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Immigration Law Success Stories
March 31, 2010

U.S. Citizens residing overseas may file an I-130 Petition for an immediate relative directly with the appropriate USCIS overseas field office rather than filing the I-130 Petition with a USCIS Service Center in the United States.  Our U.S. Citizen client has been living in London for the past 5 years for business and is preparing to return to the United States.  We filed an I-130 Petition directly with the USCIS London Field Office four our client's spouse which was approved in approximately 6 weeks.   When a petition is approved that was filed overseas the immigrant visa processing occurs directly at the U.S. Embassy as opposed to through the National Visa Center.  We are now in the process of conducting the immigrant visa process through the U.S. Embassy in London.
Filed under: Marriage & Family Sponsored Green Card Applications



Our client had self-filed an I-130 Petition on behalf of her sister 7 years ago.  Because of the long waiting period for siblings of U.S. citizens to immigrate to the United States USCIS takes several years to adjudicate sibling I-130 Petitions.  Our client changed her address and USCIS sent a Request for Evidence to her old address which she never received.  When no response was received to the Request for Evidence USCIS denied the Petition due to abandonment.  Our client eventually discovered that the I-130 Petition had been denied, did a Freedom of Information Act Request to obtain a copy of her file, and then came to us for assistance.  We filed a Motion to Reopen the denied I-130 Petition setting forth the efforts our client had made to advise of her address change, citing the applicable code of federal regulations for reopening a petition denied due to abandonment, providing the evidence that had been requested in the Request for Evidence, and indicating the prejudice our client would suffer if the I-130 Petition was not reopened and she had to file a new I-130 Petition with a new priority date, thereby losing 7 years of time for her sister to have the opportunity to immigrate to the United States.  USCIS approved our motion to reopen and simultaneously approved the I-130 Petition.  Our client and her sister were ecstatic with the result.
Filed under: Marriage & Family Sponsored Green Card Applications


March 23, 2010

A client of ours who is a permanent resident was detained and placed into removal proceedings due to a conviction for possession of an illegal firearm.  He was incarcerated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement who set a $15,000 bond.  Our client's family could not afford to pay the $15,000 so we filed a motion for a bond redetermination with the Immigration Judge.  In support of the bond redetermination motion we submitted evidence of our clients' U.S. citizen children, court orders granting him custody of his children, and that he provides financial support to his children.  Following our arguments at the Bond Redetermination Hearing the Immigration Judge substantially reduced the bond.
Filed under: Deportation Defense & Immigration Court Appeals


March 22, 2010

A mother of a United States Citizen had been visiting her child for several years in the United States.  She would enter on a B-2 visitor visa and return to her home country prior to the expiration date of her authorized stay.  Subsequent to her last entry to the United States, she decided that she wanted to remain in the United States and live with her daughter.  She hired our firm and we filed an application for adjustment of status simultaneously with an I-130 Petition for Alien Relative filed by her daughter.  Following an interview at the Philadelphia Immigration District Office, the mother's green card application was approved.
Filed under: Marriage & Family Sponsored Green Card Applications


March 19, 2010

A PERM case filed on behalf of a College Teacher was certified by the U.S. Department of Labor.
Filed under: PERM Labor Certification


March 16, 2010

Our client is a Canadian Citizen who had met her U.S. Citizen husband during a visit to the United States.  She had visited him multiple times in Philadelphia and they developed a relationship and fell in love.  Approximately 4 months subsequent to her last visit to the United States he proposed to her and she accepted.  They were married and came to our law firm for assistance in the green card application process.  Our client had not been issued an I-94 card or an admission stamp in her passport upon her last entry to the United States.  As part of the adjustment of status application packet, we prepared an Affidavit with our client to document her lawful inspection and entry into the United States and her nonimmigrant intent at the time of entry.  Following an interview at the USCIS Philadelphia Immigration Office our client's conditional permanent residence was approved.
Filed under: Marriage & Family Sponsored Green Card Applications, Uncategorized



Our client is a pharmacist who was maintaining lawful H-1B employment and also had an I-485 adjustment of status application pending more than 6 months based upon an approved I-140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker.  The I-140 Petition was approved following certification of a labor certification application on behalf of our client.  Our client had neglected to maintain a valid employment authorization document.  Our client came to us wanting to change her employer to a different pharmacy with the goal of starting work for the new employer as soon as possible, being able to maintain her green card application, and being able to travel to her home country for her brother's wedding next month.  In order to meet our clients goals we filed an H-1B change of employer petition and utilized premium processing so that our client would have the approval notice in time to travel using the approval notice of the new H-1B Petition and the visa from her prior employer's H-1B Petition which is still valid.  Following the H-1B approval we prepared an AC-21 change of employer letter for our client to maintain her green card processing in that her new position is the "same or similar" to her prior position.  We also applied for a new employment authorization document and advance parole travel document so our client could have these documents in an emergent situation.  Strategically, whenever possible one should maintain underlying H-1B nonimmigrant status even though one may have a pending I-485 adjustment of status application.  This provides a safety net in case something happens with the pending I-485 application.
Filed under: H-1B Specialty Occupation Visas