If you are considering coming to the US, there are a number of options available. If you desire only a short stay, you may wish to consider a nonimmigrant visa. However, if you wish to stay longer or on a more permanent basis, an immigrant visa leading to a "Green Card," also known as lawful permanent resident, and later naturalization or citizenship may be your best option. Depending on which country you are from, below are four of the most popular avenues of immigrating to the US - 1. Family Based 2. Employment Based 3. Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (NACARA) and 4. Diversity Visa (DV) or "Green Card" Lottery Program. There are other ways of immigrating which are not listed here. Please contact an attorney to discuss options which better relate to your particular situation.
Following are several types of cases our firm handles. However, it is not an exhaustive list and we are capable of handling other matters not listed, as well. If there is a particular type of case you do not see listed below, please feel free to contact us. We can most likely assist you with your immigration case.
Reunite Family
Family Based Visas Subject to the worldwide level specified in INA Section 201(c) and the preference categories specified in INA Section 203(a): US Citizens may petition for spouses, parents, unmarried/married sons and daughters, and siblings. Permanent Residents may petition for spouses, and unmarried sons and daughters.
Employment Green Cards
Employment Based Visas Subject to the worldwide level specified in INA Section 201(d), the preference categories specified in INA Section 203(b), and certain other exceptions (within the categories of priority workers and employment creation), employers may petition for the following categories: Priority workers; Aliens who are members of the professions holding advanced degrees or aliens of exceptional ability; Skilled workers, professionals, and other workers; Certain special immigrants; and, Employment creation (foreign nationals who wish to engage in a new commercial enterprise for employment creation) and Australians.
Managua, Nicaragua
Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act (NACARA): NACARA provides various forms of immigration benefits and relief from deportation to certain Nicaraguans, Cubans, Salvadorans, Guatemalans, nationals of former Soviet bloc countries and their dependents who entered the United States by specified dates and applied for asylum or registered for benefits under the settlement agreement in the class action lawsuit American Baptist Churches v. Thornburgh, 760 F. Supp. 796 (N.D. Cal. 1991) (ABC). After October, 2000, it also applies to their qualified family members and to certain individuals who have been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty by a lawful permanent resident, United States citizen, or by certain NACARA beneficiaries. At the same time an individual is granted NACARA relief, he or she is also given lawful permanent resident status.
Temporary Protected Status (TPS): Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is a temporary immigration status granted to eligible nationals of designated countries (or parts thereof), Currently the designated countries are: Burundi, El Salvador, Honduras, Liberia, Montserrat, Nicaragua, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan. The Attorney General may provide TPS to aliens in the United States who are temporarily unable to return to their homeland because of on-going armed conflict, environmental disasters, or other extraordinary and temporary conditions. During the period for which the Attorney General has designated a country under the TPS program, TPS beneficiaries are not required to leave the United States and may obtain work authorization. However, TPS does not lead to permanent resident status. When the Attorney General terminates a country's TPS designation, beneficiaries return to the same immigration status they maintained before TPS (unless that status had since expired or been terminated) or to any other status they may have acquired while registered for TPS. Accordingly, if an alien had unlawful status prior to receiving TPS and did not obtain any status during the TPS period, the alien will revert to that unlawful status upon the termination of TPS designation.
Diversity Visa ("Green Card") Lottery Program:
The Green Card Lottery is an incentive program to promote diversity by giving citizens of certain countries an opportunity to immigrate to the U.S. The program makes available a maximum of 55,000 immigrant visas each year to eligible citizens of under represented countries. Cuurently all countries are eligible to participate in the Green Card Lottery EXCEPT Canada, China, Columbia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Mexico, Pakistan, South Korea, Philippines, Vietnam, and United Kingdom.
Immigration Court Representation (Relief from Removal) and Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) Appeals: Deportation, Removal, and/or Exclusion Proceedings Representation. Relief from Removal - Often foreign nationals who have been issued a Notice to Appear (NTA) in an Immigration Court by the immigration service, will be eligible for relief from removal. Below is a non-exhaustive list of some of the forms of relief from removal. Foreign nationals should consult with an attorney to determine eligibility for relief from removal. Adjustment of Status; Waiver of Ground for Removal; Cancellation of Removal; Asylum; Withholding of Removal; Protection under Article 3 of the Convention Against Torture (CAT); Voluntary Departure; and, Withdrawal of Application for Admission. Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) Appellate Briefs - When a foreign national has already been issued a final order by an Immigration Judge, either the foreign national or the government may appeal the Immigration Judge's decision by filing a Notice of Appeal within thirty (30) days of the issuance of the final order.
