OC Immigration Attorney

We recently received an approval for a marriage-based green card for the husband of a US citizen. The couple is originally from India and they chose to pursue a more traditional Indian approach to marriage. The couple’s parents were involved in the matchmaking process with the wife’s father reaching out to the potential husband initially. The husband met his future wife at the same time that he met his future in-laws.

I pointed out to USCIS that although this approach is different than most western views on marriage, it has been practiced in Indian for a long time and the divorce rates in India are far lower than in America. In general, USCIS wants to see that a couple has dated for a period of time prior to getting married. They want evidence of courtship and travel together and photos. In this case we did not have much evidence other than wedding photos and written statements from family.

I provided legal citations to help USCIS understand that the case was approvable under the law and deserved to be approved. I pointed out that although the families were involved in the matchmaking process, the ultimate decision to marry was the wife and husband’s. I explained that an arranged marriage did not equate with a forced marriage, which is how some people incorrectly view the situation. I cited case law and the Foreign Affairs Manual to support all of my arguments.

The I-485 application to adjust status and the I-130 visa petition were approved on the spot and the couple is happy to be moving forward with their lives in the United States. If you are considering the marriage-based adjustment of status process, contact The Nunez Firm to schedule a free consultation. Managing attorney Jay Nunez will discuss your case with you and help you better understand the options available to you.

We just received the news that one of our Orange County clients was approved for the permanent green card. She received her conditional residence card several years ago through her marriage to her husband. After being abused for over a year she left him and hired The Nunez Firm to assist her with removal proceedings (stemming from failing to file the I-751 on time) and VAWA. We had the VAWA case approved by the Vermont Service Center and our motion to terminate removal proceedings was granted by the immigration judge based on the approved I-360.

The client originally planned to handle the rest of the case by herself, but she realized later that it was more complex than she had thought. She came back to me to help with the I-751 process to have the conditions finally removed from her residency. We filed the case along with all the evidence of domestic violence (and the proof of the I-360 approval) with the California Service Center. She was scheduled for an interview in Santa Ana and she attended it. The interview was quick and the officer approved the case on the spot.

She was very happy when she called me to inform me of the good news. She is glad that she will not need to deal with immigration court or USCIS for a long time. She plans to naturalize as a US citizen at some point in the future, but for now she is happy to be a lawful permanent resident.

If you or someone you know is an alien victim of domestic violence, contact The Nunez Firm to schedule a free consultation. We can help you better understand the options available to you which could include adjustment of status to lawful permanent resident through the Violence Against Women Act or possibly a U visa. Managing attorney Jay Nunez will meet with you personally during a confidential consultation in order to better explain the relevant laws.

“The Administration has acted responsibly and compassionately to a growing humanitarian crisis – thousands of undocumented young people, whose talents and energy are incredibly valuable to this country, languish while Congress refuses to act on the DREAM Act. The memo issued by Secretary Napolitano lays out in clear and compelling language the need for our immigration laws to be enforced in a way that recognizes the impact on the lives of these young people. The Administration has recognized that bipartisan support exists in Congress for addressing this issue and is giving Congress the time to reach a consensus by taking the immediate threat of deportation off the table.  Everyone benefits from this plan: the young people whose futures will no longer be on hold, the Members of Congress from both parties who are interested in developing real solutions, and the public who deserve a more meaningful conversation on immigration. To be clear, a permanent solution must be found that allows these young people to become full citizens.  But until Congress acts, the deferred action program offers the breathing room needed to ensure that no more young lives are jeopardized through senseless deportations.”

Benjamin Johnson, Executive Director of the American Immigration Council

We recently received good news that our motion to reopen was granted. The client was ordered deported a couple years ago after her previous attorney abandoned her in immigration court. After she was ordered deported, she married a US citizen and he filed for her to obtain a green card based on the advice of a previous attorney. The I-130 visa petition was approved; however, the I-485 application to adjust status was denied because she had an outstanding removal order. The client came to me very frustrated with her experiences with other immigration attorneys. She had received bad advice numerous times.

