One of the questions that every immigration lawyer gets asked is “How long is it going to take for my family member to get his green card?” And, in typical lawyer fashion, my response is “Well, it depends.” This Continue reading
There has been an interesting map of the United States making its way around many Facebook newsfeeds. In a nutshell, the map breaks down — by state — the most commonly spoken language after English. Interestingly, for many states, it’s…
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This week marks my 40th birthday. As one can imagine, this event has made me very contemplative about my professional goals and my personal aspirations.
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Last Tuesday as I was leaving court, I reached for my phone to find that it was blowing up (as the kids say these days). Apparently, there was an internet article that stated that the Philippines had been added to the list of “visa waiver” countries and that Filipinos no longer needed to go to the U.S. Embassy prior to visiting the United States. It was everywhere: my voicemails, my text messages, my Facebook feed. Even my mom called to ask about it!
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According to recently released government statistics, there has been a 43% decline in deportations ordered by immigration judges. Unfortunately, these statistics do not include “expedited removals” — individuals who are issued a deportation order at the border without ever seeing an immigration judge. Those numbers are on the rise.
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Regular readers of this blog may have noticed that I have been writing about naturalization quite a bit lately. First, the one about a looming deadline. More recently, the one about my client with a prior denial turned around, and then the one about a noticeable increase in new citizens hailing from Africa. But, what do you need to be eligible for apply for naturalization in the first place?!?
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My former boss tells his clients “Marriage is the fastest and easiest way to get a green card. However, you need a good foundation. It’s like a house. If the foundation is good, then everything that is built on it will be good. But if it’s bad, then it will lead to a lot of problems.” What kinds of problems exactly? Well,
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What is driving this growing trend in immigration?This contribution to the blog post comes to you from Phoenix, Arizona. I’m traveling to assist a client with her claim for asylum. Since I’m currently out of state and because naturalization seems to be a hot topic at my office these days, I wanted to share with you a story from the Boston Globe.
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Was your application denied because of a false claim to citizenship?One of the things that gives me immense pleasure as an immigration lawyer is taking a case that had previously been denied and turning it into an approval. It involves a close read of the government’s denial letter, a searching analysis of what errors were made (either by the government, the prior attorney, or the client), and then crafting a strategy towards a different, more favorable outcome.
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How the USCIS really handles marriage interviewsThe other night, I was watching the tele with my wife. As regular readers of this blog know, that means I was watching one of my wife’s shows again. On a recent episode of “Trophy Wife,” Kate (played by Malin Akerman) discovers that her marriage paperwork didn’t go through and she’s in danger of being deported . . . to Canada! (If you haven’t watched it yet, be advised that spoilers are ahead.) Now — I’d like to compare the Hollywood marriage interview experience to reality.
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Immigration Visa Attorney Blog