OC Immigration Attorney

We just received an approval notice for a joint I-751 petition for our clients in Irvine. The case was approved without an interview.

Unlike the marriage-based green card process which requires an interview with an USCIS officer, the interview in the I-751 process is discretionary. If the USCIS officer is satisfied that enough evidence exists to prove good faith marriage, the officer can approve the case without an interview. In years past it seemed that USCIS would call for an interview in most cases, but I’ve noticed recently that USCIS has been approving our cases without interviews.

In this case, we included a great deal of evidence to show that the couple was living together and conducting themselves as a married couple. We represented the couple with the initial green card application, so we were familiar with their family history. We included over 150 pages of evidence with our packet. The client was excited to hear the news. He was happy that he would not have to attend an interview, because, although his marriage is legitimate and was entered into in good faith, any interview with USCIS is bound to cause stress even if the couple has nothing to hide.

If you are preparing to file the I-751 joint petition with USCIS, contact The Nunez Firm to schedule a consultation. We help countless couples each year with the I-751 process, many of whom we represented in the I-485 process and wanted us to represent them again.

We just received approvals for a husband and wife from Santa Ana. The couple last entered the United States in 1995 and have lived here ever since. In early 2001, the husband’s employer filed a labor certification application for him before the sunset date of April 30, 2001. This made him eligible for INA 245i. The couple’s eldest daughter was born in the United States, and, after she turned 21 years old, the couple approached me about adjusting their status based on being the parent of a US citizen daughter.

We filed the I-130 visa petitions with the daughter as the petitioner and the parents as the beneficiaries. Along with the visa petition we filed the I-485 applications and all the other necessary forms. The interview as originally scheduled on a day that I was in court in Los Angeles, so we rescheduled for a later date.

The only issue that seemed potentially problematic was that the husband was in the United States prior to 1995. He was caught by INS and forced to return to Mexico. He was worried that this would count as a prior deportation which might complicate his case. I explained to the officer that the prior visit to the United States and my client’s subsequent return to Mexico was not a removal or deportation because my client never saw an immigration judge. Prior to IRRIRA, legacy INS did not have the expeditious removal authority it has today. Before IRRIRA, an alien could only be removed if he was ordered deported by an immigration judge. The unlawful presence bars of INA 212(a)(9) did not take effect until April 1, 1997.

In Matter of Rodarte, the BIA held that Congress did not intend for section 301(b) of IRRIRA to apply retroactively. A Department of Homeland Security Memo stated that INA 212(a)(9)(C) does not apply to re-entries that pre-date April 1997.

In the interview the issue did not even come up and the interview went smoothly. The client was very happy to become a lawful permanent resident after over 15 years of waiting. He and his wife were excited and plan to pursue naturalization in five years when they become eligible.

If you are considering the green card process, contact The Nunez Firm to schedule a consultation. Managing attorney Jay Nunez will personally meet with you to help you better understand the options available to you.

We recently received an approval for a marriage-based green card. Our client married a US citizen several years ago. He entered legally when he was a teenager, and, although he has been eligible to adjust status based on his marriage to a US citizen, the couple wanted to wait until they had the financial resources to hire an attorney.

When we filed the visa petition and adjustment of status application, we included documentation to prove good faith marriage including apartment leases, car insurance, health insurance, photos with family, wedding photos, car registration, utility bills, statements from friends, etc.

The interview went smoothly. The client had been convicted of a DUI, so we brought the court records to show that the case had been resolved and that the client was eligible for lawful permanent residency. Because the couple’s marriage was more than two years old when we filed, they will not need to deal with the I-751 process. His green card will be valid for ten years. He will be eligible to naturalize as a US citizen within three years.

If you are considering the adjustment of status process, contact The Nunez Firm to schedule a free consultation. Managing attorney Jay Nunez will personally meet with you to help you better understand the process and whether it is right for you.

We just returned from an interview in the USCIS Santa Ana office. Our client, the wife of a lawful permanent resident, adjusted status to permanent resident based on INA 245i. She lives in Lake Forest with her family, and she has been waiting for over ten years to become a permanent resident. The husband filed a visa petition for her in 2000. She entered the US from Mexico in 1999 and has lived here ever since. Because she entered the US prior to December 21, 2000, and the I-130 was filed before April 2001, she was grandfathered in under 245i.

We filed the I-485 adjustment of status packet in 2012 and included evidence of the couple’s marriage, proof that she entered prior to December 2000 and evidence that she has lived in the US ever since. The USCIS officer was thorough, professional and fair during the interview. The Orange County USCIS officers, in general, are a wonderful group of people to work with. They take their job seriously, remain informed on new developments with relevant laws, and understand that the people in their offices are more than just cases.

