Practice

Immigration Law

We practice in all areas of Immigration Law, including Removal and Deportation Defense, Asylum, Immigration Bonds, Immigration Appeals, and Adjustment of Status. We understand immigration matters on both personal and professional levels. We are committed to providing individual attention, affordable representation, and aggressive advocacy.

We help U.S. citizens and permanent residents petition for family members, and small businesses sponsor foreign workers for temporary visas and permanent residence. We represent individuals in their applications for asylum and other humanitarian protection in the United States.

We provide immigration solutions for individuals and businesses, including but not limited to:

Asylum

Every year people come to the United States seeking protection because they have suffered persecution or fear that they will suffer persecution due to:

  • Race
  • Religion
  • Nationality
  • Membership in a particular social group
  • Political opinion

If you are eligible for asylum you may be permitted to remain in the United States. To apply for Asylum, file a Form I-589, Application for Asylum and for Withholding of Removal, within one year of your arrival to the United States. There is no fee to apply for asylum.

You may include your spouse and children who are in the United States on your application at the time you file or at any time until a final decision is made on your case. To include your child on your application, the child must be under 21 and unmarried.

Marriage petitions

For your green card through marriage applications, we provide the following services:

Analyze potential scenarios and clarify options

Advise and provide assistance with collecting required documentation & information

Ensure all aspects of the case are legally compliant

Complete all required forms, compile all the necessary items for the application, and submit everything to USCIS

Serve as your legal representative and communicate with USCIS throughout the entire process

Monitor the entire green card marriage application process to ensure efficiency and smoothness in processing

Thoroughly prepare you and your spouse for the green card marriage interview

Attend the marriage green card interview with you and your spouse at your request

Provide post-approval legal advice and guidance

Waivers of Grounds of Inadmissibility

Almost anyone can file a waiver on grounds of inadmissibility. Any applicant for adjustment of status or any immigrant visa applicants who were outside the United States and had a visa interview with a consular officer are able to file this waiver. Additionally, any K-1 or K-2 nonimmigrant visa applicants who were considered inadmissible and all K-3, K-4, and V applicants who were found inadmissible after an interview with a consular officer can file the waiver.

Provisional Unlawful Presence Waivers

ince March 4, 2013, certain immigrant visa applicants who are immediate relatives (spouses, children and parents) of U.S. citizens can apply for provisional unlawful presence waivers  before they leave the United States for their consular interview.  On August 29, 2016, the provisional unlawful presence waiver process was expanded to all individuals statutorily eligible for an immigrant visa and a waiver of inadmissibility for unlawful presence in the United States.

Aliens who are not eligible to adjust their status in the United States must travel abroad and obtain an immigrant visa. Individuals who have accrued more than 180 days of unlawful presence while in the United States must obtain a waiver of inadmissibility to overcome the unlawful presence bars under section 212(a)(9)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act before they can return. Typically, these aliens cannot apply for a waiver until after they have appeared for their immigrant visa interview abroad, and a Department of State (DOS) consular officer has determined that they are inadmissible to the United States.

The provisional unlawful presence waiver process allows those individuals who are statutorily eligible for an immigrant visa (immediate relatives, family-sponsored or employment-based immigrants as well as Diversity Visa selectees);  who only need a waiver of inadmissibility for unlawful presence to apply for that waiver in the United States before they depart for their immigrant visa interview.

This new process was developed to shorten the time that U.S. citizens and lawful permanent resident family members are separated from their relatives while those relatives are obtaining immigrant visas to become lawful permanent residents of the United States.

Fiancé(e) Visa

A ‘Fiancé Visa’ is a visa that allows the fiancé(e) of an American Citizen travel to the USA for a period of 90 days for the purpose of marrying a US Citizen and immigrating to the USA. If the US Citizen ‘Petitioner’ marries the foreign citizen ‘Beneficiary’ during those 90 days, the now spouse is eligible to remain in the USA and apply for the Green Card.

To qualify for the K1 Fiancé Visa, you must meet the following requirements:

  1. You are a US Citizen.
    1. Currently, the K1 Visa is only available to US Citizens. If you are a permanent resident, you may file for a marriage visa (CR1 spousal visa) as an alternative.
  2. You have met in person
    1. You must have seen your fiancé(e) in person within the past two years. Seeing them on video, or communicating regularly doesn’t satisfy this requirement. You should take pictures together to prove this meeting. In most cases, you will be required to go to their country as it is very difficult for a foreign citizen to get a B2 visitor visa.
  3. You are both free to marry
    1. Being free to marry means that you are either single, divorced, or widowed. If your divorce is pending, you cannot file the K1 fiancé visa application until it is finalized.
  4. You can support your fiancé in the United States
    1. You must meet the federal poverty guidelines to show that you can support your fiancé. In many US Embassies, you can use a cosponsor and/or other assets to meet the requirements.
  5. You have no major criminal history
    1. When applying for a fiancé visa, they are going to look at your criminal history. If you have committed serious crimes or have more than three drug or alcohol related offenses, a waiver will be required. An experienced fiancé visa attorney can help overcome these issues.

Applications to remove conditions on residence

Form I-751 is a Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence related to a Conditional Green Card. It is mandatory that an I-751 be filed before the two-year expiration date of the Green Card. Failure to file Form I-751 will lead to termination of conditional residency and can lead to deportation and/or removal proceedings in immigration court.

It is for these reasons that it is very important for Conditional Green Card holders to consult with our Orlando immigration attorney if they have questions, concerns, or problems related to the I-751.

Conditional residency is assigned to foreign-born individuals who marry a U.S. citizen. Permanent residence status is classified as conditional if it is based on a marriage of less than 2 years. This classification is applied to help prevent individuals from trying to evade U.S. immigration laws by marrying a U.S. citizen. The only way to remove the conditional classification is to file Form I-751.

Individuals are eligible to apply for removal of conditions on their permanent residence if they:

  • Are married to the same U.S. citizen or permanent resident after 2 years. Children may be included in the application if they received their conditional-resident status at the same time or within 90 days of the foreign-born parent.
  • Are a child that cannot be included in his/her parents’ application.
  • Are a widow or widower who entered into the marriage in good faith.
  • Are divorced, but entered into the marriage in good faith. Marriages that have been annulled may also provide eligibility for I-751.
  • Entered into the marriage in good faith, but either the card holder or their child were battered or subjected to extreme hardship by their spouse.

Naturalization

 

Immigrant visas and Consular Processing

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (“DACA”)

Non-immigrant visas such as H-1B, L-1A, O-1, P-1, E Visas, and others

PERM labor certifications

Employment Based Cases for People of Extraordinary Ability (EB-1)