Blog Archives - Nelson and Nunez, P.C.

Green Card Approved Based on VAWA for Los Angeles Client After Deportation Proceedings Dismissed by Immigration Judge

1/31/2014

One of our Los Angeles clients recently received her green card after her I-485 adjustment of status application was approved. She was approved for VAWA based on being the victim of domestic violence; however, because she had an outstanding removal order, her I-485 was denied. We did not represent her with her initial VAWA adjustment.

She came to me through a client referral. I explained that we first needed to reopen her removal proceedings and get the deportation order taken off her record. After that, we could proceed with the adjustment of status based on the approved VAWA.

I contacted Immigration and Customs Enforcement and explained the situation. They agreed to join in a joint motion to reopen her immigration court case. The immigration judge agreed to reopen the case, dismiss the removal order, and close the court case.

Once the court case was closed, we spoke with USCIS asking them to adjudicate the I-485. After an interview in the Los Angeles office of USCIS, the officer approved the I-485, and, within a few weeks, my client received her green card.

She is very excited that she is a permanent resident. The next step will be to petition for her daughter to come to the United States to live and go to school.

If you have an immigration situation and would like to better understand the options available to you, contact Nelson & Nuñez to schedule a consultation. Nelson & Nuñez will meet with you on a confidential basis and help devise the best strategy to accomplish your goals.

Categories: : deportation order, domestic violence, green card, I-130, I-485, immigration court, immigration lawyer, Los Angeles, motion to reopen, VAWA, visa petition

GOP Releases Guiding Principles Regarding Immigration Reform

1/30/2014

CAMBRIDGE, Md. – A Republican blueprint for immigration reform offers legalization for some of the nation’s 11 million people who are in the country illegally, but no special pathway to citizenship, except in the cases of children brought to the country illegally by their parents, according to a draft of the plan obtained by the Los Angeles Times.

The much-anticipated blueprint, discussed Thursday during a Republican retreat at a Chesapeake Bay resort here, would offer legal status to immigrants as long as they admitted to wrongdoing, paid fines and taxes, submitted to a criminal background check and demonstrated a mastery of English and civics.

Those steps would come only after measures were taken to secure borders, according to the plan.

Immigrants brought to the country as children — so-called dreamers — would be allowed to apply for legal residence and citizenship, the document says. It also calls for a system that tracks when travelers exit the country and would require employers to verify the immigration status of new hires with a federal database.

The one-page list says there should be a zero-tolerance policy for immigration law violators after reform is enacted and it calls for stripping the power of a president to use discretion when it comes to deciding whom to deport.

Categories: Boehner, Dream Act, immigration reform, path to citizenship, President Obama

GOP Support Grows for Legal Status for Undocumented Aliens

1/28/2014

WASHINGTON — The House Republican leadership’s broad framework for overhauling the nation’s immigration laws will call this week for a path to legal status — but not citizenship — for many of the 11 million adult immigrants who are in the country illegally, according to aides who have seen the party’s statement of principles. For immigrants brought to the United States illegally as young children, the Republicans would offer a path to citizenship.

But even before the document is unveiled later, some of the party’s leading strategists and conservative voices are urging that the immigration push be abandoned, or delayed until next year, to avoid an internal party rupture before the midterm elections.

“It’s one of the few things that could actually disrupt what looks like a strong Republican year,” said William Kristol, editor of the conservative magazine The Weekly Standard, calling an immigration push “a recipe for disaster.”

“Don’t Do It,” said the headline on a National Review editorial on Monday aimed at the House speaker, John A. Boehner of Ohio. “The last thing the party needs is a brutal intramural fight when it has been dealt a winning hand” — troubles with the president’s health care law — ahead of the elections, the editorial said.

At the same time, Republicans have seen their support from Latinos plummet precisely because of their stance on immigration, and the “statement of principles,” barely more than a page, is intended to try to reverse that trajectory.

The statement of principles criticizes the American higher education system for educating some of the world’s best and brightest students only to lose them to their home countries because they cannot obtain green cards; insists that Republicans demand that current immigration laws be enforced before illegal immigrants are granted legal status; and mentions that some kind of triggers must be included in an immigration overhaul to ensure that borders are secured first, said Republican officials who have seen the principles.

With concern already brewing among conservatives who call any form of legal status “amnesty,” the document has the feel more of an attempt to test the waters than a blueprint for action. House Republican leaders will circulate it at a three-day retreat for their members that begins Wednesday on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Several pro-immigration organizations that have been briefed on the guidelines say they are not intended to serve as a conservative starting point for future negotiations, but as a gauge of how far to the left House Republicans are willing to move.