I advised that we must first file a motion to reopen the removal proceedings before we can pursue the adjustment of status. I suggested that we contact Immigration and Customs Enforcement to seek a joint motion to reopen, and the client agreed.

I prepared the request for joint motion to reopen and provided ICE with proof that the husband had significant medical problems and would experience extreme hardship if his wife is not permitted to adjust status and remain in the United States. After some negotiations the ICE attorney agreed to the joint motion to reopen. We filed the motion with the court and the judge granted the motion.

The next step is to ask the judge to terminate proceedings so that we can adjust status through USCIS. There will be an interview and I plan to attend it to make sure the process is concluded smoothly.

If you have an outstanding removal order in Los Angeles Immigration Court, contact The Nunez Firm to schedule a free consultation. Managing attorney Jay Nunez will personally meet with you to discuss the options available to you.

USCIS approved a green card for a Santa Ana client, who has been married to his US citizen wife for almost six years.The couple came to us earlier in the year and we filed the I-485, I-130 and all the other necessary paperwork required for adjustment of status.

I recently attended the interview with the couple and everything went smoothly. The couple has been together for many years, but only recently decided to move forward with the adjustment of status. Despite the husband having a single conviction for petty theft, USCIS approved the green card based on the petty theft exception. In general, a criminal conviction for theft can result in inadmissibility problems for the alien beneficiary. However, if the conviction is for a petty offense, the petty offense exception can help avoid inadmissibility and the need for a waiver. A conviction is considered a petty offense if the maximum penalty possible for the the crime did not exceed imprisonment for one year and the alien was not sentenced to a term of imprisonment in excess of six months. The petty offense exception is not applicable if the alien has committed more than one crime involving moral turpitude.

Because the couple has been married for more than two years, the green card was approved for permanent resident status, and the couple will not need to file an I-751 joint petition two years from now. The husband will be eligible to file for naturalization in three years. The couple was very happy and planned to celebrate together this weekend.

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 discuss the process and whether you are eligible for a green card.

We recently received an approved I-485 and I-130 for our Costa Mesa client. He is originally from Europe and she is a US-born citizen. The couple dated for a long while before deciding to get married and go forward with the adjustment of status process. We filed a few months ago and because USCIS has been processing marriage based adjustment cases so quickly, we just recently had the good faith marriage interview.

The interview went smoothly with no major issues. The couple has a one year old child together so good faith marriage was a relatively low concern for the USCIS officer. We provided USCIS with other proof of the relationship as well including joint health insurance, joint back account records, joint car insurance and a joint lease for an apartment.

The couple was very excited that they would be able to stay together in the US and the husband would be able to start looking for work. I advised them that they would need to file the I-751 to have the conditions removed from permanent residency in two years. I advised how they could best prepare for that process as well.

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

Many real immigration attorneys tell stories of clients who came to them after having wasted thousands of dollars paying a “notario” for a green card that never materialized, or for a student visa that falsely promised a legal way to stay in the U.S.

In Mexico, “notarios” are attorneys who give up private practice, but still help clients navigate the legal system. However, more and more “notarios” in the U.S., who have no legal authority here, have become successful immigration scammers.

For the past year, the federal government has made a big push to crack down on these types of businesses by prosecuting scammers and forcing them to pay damages of up to $7,000 a victim. Rigoberto Reyes, a chief investigator with the L.A. County Department of Consumer Affairs, says “notarios” here typically advertise in ethnic media outlets.

“These guys are spending a lot more money than even your immigration attorneys,” says Reyes. “They don’t have to cover the expenses that a regular attorney has to in order to stay in business. But you see this in the Armenian community, the Korean community, the Filipino community, the Cambodian community.”

If you are interested in scheduling a free consultation, contact The Nunez Firm to learn more about your immigration options from experienced immigration attorney Jay Nunez.