The client was well-prepared for the interview as we had discussed the purpose of the interview and what to expect. Although she was nervous, she answered the questions properly and was respectful of the process. We used a translator, one of my assistants, and everything went smoothly. At the end of the interview, the officer informed us that she was approving the case. The client and her husband were pleased with the result and they look forward to being able to finally visit family members in Mexico once her green card arrives.

If you are considering the green card process, contact The Nunez Firm to schedule a consultation. Managing attorney Jay Nunez will personally meet with you and help you better understand the options available to you.

We just received great news that one of our clients from Garden Grove was approved for a conditional resident card through adjustment of status. She married her husband last year after the couple knew each other for many years. Everything about the case was fairly standard except one issue – whether she was admitted into the United States.

In general, in order to adjust status to permanent resident through marriage to a US citizen, the couple must prove many things such as good faith marriage and joint asset ownership among others. The alien is permitted to adjust status (subject to the discretion of USCIS) if the alien was inspected and admitted into the United States. In most cases, the alien will have an I-94 arrival record to prove lawful admission. A stamp in the alien’s passport is helpful evidence as well.

In 2010, the Board of Immigration Appeals decided the case of Matter of Quilantan. In Quilantan, the BIA held that an alien who physically presents herself for questioning and makes no knowing false claim to citizenship is inspected even though she volunteers no information and is asked no questions by the immigration authorities, and that such an alien has satisfied the inspected and admitted requirement of INA 245(a). In Quilantan, the alien was a citizen of Mexico. She did not have a visa or border crossing card when she approached the border as a passenger in a car driven by her US citizen friend. The immigration officer asked the driver if he was an American citizen and the driver confirmed that he was. The officer did not ask Ms. Quilantan any questions before waving the car through to the United States. The BIA held that Ms. Quilantan had been admitted to the US as required in order to adjust status to permanent residency. The BIA held that Ms. Quilantan’s entry had been procedurally proper because she underwent an inspection by an immigration officer, who subsequently admitted the alien. DHS argued that Ms. Quilantan’s entry was not procedurally proper because she had not shown that she was admitted in a particular immigrant or non-immigrant status. DHS argued that Ms. Quilantan was required to present herself before an immigration officer as an alien. The BIA disagreed.

In our case, the facts were remarkably similar. Our client was a young child when she was placed in a car with her relatives. There were five individuals in the car. All were either US citizens or lawful permanent residents other than my client. The officer at the border asked for the driver’s green card, but did not ask for anyone else’s proof of admissibility. The officer waved the car through.

Because Quilantan is a relatively new case, we provided USCIS with a legal brief explaining why our client was eligible for adjustment of status. During the interview, the officer asked many questions about my client’s entry into the United States. My client answered the questions honestly and to the officer’s satisfaction. The officer took the case under review and a few weeks after the interview the case was approved.

Because my client’s marriage is less than two years old, she will be required to file an I-751 in two years to remove the conditions on her residency. I advised her that she should collect evidence of living together and conducting themselves as a married couple for the next two years.

If you are considering adjustment of status based on marriage to a US citizen, contact The Nunez Firm to schedule a consultation. Managing attorney Jay Nunez will meet with you during a confidential consultation to help you better understand the options available to you.

We just received an approval notice for the removal of conditions on lawful permanent residence (I-751). The husband is originally from Japan. He and his wife, who is a US citizen, originally met in 2008 while living in Hawaii. They dated for almost a year before deciding to marry and move to California. They hired us shortly after their wedding in 2009 and we helped the husband with adjustment of status to lawful permanent residence. Because the marriage was less than two years old at the time of the adjustment to permanent residence, the husband was approved for a two year conditional resident status. This meant that he would need to file an I-751 with USCIS during the 90 day period immediately preceding the expiration of his two year green card.

The couple came back to us when it was time to remove the conditions and file the I-751. We helped them collect the necessary evidence and compile a packet of evidence that proved the couple had been living in a good faith marriage and combining their assets for the last two years. We provided bank statements, joint tax returns, proof the couple had been living together and many other pieces of evidence. When we filed, we were confident that we were presenting a compelling packet of evidence; however, I believed we would likely need to attend an interview with USCIS. In I-751 cases, USCIS has the option of calling an interview before adjudication of the I-751. I was surprised when we received an approval without an interview.

The couple is very excited as well. They are already talking about naturalizing the husband as a US citizen, which he will be eligible for in a few months. If you are married to a foreign-born spouse and are considering the green card process, contact The Nunez Firm to schedule a consultation. Managing attorney Jay Nunez will help you better understand the process that applies to your situation. We have helped countless couples obtain green cards in the United States and avoid deportation.

We recently received great news that one of our Irvine VAWA clients had her I-360 approved. She entered the United States illegally in the 1990s. She later met her future husband while she was working in a restaurant in Southern California. Eventually, the couple began dating. She had US citizen children from another relationship, and during the courtship her husband treated her children well.