The principles say that Republicans do not support a “special path to citizenship,” but make an exception for the “Dreamers,” the immigrants brought into the country illegally as children, quoting a 2013 speech by Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia, the House majority leader. “One of the great founding principles of our country was that children would not be punished for the mistakes of their parents,” Mr. Cantor said at the time. “It is time to provide an opportunity for legal residence and citizenship for those who were brought to this country as children and who know no other home.”

Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) Releases Processing Times

1/17/2014

Click here for the most recent processing times for the USCIS Administrative Appeals Office.

If you are waiting for a decision on an appeal and the case has been pending for longer than normally expected, contact The Nunez Firm. We can inquire with USCIS to see why the case is being held up.

Categories: AAO, Appeals, processing times, USCIS

The Filipino Community Pushes for TPS Designation In Wake of Typhoon Haiyan

1/17/2014

NEW YORK, USA – With the seeming lack of action by the US government on the Philippines’ request for Temporary Protected Status, several Filipino American organizations in the New York-New Jersey area banded together last week to press for the immediate granting of the status.

“As one Filipino community, let our voices, let our coming together, once again remind the Department of Homeland Security of the pending request for TPS,” Fr. Julian Jagudilla, OFM, Director of the Migrant Center at the Church of St. Francis of Assisi (CSFA), said.

“The TPS can and will be a big help in easing the suffering of Filipinos in the US who have families and friends directly affected by Typhoon Haiyan. We are asking the Obama administration and the DHS to be sensitive to the plight of the Filipinos here in the US as well as of those in the Philippines,” Fr. Jagudilla, who convened the meeting, said.

The new coalition, TPS for the Philippines Now, has scheduled a forum and an interfaith vigil to rally the community to campaign for the speedy approval of the TPS.

The forum, which aims to gather widespread support for the granting of the status, will be held on Saturday, February 1 (New York time), from 1 to 4 pm at the San Damiano Hall of the Church of St. Francis of Assisi in midtown Manhattan.

On February 13, an inter-faith prayer vigil in support of the TPS campaign will be held from 6 to 7:30 pm in front of the DHS office at 26 Federal Plaza in downtown Manhattan.

Under Section 244 of the US Immigration and Nationality Act, a Temporary Protected Status or TPS can be granted to foreign nationals in the U.S. when conditions in their home countries temporarily prevent them from returning safely, or in certain circumstances, where the country is unable to handle the return of its nationals adequately.

Categories: immigration lawyer, Orang County, Philippines, temporary protected status, TPS, Typhoon Haiyan

Green Card Issued After Immigration Judge Approves Adjustment of Status for Anaheim Client

1/14/2014

One of our longest running cases was finally completed this week when our client received his green card. He originally filed for adjustment of status based on his marriage to his US citizen wife. He filed the case through another attorney, and the mistakes were made. The attorney did not include evidence that the applicant entered the US legally, which is a requirement for marriage-based adjustment of status cases. The attorney asked USCIS to search their records and find the I-94 proof of lawful entry, but USCIS could not locate it (most likely because it was over 30 years ago).

USCIS denied the adjustment of status application (I-485) and placed the individual in removal proceedings. That’s when he hired me. We tried everything to recover the I-94 proof of lawful entry, including numerous FOIAs to different immigration agencies, but nothing worked. Eventually, we tracked down witnesses that were on the same flight with my client when he entered the United States. The witnesses testified that they remember my client going through Customs with them when they landed in the US. The Los Angeles Immigration Court judge regarded the witnesses’ testimony as valid and trustworthy and found that my client had been admitted to the US and was eligible for adjustment of status.

Because my client had a criminal record, we also had to apply for a waiver of grounds of inadmissibility. We satisfied the judge that my client had been rehabilitated from his prior convictions and that it would cause my client’s family extreme hardship if he were not allowed to stay in the United States and live in Anaheim with his wife and children.

My client and his family were very pleased with the outcome. He plans to apply for naturalization in three years when he becomes eligible.

If you are in immigration court proceedings or planning to adjust status through marriage, contact The Nunez Firm. Managing attorney Jay Nunez will personally meet with you to help you better understand the process and help develop a strategy to accomplish your immigration goals.

Categories: adjustment of status, deportation, green card, I-485, I-94, immigration court, Immigration Judge, immigration lawyer, lawful admission, Los Angeles, marriage, naturalization, waiver

I-130 and I-485 Approved For Wife of US Citizen Living in Irvine

1/9/2014

We just received a green card approval for the wife of a US citizen living in Irvine. The wife entered the United States as an L-1 visa holder. She came to the US five years ago and met her husband about a year later.

