Family Law

• Divorce
• Child Abuse

Criminal Law

• Criminal Defense
  In the criminal law context, the Supreme Court placed criminal lawyers on the liability hook for failure to inform a client of the immigration consequences of their plea and the effect of certain would be-convictions. It is more important than ever to consult a competent immigration attorney first before a plea or settlement is made, which could affect the client’s ability to obtain or keep their permanent residency (green card)- their right to stay in the U.S.;
• DUI/DWI
  * Crime of Moral Turpitude (“CMT”). Even a misdemeanor can be considered a crime of moral turpitude. CMTs usually refer to theft crimes but can cover other types of crimes as well that courts have typically held to be lacking moral character including assault with intent to rob, statutory rape, aggravated DUI (driving under the influence), stalking, arson, blackmail, robbery, etc.
• Traffic Violations
  Marriage to a U.S. citizen does not grant legal status to anyone. There have been many cases of spouses of U.S. citizens who are trapped outside the United States for over 10 years with no waivers available to them because of the immigrant spouse’s past immigration conduct. The immigration laws can be very harsh and the fact that you have children is not a qualifying reason for waivers in most applications for immigration relief. Judges and even consular officers look at having children as a “voluntary act” and you knew what you could be getting into when you’re married to someone who is undocumented. You are deemed to have assumed the risk of being separated because of immigration down the line. I find in most circumstances, it usually better to file a case for the spouse if a spouse qualifies to at least have the petition in the system, which may buy a time and leniency with the immigration judge if the immigrant spouse is picked up walking their child home from school, shopping at a grocery store or as part of an employer worksite raid. Having a pending case in the system may even deter an immigration hold, detaining the immigrant, and referring her to immigration proceedings when someone is pulled over for a minor traffic violation and it’s discovered that there’s no immigration paperwork pending and no legal status. With a benefit pending, this could buy time to fight your case. Always talked to a qualified immigration lawyer about the pros and cons of filing your case before you go forward.
• Sex Crimes
  Example: Your boyfriend or girlfriend attacks you, you call the police. Immigration will not care that you are not married and that your boyfriend or girlfriend is here illegally. The U visa is for a victim of a violent crime who cooperates with law enforcement (such as police or district attorney) in a potential investigation or prosecution of the criminal activity. The U Visa was created to encourage victims to come forward and report crimes to the police. If the U visa is granted after the immigrant also demonstrates that s/he has suffered “substantial harm”, the visa provides work authorization and valid status for the immigrant for four years. After three years in U status, the immigrant may be eligible to apply for a green card based on their ongoing cooperation with law enforcement and if it is in the public interest to grant this benefit. The U visa has been used to provide status to young men assaulted outside of gay clubs, beaten up by gangs, and others conducting hate-related violence based on sexual orientation as well as stranger rape and domestic violence from domestic partners. The U Visa also has generous waiver that can waive illegal entry, the permanent bar, the 3 and 10 year bars for unlawful presence, misrepresentation, a false claim to US citizenship status, and much more, allowing options for those who may not otherwise have a qualifying relative to obtain a green card or status or protection any other way.
• Robbery
• Burglary
  * Crimes of Violence can include domestic violence, residential felony burglary, felony sexual battery, battery or assault, violating a protective order, and corporal injury to a spouse, among others.
• Theft
• Misdemeanors
  D.S., San Diego, CA [obtained green card based on spousal abuse, despite difficult moral character issue that developed due to client’s misdemeanor conviction]
• Drug Crimes
  Is USCIS threatening to deny your case due to a theft or drug crime? Has the consulate refused your visa due to an old crime of moral turpitude? Need advice on how that criminal plea could hurt your immigration case? Is your naturalization case at risk because of a crime? Are you in immigration deportation proceedings because of a crime? Worried about exposing yourself to immigration if you have a crime in your past?
• Assault
• Murder
  You are also ineligible for a 212(h) waiver based on moral character grounds if you ever committed, attempted to commit, conspired to commit, or actually admitted to the elements of the crime of murder or torture.
• Arson
• Restraining Order
  C.P. Long Beach, CA (obtained conditional green card waiver based on extreme cruelty she endured from her husband, despite lack of traditional evidence such as police reports and restraining order; the approval made her eligible for U.S. citizenship two years early)
• Forgery
• Kidnapping
  Rape; torture; trafficking; incest; domestic violence; sexual assault; abusive sexual contact; prostitution; sexual exploitation; female genital mutilation; being held hostage; peonage; involuntary servitude; slave trade; kidnapping; abduction; unlawful criminal restraint; false imprisonment; blackmail; extortion; manslaughter; murder; felonious assault; witness tampering; obstruction of justice; perjury; or attempt, conspiracy, or solicitation to commit any of the above mentioned crimes.
• Manslaughter
• Prostitution
  If waiving prostitution ground, prostitution must be sole basis of inadmissability, the immigrant has been rehabilitated, and approving the case would not be contrary to national welfare, safety or security; OR
• Extortion
  Yes. Understandably, it is very difficult for many men to come forward to speak to an attorney about their abusive spouse, because of the stigma or humiliation that many men feel. Further, many men do not recognize that what’s happening in their marriage is abusive, because it’s the reverse of the usual scenario of a man abusing his wife. First of all, it’s important to know that you are not alone. We have encountered many men whose lives have been threatened by their wives – by her own actions and by threats to use her family to harm the husband. We’ve represented male survivors whose psychological abuse, threats of violence, or financial extortion has been so intense that it wasn’t emotionally or physically safe to stay in the abusive relationship.

