Immigration Law

Detention Bond Hearings

admin2022-07-14T14:39:13+00:00The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has the authority to question and detain individuals who are suspected of violating U.S. immigration laws. Noncitizens may also be detained by Homeland Security upon arrest on suspicion of certain crimes or outstanding warrants for deportable offenses. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is the law enforcement arm of DHS. Within 48 hours of arrest, ICE officials must decide whether to detain a person or release him or her on bond. The agency will also decide whether to pursue deportation. We can advocate for clients in an immigration bond hearing. The judge will decide whether to hold the person indefinitely until removal proceedings or release the person upon posting of a cash bond. We will work to get your family member bonded out so he or she is not transferred far from home and needlessly jailed/held in an ICE detention center. If a noncitizen family member has been taken into custody by ICE or local police, call an attorney immediately. We will fight to get the criminal charges or immigration violation dismissed or reduced so we can petition for cancelation of removal.

Tips For Getting A Green Card

admin2022-07-14T14:38:31+00:00Having a green card (officially known as a Permanent Resident Card) allows you to live and work permanently in the United States. It is required if you want to naturalize as a United States citizen. The steps you must take to apply for a green card will vary depending on your individual situation. You can become a permanent resident several different ways. Most people are sponsored by a family member or employer in the United States. Others may become permanent residents through refugee or asylee status or other humanitarian programs. In some cases, you may be eligible to file for yourself.

Temporary Visa Options

admin2022-07-14T14:37:52+00:00Temporary work visas are issued to people who come to the United States for employment lasting a fixed amount of time. This employment cannot be permanent or indefinite. Types of temporary visas

• Diplomatic Visa: Available to foreign government officials, their employees, and family members recognized by the U.S. coming on official business.
• B-1/B-2 Visitor’s Visas: Available to visitors coming to the U.S. for business (B-1) or travel (B-2). B-1 business visitor visas are for a short time and must not involve local employment.
• C Transit Visas: These are available to persons in immediate and continuous transit through the U.S.
• D Crewmen’s Visa: Available to a crewman (a person serving in good faith in any capacity required for normal operating and service on board a vessel), crewman trainees, and employees of owners or concessionaires (e.g., a beautician on a ship).
• F-1 Academic Student Visas: Available to students pursuing full-time, non-vocational academic programs at post-secondary institutions who are qualified to pursue such study.
• A student in F-1 status is given a duration of status (“D/S”), meaning they maintain the F-1 status as long as they are enrolled in the program full-time. Typically, the student must be enrolled at school full-time in order to maintain the F-1 status.
• G Visas: G Visas are for representatives of foreign governments and international organizations and their employees and family members.
• I-1 Journalist/Representatives of Media Visas: These visas are available to members of the foreign press/media seeking to enter the U.S. solely for noncommercial vocational purposes. I visa holders are admitted for the duration of status and may extend their stay as long as they continue to pursue their vocational activities in the U.S.
• M-1 Vocational Student Visas: Those seeking to pursue nonacademic vocational study at post-secondary vocational/business schools may be eligible for M-1 visas (e.g. flight school). Unlike other duration of status visas, M-1 visa holders may not change their status to another nonimmigrant status. The maximum period is typically 18 months.
• N Visas: These visas are available to parents and children of G-4s and NATO employees accorded special immigrant status under INA §101(a)(27)(I) or (L) if the child is given the visa during the time they are under 21.
• S Visa: Available to persons who assisted the U.S. federal or state government by providing information essential to the success of an authorized criminal investigation or prosecution.
• T Visa: Available to persons who have been subject to severe forms of trafficking in persons (the use of force fraud or coercion for sex trafficking and/or involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage or slavery).
• U Visa: Available to persons who have suffered substantial physical or mental abuse as a result of having been a victim of certain crimes.

Non-Immigrant Visa Options

admin2022-07-14T14:37:03+00:00A non-immigrant visa is issued to a person with permanent residence outside the United States who wishes to be in the U.S. on a temporary basis for tourism, medical treatment, business, or temporary work/study, among other things. Nonimmigrant visas allow foreign nationals to work and live in the United States for a certain amount of time but do not lead to permanent residency or citizenship. Common non-immigrant visas used by businesses 