Green Card
Adjustment of Status/Permanent Resident Alien ("Green Card"): A permanent resident alien is a foreign national who has been lawfully admitted to the U.S. for permanent residence. A foreign national who has been lawfully admitted for permanent residence enjoys such status by having been lawfully accorded the privilege of residing permanently in the U.S. as an immigrant in accordance with the immigration laws. The general requirement for obtaining legal permanent resident status is an immigrant visa.
Naturalization (Citizenship): Naturalization is the process by which U.S. citizenship is conferred upon a foreign citizen or national after he or she fulfills the requirements established by Congress in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The general requirements for administrative naturalization include: a period of continuous residence and physical presence in the US; residence in a US prior to filing; an ability to read, write, and speak English; a knowledge and understanding of US history and government; good moral character; attachment to the principles of the US Constitution; and, a favorable disposition toward the US.
Ellis Island
Asylum: An alien in the United States or at a port of entry who is found to be unable or unwilling to return to his or her country of nationality, or to seek the protection of that country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution. Persecution, or the fear thereof, must be on account of the aliens race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. For persons with no nationality, the country of nationality is considered to be the country in which the alien last habitually resided.
Refugee: Any person who is outside his or her country of nationality who is unable or unwilling to return to that country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution. Persecution, or the fear thereof, must be based on the aliens race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. People with no nationality must generally be outside their country of last habitual residence to qualify as a refugee. Click here to learn more about U.S. Asylum and Refugee Policies.
Nonimmigrant Visas and Change of Status: Some of the most popular nonimmigrant visas include, but are not limited to, the following: Business or Pleasure Visitors (B) Temporary Workers (H, E, L) Students Attending U.S. Schools and Universities (F, M) Cultural Exchange Visitors (J) Fiancι(e) or Spouse of a U.S. Citizen (K) NAFTA Professionals (TN) Religious Workers (R) Individuals of Extraordinary Ability or Achievement (O) Performing Entertainers and Athletes (P) A nonimmigrant is a foreign national seeking to enter the United States (U.S.) temporarily for a specific purpose. Nonimmigrants enter the U.S. for a temporary period of time, and once in the U.S. are restricted to the activity or reason for which their visa was issued. They may have more than one type of nonimmigrant visa, but are admitted in only one status. General requirements for foreign nationals seeking temporary admission include, but are not limited to, the following: The purpose of the visit must be temporary; The foreign national must agree to depart at the end of his/her authorized stay or extension; The foreign national must be in possession of a valid passport; A foreign residence must be maintained by the foreign national, in most instances; The foreign national may be required to show proof of financial support while in the United States; The foreign national must be admissible or have obtained a waiver for any ground of inadmissibility; and, The foreign national must abide by the terms and conditions of admission. If you have obtained a non-immigrant visa and wish to change to another non-immigrant visa, you must apply for a change of status. Depending on the type of visa currently held and the type of visa requested under the change of status, consular processing may be required (e.g., you may have to travel outside the US to obtain the new visa).
Renewals, Extensions, and Interviews: Nonimmigrant Visa extensions; EAD (Employment Authorization Card) renewals; Green Card renewals; Special Registration interviews; Removal of Conditions interviews (spousal); Asylum interviews; Adjustment of Status interviews; and Naturalization (Citizenship) interviews.
Other Areas of Practice: Battered Spouse Waivers Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Self-Petitions Humanitarian Parole/Bonds Travel Documents and Advance Parole Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Requests Visa Waiver Program Waivers of Grounds of Inadmissibility - Unlawful Presence (3 and 10 year bars to re-entry), Order of Deportation, HIV Positive, etc.
Serving Dallas, TX, Plano, TX, Frisco, TX, Richardson, TX, McKinney, TX, Allen, TX, Garland, TX, Mesquite, TX, Addison, TX, Murphy, TX, Wylie, TX, Farmers Branch, TX, Carrollton, TX, Irving, TX, Arlington, TX, Keller, TX, Clear Lake, TX, Grapevine, TX, Grand Prairie, TX, and all areas surrounding the Dallas / Fort Worth, Texas metroplex.