Immigration Law

• Citizenship and Naturalization
• Family Immigration
  Speaker & Moderator, “Update on the I-601A Waiver Process“, American Immigration Lawyers Association, Live Audio Seminar (Internet) (February 2015)Speaker, “Advanced Family Immigration“, American Immigration Lawyers Association Annual California Chapters Conference, San Jose, CA (November 2014)
• Employment Immigration
  The permanent resident process is almost completely petitioner-driven. That means that the person or company who petitions for you has control over your petition. You cannot force an employer or a relative to file on your behalf. Once a petition is filed, your employer or relative can withdraw or cancel your petition at any time before you get your permanent resident status. I cannot advise you about your family situation. However, if you are considering employment-based immigration, find a position you like with people you can work with for the foreseeable future. Most employers will not continue with the permanent resident process if you quit or are fired from your job.
• Green Cards
• Business Immigration
  Even in the immigration law setting, immigration attorneys often run into conflicts when they start off representing a couple, then later realize when the couple is having marital problems or abuse is happening that they cannot ethically continue representation of both spouses and have to refer the immigrant’s case to another immigration attorney to avoid ethics violations. In addition, many immigration attorneys specialize in areas such as business immigration or deportation defense and do not have the working knowledge and experience to handle a particular type of case and refer to other immigration attorneys with that focus.
• Student Visas
  Heather wrote an extensive brief arguing that because our client entered in-transit, not as a crewman, a different type of C visa, he was eligible under the law. Adjustment was only barred for crewmen C-1s. Our client entered in transit on his way to another country but later changed his mind and did not proceed to the other country where he had a student visa waiting for him due to change in financial circumstances. Not only was Heather faced with arguing that our client did not commit visa fraud at entry into the US or upon applying for the transit visa at the consulate, but also that he was legally eligible to adjust status as a C-1. Much to our clients’ credit, they believed in Heather and waited the many months after the interview for CIS to decide the case after examining Heather’s brief. It was all worth it in the end as our client was approved for permanent residency earlier this year and he never had to leave the US and incur the ten year bar.Our clients write of our services...
• Work Visas
• Removal Defense
  Even immigration attorneys some specialize in certain areas because it’s just impossible to keep up with everything. Many immigration attorneys only do employment-related immigration or simple family cases or removal defense only. At our firm, we focus exclusively on complex family based immigration cases including...

Trusts and Estates

• Wills
  Immigration attorneys don’t make it easy for you to determine if they are the right attorney for your particular facts and your type of case. As a result, many consumers are forced to decide to hire a lawyer just based on price. This can be a major mistake. As the old adage, you usually get what you pay for. Attorneys fees are usually based on the number of hours that an attorney will need to put in to your case and the amount of experience that attorney has with your particular type of case. You should look for an Atty. who has experience in your kind of case and stay away from general practitioners (attorneys who dabble in immigration cases but handle everything else – divorce, criminal law, civil law, wills and trusts, etc.). It’s impossible to be an expert in immigration law if you’re constantly engaged in other types of law. Immigration law is constantly changing, with new court decisions, regulations, policy changes, and procedures being introduced every day.
• Trusts

Finance Law

• Tax Law
  Immigration law is a highly-specialized area of the law, what many believe is second only to tax law in its complexity. There is a different type of visa for nearly every letter of the alphabet and then various types of visas under those letters. The law changes on a daily basis, with new memos, regulations and court cases affecting all nuances of various sub-practice areas. The law is so complicated that even most immigration lawyers specialize in one or two key areas of immigration (business OR deportation defense OR employer compliance OR consular processing and waivers).  Honestly, you will open yourself up to more liability if you try to educate yourself and screw the case up.