• E-1/E-2 Treaty Trader and Investor Visas: Investors and traders and their employees may receive visas to carry on their businesses in the U.S. if their home country has a commercial treaty with the U.S. conferring visa eligibility.
• H-1B Specialty Occupation (Professional) Visas: Professional workers with at least a bachelor’s degree (or equivalent work experience) may be eligible for a nonimmigrant visa if their employers can demonstrate that they are to be paid at least the prevailing wage for the position.
• J-1 and Q-1 Exchange Visitor Visas: Those coming to the U.S. in an approved exchange program may be eligible for the J-1 Exchange Visitor’s visa, which covers students, short-term scholars, business trainees, teachers, professors and research scholars, specialists, international visitors, government visitors, camp counselors, and au pairs.
• Q Visas are for persons seeking temporary employment in a culturally unique program or private enterprise.
• L-1 Intra-company Transfer Visas: L-1 visas are available to executives, managers and specialized knowledge employees transferring to their employer’s U.S. affiliate, parent or subsidiary. Executives/managers holding L-1 visas may be eligible for permanent residency without the need for a labor certification.
• O-1 Extraordinary Ability Worker Visas: The O-1 category is set aside for foreign nationals with extraordinary ability in entertainment, business, athletics, and science.
• P-1 Artists and Athletes Visas: This category covers professional athletes, artists, and entertainers.

Immigrant Visa Options

admin2022-07-14T14:36:24+00:00Immigrant visas allow foreign nationals to live and work permanently in the United States and apply for permanent residency (a.k.a. a green card). In most cases, a relative or employer sponsors the individual by filing an application with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Certain applicants such as workers with extraordinary ability, investors, and certain special immigrants can petition on their own behalf. Our immigration law team works with individuals, families, and businesses to obtain necessary visas. Common immigrant visas used by businesses

• EB-1 Foreign Nationals of Extraordinary Ability, Outstanding Professors and Researchers and Multinational Executives and Managers: Individuals in this category can petition for permanent residency without having to go through a time-consuming labor certification process.
• EB-2 Workers with Advanced Degrees or Exceptional Ability in the Sciences, Arts or Business: Visa holders in this category typically must have a job offer and their potential employer must complete the labor certification process.
• EB-3 Skilled Workers and Professionals: Visa holders in this category typically must have a job offer, and the potential employer must complete the labor certification process.
• EB-4 Special Immigrant Visas for Religious Workers: Ministers of religion are eligible for permanent residency as are certain other individuals in EB-4 (ex. special immigrant juveniles, NATO employees, and those who assisted the U.S. in Iraq and Afghanistan)
• EB-5 Investor/Employment Creation Visas: For those who invest at least $500,000 in targeted employment areas (rural areas or areas experiencing high unemployment of at least 150 percent of the national average rate) and those who invest $1 million anywhere else. A person may also invest through a regional center where they can show job creation directly or indirectly.

Immigration Appeals

admin2022-07-14T14:35:38+00:00

An immigrant who loses an immigration court hearing or whose immigration application is denied has the right to appeal the decision. Our team handles appeals of all types of immigration matters from deportation orders to denials of visas or requests for asylum. Removal/deportation orders and other decisions by immigration judges are appealed to the Board of Immigration Appeals.

Denials of visas and petitions made to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officers are usually appealed to the Administrative Appeals Office. Immigration appeals to either agency must be filed within 30 days from when the USCIS officer or immigration judge makes their decision. A person who loses an appeal may be able to appeal further to a federal court of appeals.

Family Immigration

admin2022-07-14T14:34:54+00:00U.S. citizens are able to petition for family members, including spouses, parents, children and siblings, to become permanent residents and start on the path to citizenship. There are numerous visa types for family members of U.S. citizens; our firm advises clients about the category that fits their circumstances:

• Immediate Relatives — Children (under 21), parents and spouses of U.S. citizens
• FB-1 First Preference — Unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens
• FB-2 Third Preference — Married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens
• FB-4 Fourth Preference — Brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens
• K-1 and K-3 Fiancé(e) Visas — 90-day nonimmigrant visas for fiancé(e)s of U.S. citizens
• K-3 Visas — For spouses of U.S. citizens whose petition for permanent residency has not been approved and forwarded to the U.S. consulate in the spouse’s home country

Permanent residents (holders of green cards) are able to petition for permanent residency for family members under the following visa programs:

• FB-2A Second Preference — Spouses and unmarried children of permanent residents
• FB-2B Second Preference — Adult sons and daughters of permanent residents.
• V Visas — Spouses or children or lawful permanent residents, if the permanent resident has filed a petition for the spouse or child before December 21, 2000, and the petition is still pending

EB-5 Investor Based Immigration

admin2022-07-14T14:34:22+00:00In 1990, under the Immigration Act, Congress established a program to encourage immigrant investment in the U.S. economy. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services sets aside EB-5 investor/employment creation visas for up to 10,000 foreign nationals every year. To qualify for such a visa, applicants must:

• Invest at least $500,000 in a rural area or an area experiencing high unemployment
• Invest $1 million or more in other commercial enterprises
• Create or preserve at least 10 jobs for qualified U.S. workers

If you meet these qualifications, we can represent you. We guide our clients through the application process and advocate for them every step of the way.