After the couple married, her husband’s demeanor changed. She began noticing that her children were afraid of her husband. Her husband became very possessive and controlling over our client. He monitored her movements and tried to isolate her from family and friends. Eventually, one of the children’s teachers called a meeting with our client to discuss the possibility of abuse. Her children told her that their stepfather had been abusive when she was not around. She was shocked. Child Protective Services got involved. When our client confronted her husband about the allegations, he became physically violent. They tried to work it out, but he was violent on several other occasions. Eventually, she ran away and filed for a restraining order, which was granted.

When we filed the I-360 and I-485 for adjustment of status, we provided ample evidence that the couple’s relationship was entered into in good faith and that our client was the victim of domestic violence. We received a Request for Evidence, which we responded to promptly. We received the approval notice within a couple months of filing our response to the RFE. The client is overjoyed about the approved I-360. The Nunez Firm is very happy to have been involved in this case. We handle many domestic violence cases and they are some of the most rewarding cases to have succeed.

If you are an alien victim of domestic violence, contact The Nunez Firm. Managing attorney Jay Nunez will personally meet with you to help you better understand the VAWA process and whether you have a strong case.

We received an approval for permanent residence for the wife of a US Citizen living in Ladera Ranch. The husband is a natural-born US citizen and the wife is originally from Venezuela. The couple married in 2002 and they have two children – both US citizens. After several years of marriage, they decided to proceed with the I-485 application for permanent residency.

The wife entered legally using a B-1/B-2 visitor visa several years ago. Although she overstayed her authorized period of visitation, she was eligible to adjust status to permanent resident as the spouse of a US citizen. In general, an immigrant may adjust status to permanent resident only if she is in an authorized immigrant status at the time of application for adjustment of status. An exception to this rule allows the spouses and parents of US citizens to adjust status even if they are not in legal immigrant status.

We provided USCIS with evidence to help prove the couple’s relationship and the validity of the marriage. We provided the birth certificates of the children and joint tax returns among other documentation.

At the interview, everything went smoothly and as expected. The I-130, I-765 and I-485 were approved. The wife was approved for permanent residency, and because the marriage is over two years old, she will not be a conditional permanent resident. She will not need to file an I-751 application to remove conditions on permanent residence.

The couple was pleased when they found out that the case was approved. They look forward to living together in the US without worrying about being out of status or deportation. If you are considering adjustment of status for an immediate relative, contact The Nunez Firm to schedule a consultation. We handle many adjustment of status cases every year, and Managing Attorney Jay Nunez will personally meet with you to help you better understand the process and options available to you.

We recently found out that our clients from Newport Beach were approved for a fiance visa. The wife is a US citizen living in Orange County. The husband is from India. They met through a friend while the wife was visiting India. They began corresponding with each other and after another visit by the wife to India, they decided to get engaged. We applied for the fiance visa earlier this year and the husband recently attended the consular interview in India. We provided evidence of the wife’s travels to India.

The consular officer approved the fiance visa and the couple traveled to the United States together last week. As is required under the fiance visa adjustment process, the couple plans to marry this month so that we can move forward with the green card application. We will need to attend an interview at the USCIS office in Santa Ana. Assuming everything goes smoothly there, the husband should receive his green card and be able to start working within the next six months.

If you are considering the fiance visa process, contact The Nunez Firm. We handle all types of marriage-based immigration matters and managing attorney Jay Nunez can help you better understand the process and whether the fiance visa is the best option for you.

I recently attended an adjustment of status interview at the Orange County USCIS office in Santa Ana. My clients were a married couple living in Irvine. The couple has been dating since they were in high school in northern California. They decided to finally marry earlier this year.

At the interview, we provided evidence of their relationship including previous lease agreements and a joint bank account. The couple did not have many bills in the husband’s name because he did not have a social security number when they signed up for service. We provided numerous photos to show that the couple had been together for many years prior to the marriage. We also provided final court dispositions for the minor traffic offenses for which the husband was convicted.

The officer was satisfied that the couple was involved in a good faith marriage and the husband was admissible despite the convictions, and she approved the husband’s green card on the spot. The approval included the I-485 and I-130 visa petition. The couple was extremely happy that they will be able to move forward with their lives without worrying about the husband living in the shadows and working illegally from now on.

I explained to the couple that because their marriage is less than two years old, they will need to file an I-751 application to remove conditions in two years. I advised them to collect as many documents to prove good faith marriage as possible: lease agreements, joint tax returns, joint health insurance, auto insurance, mortgage, children’s birth certificates, etc.

If you are considering the green card process, contact The Nunez Firm to schedule a free consultation. Managing attorney Jay Nunez will personally meet with you during a free consultation in order to better explain the process and help you understand whether you are eligible.