Earlier this year he proposed to her on their anniversary and they got married a few months later. They came to The Nunez Firm after the wedding because they wanted to adjust her status to permanent resident. We filed the I-130 visa petition and adjustment of status forms along with over a hundred pages of evidence. We had our USCIS interview in Santa Ana at 34 Civic Center a few months later.

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At the interview the officer asked a lot of questions about how they met and why they decided to get married. I had prepared my clients well regarding what to expect and why the officer will be asking certain questions. They explained how they met, when they decided to start dating and how the husband decided to ultimately propose. The officer thoughtfully listened to the testimony and we provided additional evidence of their good faith marriage, and the USCIS officer reviewed it.

At the end of the interview, the officer approved the case and the wife became a conditional resident for two years. After the interview, I explained that she will need to apply to have the conditions removed in 21 months.

The couple was very excited. If you are considering the marriage-based adjustment of status process, contact The Nunez Firm to schedule a consultation with managing attorney Jay Nunez. The Nunez Firm handles countless adjustment of status cases every year and we can help you better understand the process and what to expect.

Categories: adjust status, green card, I-130, I-485, immigration lawyer, Irvine, L-1, marriage-based, Santa Ana, USCIS, visa petition

Immigration and Customs Enforcement Detained 13 Pregnant Women During Four Month Stretch in 2013

1/9/2014

Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials in El Paso, Texas, detained 13 pregnant women from August to November 2013, according to an investigation by Fusion.

ICE confirmed the number to BuzzFeed and said the undocumented immigrant women were an enforcement priority because they had either recently entered the country or had been issued final orders of removal.

Fusion’s investigation was in part launched after Sergio Garcia-Leco, an undocumented activist, infiltrated the El Paso Processing Center in December.

The report describes 13 pregnant women who were detained during a four-month stretch after attempted border crossings; the time each woman was detained varied — some were released the same day, while others were kept days or even weeks, ICE told Fusion.

ICE told BuzzFeed they are unable to name all of the women because of medical privacy issues but did identify two.

Categories: deportation, detention, El Paso, ICE, illegal aliens, immigration court, undocumented

I-130 Approved for Santa Ana Client and Wife of US Citizen; Now We File the I-601A Waiver for Unlawful Presence

1/6/2014

We recently received an approval for an I-130 visa petition filed by the husband of an undocumented alien. The husband is a US citizen and lives with his wife and children in Santa Ana. The wife came to the US many years ago, but she entered without inspection. The visa petition is an important step; however, it merely establishes that the beneficiary wife is married to a US citizen. The approval of the visa petition does not mean she is eligible for a green card. Now that the I-130 visa petition is approved, we will prepare the I-601A waiver of unlawful presence.

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The wife qualifies for an I-601A waiver because she is currently in the United States and the only ground of inadmissibility is unlawful presence. She has no criminal record. We intend to focus on the hardship the husband would experience in raising the couple’s children without his wife if she were denied a green card. If the I-601A is approved, she will travel to Ciudad Juarez to attend a visa interview at the US consulate

The couple is excited to have this step completed, and they look forward to preparing the I-601A over the next month or so. If you are married to a US citizen and want to better understand the immigration options for you to become a permanent resident, contact The Nunez Firm to schedule a consultation. Managing attorney Jay Nunez will personally meet with you and analyze your situation to determine how we can best obtain a green card or immigrant visa to live in the US legally.

Categories: ciudad juarez, I-130, I-601A, immigration lawyer, marriage, Santa Ana, USCIS, visa petition, waiver

Search for Racial Overtones

1/6/2014

TUCSON — A federal judge has given opponents of Arizona’s sweeping anti-illegal-immigration law access to emails, letters and memos between supporters of SB 1070 and legislators to see whether there are racial overtones in the messages.

In December, U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton in Phoenix rejected arguments made by two of the law’s supporters, who maintained that communications sent to lawmakers who created and supported SB 1070 were confidential.

Challengers to SB 1070 called Bolton’s ruling a victory because their lawsuit was based partly on allegations that legislators meant to discriminate against Latinos and other people of color. If so, the challengers argue, the law could violate the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution.

In 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down key provisions of SB 1070 but allowed the most controversial portion to take effect: Arizona can compel law enforcement officials in most circumstances to check the status of someone they stop for lawful reasons if they suspect the person is in the country illegally.

Immigrant rights activists filed suit and have been battling in court since to have the provision blocked, claiming that the Arizona Legislature intended to discriminate against Latinos and other minorities.

Categories: anti-immigrant, Arizona, racial profiling, racism, SB 1070