a G4 nonimmigrant, has resided and been physical present in the United States for periods totaling at least one-half of the seven years before the date of application and for a period or periods aggregating at least seven years between the ages of five and 21 years
(II) Applies for adjustment of status no later than his or her twenty-fifth birthday…

The I-360 Self-Petition for G4 Sons and Daughters and their I-485 Adjustment of Status Green Card Applications were filed on March 7, 2012. The I-360 Self-Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application (Green Card / Permanent Resident) showed ample proof of their residency the past seven plus years, including school records for each year. The G4 visas and entry stamps were documented. We also had a letter from the international organization their mother worked at evidencing her employment with them on a G4 visa since 2004. We also emphasized on our brief the ages and dates relevant to the calculations involved in adjudicating these G4 special immigrant green card cases. Forms I-508 and I-566 were also submitted, as is required for G4 visa holders applying for adjustment of status. On July 16, 2012, the I-360 and I-485 were both approved. After spending the past eight years in the United States as G4 visa holders, they finally are now permanent residents of the United States.

FREE CONSULTATIONS

If you have any questions, please fill out the free consultation form below, and we will respond as soon as possible privately. 

For other employment immigration success stories, please click here.

For other success stories, please click here.

Also feel free to contact our office anytime for free consultations.

{ 2 comments }

CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status
CLIENT: Cameroon
LOCATION: Virginia

Our client came to the United States in August 2009 on a B-2 visitor’s visa from Cameroon. Although her authorized stay in the United States expired in November 2009, she stayed in the United States since then.  She married a U.S. Citizen in March 2011 and retained our office on July 21, 2011 for her adjustment of status application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and Adjustment of Status Application on August 12, 2011.  Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, fingerprint appointment, and work permit all came on time.  Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our clients through conference call.  On April 18, 2012, our client was interviewed at the Fairfax, VA USCIS Field Office.  On April 20, 2012, her green card application was approved.

FREE CONSULTATIONS

If you have any questions, please fill out the free consultation form below, and we will respond as soon as possible privately. 

For other marriage-based green card success stories, please click here.

For other success stories, please click here.

Also feel free to contact our office anytime for free consultations.

{ 0 comments }

CASE: Jail Release
NATIONALITY: Chinese
LOCATION: Virginia
ISSUE: Bond and Release Jurisdiction

Our client’s niece retained us to release her aunt from immigration custody in Virginia. She retained us within one week of her scheduled Master Hearing with the Arlington Immigration Court. Our client came with a fake Singapore passport and after the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) interrogated her, she was placed in asylum only proceedings. She had a master hearing in less than a week with the Arlington Immigration Court. Since Singapore is a visa waiver country, and she came in with a fake passport from Singapore, possible bond and release rest on the jurisdiction of ICE, not with the Immigration Judge. Prior to the hearing, we gathered as much information as possible regarding her asylum claim. We took pleadings at the Master Hearing on March 2, 2011 and a Master Reset was scheduled in May for submission of the application. Afterwards, we coordinated with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement to request our client’s release. We sent proof of residence documents upon release, an affidavit from the person whom she would live with, financial documents from her sponsor, a summary of her asylum claim, a brief in support of her release, and other documents. We followed up with the officers multiple times, leaving voice mails and sending emails almost daily. Finally, on March 23, 2011, ICE informed us that based on the information they received, they decided to allow the release of our client on no bond. She is now out of jail and is better equipped to prepare for her asylum case.

FREE CONSULTATIONS

If you have any questions, please fill out the free consultation form below, and we will respond as soon as possible privately. 

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

CASE: Asylum.
NATIONALITY: China.
RESIDENCE: Virginia.

Our client is a Chinese national on an F-1 visa. He now resides in Virginia. He became a Christian a few years ago while away from China. As he moved to the States, his faith strengthened when his daughter was diagnosed with leukemia. He had turned to God for help, for his daughter to survive. With his prayers and the support of the Christian community, his daughter has done well with her treatment. Our client and his wife would spend days in the hospital with their baby daughter.

A few months ago he had to go back to China to visit his ailing mother-in-law. His wife could not go back as she was pregnant. Our client brought some bibles with him and was arrested at the airport in Beijing. He then was caught a few days later while in prayer service, was detained, and was persecuted.

Upon his return to the U.S., he contemplated on filing for asylum. His daughter is sick, and he had a new child coming up. Our office was retained to file an asylum application for him. We made sure his application was detailed and that he provided all dates, places, and names specifically. We made sure all questions in the asylum application were properly answered, and that possible questions of the officer were anticipated and answered in the application.  We also made sure he properly corroborated his claim with evidence from Church, from China, and everything he had in the U.S. to help his case.

After filing the case, he was scheduled for his asylum interview in Arlington Virginia, about a month from filing the application. Prior to his interview, we prepared him for several hours, conducting mock interviews to make sure he is ready. We accompanied our client to the Arlington Asylum Office and the interview lasted for more than an hour.

Two weeks later, our client obtained his asylum approval. He is now in valid status, can stay in the United States, and has authorization to work.

FREE CONSULTATIONS

If you have any questions, please fill out the free consultation form below, and we will respond as soon as possible privately. 

{ 0 comments }