MORE THAN 100 WAYS TO LEGALLY COME OR STAY IN THE UNITED STATES
WELCOME! Those who are coming for a temporary stay may qualify for a visitor visa, a student visa, professional, athlete, performer, or investor visa. See TEMPORARY VISAS. Those coming for permanent residence may qualify through family relationships, employment, investment, asylum, diversity, or other basis. See PERMANENT RESIDENCE. We specialize in helping people stay, especially in difficult cases.
RECENT NEWS . PRES OBAMA WANTS TO SIMPLIFY VISITOR VISA PROCESSES [News Release]
RECENT NEWS . DIVERSITY LOTTERY FOR PERMANENT RESIDENCE . The new lottery has taken place and notices are being sent out to "winners." The results of the initial 2012 Diversity Visa (DV-2012) program were voided because of a computer glitch that made results unfair somehow?. For general information, those from participating/eligible countries can apply for permanent residence in the U.S. if they have graduated from high school and do not have issues of inadmissibility. Only a small fraction of those who apply "win" the lottery and hence the name, lottery.
RECENT NEWS . US/RUSSIA BILATERAL AGREEMENT ON ADOPTION . On July 13, 2011, US and Russia entered into an agreement to strengthen the legal and practical procedures involved in adoptions between the two countries. [See FAQ]
RECENT NEWS . H1B Professional Visas . 65,000 professional visas become available again on April 1, 2011.
RECENT NEWS . CHILD U.S. Citizen refused entry in Wash., D.C. because parents in NYC do not have legal status - returned to Guatemala. [News Story]
RECENT NEWS . VIETNAM . USCIS closed its field office on Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam on March 31, 2011 - there are several special benefits to those children who were born to US Military during the war and other times. Those remain in effect and can be processed through the USCIS office in Manila, Philippines or in the United States.
RECENT NEWS . H2A and H2B Temporary Work Visas . The COUNTRY LISTS for 2011 have been released. Estonia is a new addition, as is Barbados, Fiji, Hungary, Kiribati, Latvia, Macedonia, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. [Listing as in Fed Reg]
RECENT SUCCESSES . Investor Visas .A client was refused at the U.S. Embassy in Vancouver before coming to our office, when her application was approved. Her father offered to start a new company if the U.S. couldn't approve her application. No, we can organize her investment to get her approved.
We represent clients in standard applications and pay special attention to difficult applications. More than half of our cases come through from referral from other law offices. If there is a legal way to get an application through the system, we see it through. Thirteen years of experience representing clients in Asia, Latin America, New York, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Las Vegas.
If you have any questions about your case, feel free EMAIL A QUESTION or call for CONSULTATION or sign up for NEWSLETTERS. If you are currently a client, sign up for CLIENT CASE STATUS for regular updates. _______________________________________________________________________
Vietnam Removal Case . A client who was "removed" from the United States in 1992 but had never left the country because his home country, Vietnam, was not accepting its citizens returning from the States at that time that can make application for permanent residence again. The US and Vietnam signed an Agreement in 2008 to repatriate Vietnamese citizens who are removed from the US, but that agreement only covers those who are "removed" from the US in 1995 and later, when relations were "normalized" between the two countries. [See Agreement here.]
Investor Visa Cases . A client was refused at the U.S. Embassy in Vancouver before coming to our office, when her application was approved. Her father offered to start a new company if the U.S. couldn't approve her application. No, we can organize her investment to get her approved. >>> Another client invested his savings into a business in the U.S. then applied with another office for an investor visa to stay and manage his business. His application was denied two times. He came to us as a "complicated case" and the application we submitted was approved. >>> Another client went to the U.S. Embassy in Seoul to renew his visa for investment in a company that only has two employees (though its been operating for five years). We believe the Embassy officials are taking the current economic situation in consideration - the visa was approved. We're pleased.
Prostitute Case . Criminal convictions under state laws sometimes do not have the same immigration consequences as the federal offense. Our client had convictions from the past that ICE brought up to the Immigration Judge and charged that she return to her home country. We presented the facts of prostitution and related issues in Nevada and the Judge has let her stay.
Fiance Visa Case . A female client arrived in the U.S. on a fiance visa, married her U.S. fiance. After being heavily abused, she left the marriage and divorced. She was able to adjust status to permanent residence even after divorcing the man who sponsored her visa. This area of the law is in flux right now because of abuse to foreign fiances in some cases. Seek legal counsel.
Motion to Reopen . A client's case was reopened because his previous attorney withdrew three days before the hearing, which was fundamentally unfair.
Spouse Abuse / Self-Petition Case . A client's husband demanded money from her and threatened non-participation with the immigration process. We recently got her case approved on self-petition, where she can petition on her own without husband's signature or cooperation.
ASYLUM . ADVERSE CREDIBILITY FINDING . Christianity . REMAND . Conjecture . CHINA . IJ engaged in improper speculation and conjecture regarding Ge's knowledge and practice of Christianity. [Ge, 9th Cir., June 27, 2011, unpublished]; Inconsistencies . REMAND . Not Heart of Claim . CHINA . IJ engaged in improper speculation and conjecture regarding Ge's knowledge and practice of Christianity. [Ge, 9th Cir., June 27, 2011, unpublished]
ASYLUM . ADVERSE CREDIBILITY FINDING . Inconsistencies . REMAND . Not Heart of Claim . CHINA . IJ engaged in improper speculation and conjecture regarding Ge's knowledge and practice of Christianity. [Ge, 9th Cir., June 27, 2011, unpublished]
ASYLUM . CORROBORATING EVIDENCE . No Adverse Credibiliity . REMAND . None Required . CHINA . IJ's requirement of corroborating evidence is misplaced as there was no valid adverse credibility finding. [Ge, 9th Cir., June 27, 2011, unpublished]
ASYLUM . FRIVOLOUS APPLICATION . Chance to Explain . REMAND . IJ must give sufficient notice and opportunity to explain the grounds invoked for the frivolousness determination so s/he can address explanations in the context of how they may have a bearing on the materiality and deliberateness requirements. [Kusnadi, CA9, June 27, 2011, unpublished]
OTHER . DIVERSITY JURISDICTION . Arbitration . REMAND . LPR is Resident . Case enforcing arbitration award is remanded from federal court because even though LPR is not "citizen" of a state in the US, s/he is considered to be so as a resident of such under Chapter 2 of the Federal Arbitration Act. [North Motors, E.D. Mo, June 27, 2011]
OTHER . FEDERAL QUESTION . Tort Claim . REMAND . SSA Question . Removal to federal court 3 weeks ahead of state trial on excuse that the social security issues require federal jurisdiction is denied. Undocumented worker injured on the job gets attorney fees paid for in fighting to transfer the case back to state court. [Gonzales, E.D. Ky., June 27, 2011]
OTHER . SUPREMACY CLAUSE . Pre-Emption . INVALID . Separate enforcement system . GEORGIA . Georgia's immigration law that allows for local law enforcement agents to require showing documentation of legal status in the U.S if there is probable cause of a crime having been committed is preliminarily restrained from enforcement because a separate sysytem of enforcement and interpretation at the state level is pre-empted by federal law. [Georgia Latino Alliance, N.D. GA, June 27, 2011]
REMOVAL . INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEL . No Immigration Warning . VACATED . Fraud over $10K Loss to Victim . California . After Padilla, the Central District of California granted a Coram Nobis Motion on the basis that counsel never informed Defendant of immigration consequences of plea (aggravated felony). [Song, C.D.Cal, June 27, 2011]
