OC Immigration Attorney

We just received an approval notice for an I-360 VAWA application based on domestic violence. We filed the I-360 VAWA application in December 2008, and the Vermont Service Center approved the case 14 months later (which is the standard processing time at this point).

She married her husband several years ago.After the wedding, he began to exhibit signs of controlling behavior. His control issues gradually progressed and he eventually became violent on several occasions. He began stalking her and questioning her any time she left the house. Eventually, she became scared for her life and moved away.

After the divorce, she was afraid that her green card would be revoked. Her husband petitioned for her to receive a green card and it was approved. After two years of having the green card, she was required to file a joint petition along with her husband to have the conditions on her green card removed, so that she would become a full-fledged lawful permanent resident. Because her marriage was no longer viable and her husband would no longer cooperate, she was put in immigration court for deportation proceedings. Around this time is when she hired The Nunez Firm.

After she explained the abuse she had suffered during her marriage, I suggested that we pursue VAWA (Violence Against Women Act) which allows the spouse of an abusive US citizen spouse to apply for a green card if she can show that the marriage was entered in good faith and the US citizen spouse was physically abusive or extremely cruel during the marriage. She agreed and we filed the VAWA application (Form I-360) within a few months.

The client was extremely excited to hear the good news. Now, we will file a motion to terminate the immigration court proceedings and adjust her status to lawful permanent resident, so that she will be able to live and work in the United States indefinitely.

If you or someone you know is caught in an abusive marriage with a US citizen, contact The Nunez Firm. Managing attorney Jay Nunez handles many domestic abuse immigration cases from all over the country, and he will personally discuss your situation with you and determine what options are available. VAWA cases are difficult and having an experienced immigration attorney involved is often necessary.

My client’s I-485 adjustment of status application was approved this morning in Orange County. She met her husband approximately two and one half years ago, while they were living in the same apartment complex. They talked when they saw each other and gradually became friends. After one year, they began dating, and one year after that, they married. The husband is a United States citizen, and the wife was from the Ukraine.

In summer 2009, we filed the adjustment of status application and visa petition concurrently. We filed all the necessary forms and evidence, and yesterday I attended the interview with my clients and the USCIS officer. The officer asked several questions about their relationship: how they met, when they started dating, how they spent the holidays, etc. My clients answered the questions confidently as I had prepared them extensively on what to expect at the interview. At the end of the interview, the officer stated that he was approving the application, and my client would receive her green card in the mail in the next few weeks.

The Nunez Firm handles numerous adjustment of status cases based on marriage to a US citizen. If you are contemplating the adjustment process, contact The Nunez Firm to schedule a free consultation. Managing attorney Jay Nunez will discuss your situation with you and help you better understand the options available to you.

We received news today that the fiance visa petition we filed for a Huntington Beach man and his fiance was approved by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The fiance lives in Thailand, and the couple met in Thailand three years ago. They have dated since that time, and he has visited her several times over the last few years.

In 2009, we filed an I-129F fiance visa petition with USCIS. After approximately six months or so, we received the approval notice for the fiance visa petition.

The next step is to collect the necessary documents and evidence and schedule the consular interview. At the consular interview, the consular officer will determine whether to issue the fiance visa and allow the fiance to immigrate to the United States in order to marry her fiance in Huntington Beach.

Assuming the fiance visa is approved by the consulate, the couple will have 90 days to marry beginning when she arrives in the United States. Then, the couple will file for adjustment of status to receive the green card.

Although there is substantial work to be done before the process is completed, the client was excited that the fiance visa petition was approved.

If you are considering filing a fiance visa petition for your future spouse, contact The Nunez Firm to schedule a free consultation. Managing attorney Jay Nunez will discuss your options with you and help you determine whether the fiance visa process is the right path for you.

An  Irvine client was approved for naturalization yesterday afternoon. The client was originally from Pakistan. He obtained his green card over ten years ago; however, there was a major issue regarding his extended absences from the United States. Since obtaining his green card in 1997, he had been out of the United States for most of the time until 2006. Although he was approved for a re-entry permit twice, there was a concern that the USCIS officer might deem his permanent resident status abandoned due to his lengthy absences from the United States.

We attended the interview and I discussed the issue with the USCIS officer at length. I explained that my client had no intention of abandoning his permanent resident status and he was outside the United States because his parents wanted him to finish his secondary education in Pakistan before studying at a U.S. university. I pointed out case law such as Li v. Chertoff, which states that study abroad does not result in abandonment of residence. I mentioned Khodagholian v. Ashcroft which states that the test is whether the lawful permanent resident intended to be temporarily abroad and not whether the absence was over one year.

I discussed the issue with the USCIS officer at length, and eventually he was satisfied that my client’s absences were not indicative of an intent to abandon his permanent resident status.

If you are considering the naturalization process, contact The Nunez Firm to schedule a free consultation.

The immigration judge granted a motion to terminate deportation proceedings against my client. He was placed in deportation proceedings in the Los Angeles Immigration Court after his I-485 adjustment of status application was denied.

In 2008, USCIS denied his I-485 adjustment application stating that he failed to attend the adjustment interview with his wife. My client filed a motion to reopen with USCIS; however, USCIS transferred the case to the immigration court without making a decision on the motion to reopen. My client paid the required filing fee for the motion to reopen, and he was entitled to a decision on his motion to reopen. Today, the immigration judge in Los Angeles agreed that my client deserved a decision on his motion to reopen, and she terminated the deportation case and transferred the case back to USCIS.

Now, USCIS will hopefully reopen my client’s case and grant his adjustment of status to lawful permanent resident based on his marriage to a US citizen.

If you are currently in deportation proceedings in Los Angeles or San Diego, contact The Nunez Firm to schedule a free consultation. Managing attorney Jay Nunez will meet with you personally and help you understand the options available to you.