I just returned from an adjustment of status interview with my clients from Irvine and the green card was approved. The interview took place at the Santa Ana office of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. Everything went smoothly and the officer was satisfied that the marriage was entered into in good faith and not for immigration purposes.

The couple met two years ago while working at a summer camp with children. The husband was in the US on a J-1visa. They spent a lot of time together that summer and started dating by the end of the summer. Over the next year they remained in contact and visited each other when they could. In 2011, while on a ski trip in Europe the husband proposed and the wife accepted. They planned for a July 2012 wedding. He visited in the summer of 2011 and they decided they did not want to live apart anymore if possible.That’s when they came to see me.

I explained that it would be possible to obtain permanent residency while in the United States without having to travel abroad and process the case through the consulate. The couple got married in October 2011 and we helped put the adjustment of status and visa petition packet together for filing with USCIS. Within a a couple months we were scheduled for the interview.

Because the couple is young, we didn’t have much evidence to prove joint asset ownership, but we provided a lot of correspondence, photos, statements from parents about meeting the in-laws, joint lease and joint bank statements. The officer took into account the age of the couple and approved the case for conditional permanent residency.

After the interview I explained that the couple would need to file the I-751 petition jointly in order to have the conditions removed from the green card. I advised that they should save as many joint documents as possible over the next two years so that USCIS will have a lot of evidence upon which to base an approval. They stated that they intended to hire The Nunez Firm to help with that process.

I also explained that if the husband is interested in becoming a US citizen, he would be eligible to do so three years from now as the spouse of a US citizen. Most permanent residents must be residents for 5 years, but spouses of US citizens have a shorter wait time depending on other factors. The couple was very happy and said they were going to go celebrate with brunch and possibly a mimosa.

If you are considering the adjustment of status process, contact The Nunez Firm. We handle many marriage based green card cases in Orange County and managing attorney Jay Nunez will attend the interview with you to make sure you are treated fairly and with respect.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) today announced its plans to expand backdoor amnesty.  Beginning in late April, DHS will suspend all non-detained dockets for illegal immigrants in four additional jurisdictions, as it previously did in Baltimore and Denver, for two weeks.  These jurisdictions include Detroit, New Orleans, Orlando, and Seattle.  In May, DHS will partially suspend the non-detained docket in New York City and then in July, it will implement the same procedures in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

This means that DHS intends to solely focus on detained cases in these jurisdictions, meaning those who come to the attention of law enforcement.  But if the illegal or criminal immigrant bonds out of jail, they can be put on the non-detained docket and could potentially remain in the U.S.  This decision is just another part of the Obama administration’s plan to grant administrative amnesty to potentially millions of illegal immigrants.

If you or a loved one is in immigration court in Los Angeles or San Diego, contact The Nunez Firm to schedule a free consultation.

Adjustment of status was approved for the wife (and her son) of a US citizen. The couple married in mid-2011 after she entered on an approved K-1 Fiance Visa. She is originally from South America, and the husband was born in the United States. They met through a mutual friend in 2010.

The husband approached me in late 2010 because they were considering marriage, but they were not sure about the immigration process. I explained that the first step was the K-1 visa process which would allow his fiance to come to the United States with her son for the sole purpose of getting married within 90 days of arrival.

It took them a little while to gather all the necessary documents and save the money to pay the processing fees, but we filed the paperwork and evidence with USCIS in early 2011. We received an approval within several months and the K-1 visa was processed at the US consulate in Colombia.

After the K-1 visa was approved, his fiance and her son came to the US and the couple married within 90 days of her arrival. Then, we filed for the adjustment of status and everything went smoothly after that. The interview was held in Santa Ana and the officer was respectful and thorough asking questions about how the couple met and when they decided to marry. The officer was satisfied with the evidence we provided proving the marriage was entered into in good faith. Because the marriage is less than two years old, they will need to file an I-751 to have the conditions removed from her residency status in two years. Three years from now, she will be eligible for naturalization.

The couple was very happy with the outcome, and they look forward to living together in Fountain Valley. 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 during a confidential consultation and help you better understand the options available to you.