Criminal Law

• Criminal Defense
  The US Supreme Court in the landmark case of Padilla v. Kentucky, 559 US 356, the US Supreme Court decided that criminal defense attorneys must advise noncitizen clients about the deportation risks of a guilty plea. Any plea of guilty or no contest, or even a suspended sentence or a deferred entry of judgment (plea in abeyance), could result in negative US immigration consequences. Ms.Cardenas does not practice criminal law, but is knowledgeable in the consequences of criminal convictions, and can be consulted and/or retained to provide this advice and guidance to you and/or your criminal defense attorney.
• DUI/DWI
  Applicants may be declared inadmissible for several health-related reasons, either because they are a carrier of a disease of public health significance, lack required vaccinations (such as the Covid-19 vaccine), have a physical or mental disorder that poses a threat to themselves or others, or are deemed to be a drug abuser or addict. These issues often arise as part of medical examinations that occur prior to a visa interview and are reported in the doctor’s findings to US immigration authorities. Applicants who have been arrested or convicted for an alcohol-or drug-related offense may be referred back to visit a doctor for further questioning after the visa interview. One DUI conviction, oftentimes, do not have a negative effect on an immigration process. But a recent DUI conviction or two or more DUI convictions can cause delays during consular processing.  Each case is different.  We have experience in preparing our clients for medical examiniations which can be the reason why your visa application is denied either outright or delayed for a considerable period of time.
• Traffic Violations
  Any applicant who has been arrested or convicted for any offense at any time, no matter how old (other than minor traffic violations) must be prepared to disclose these facts and produce original and certified court documents as part of their US immigration application. Typical offenses that can complicate visa processing are crimes involving fraud or deceit, crimes against persons or property, and drug-related offenses. Crimes that an applicant believes to be a major bar to their immigration application oftentimes are not, and crimes that an applicant believes not to be a bar to their immigration application are often time a serious impediment to their immigration applications. Unlike the unlawful presence waiver, hardship to US citizen child may be considered along with hardship to a US citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse or parent.
• Sex Crimes
  Immigrants with no legal status who have been indirectly victimized by the crime against a family member (including a US citizen child unmarried and under 21 years old) may be eligible to apply for a U Visa if he/she meets all of the requirements. Parents of United State citizen children (under 21 years old) who have been victims of any serious crime such as sexual molestation, rape, or sexual abuse make up a large majority of indirect victims of U-Visas. The police agency executes the certification in the name of the parent when the parent can demonstrate that he/she was a victim of a serious crime against their child and that they were cooperative in the investigation and/or prosecution of the crime against their child.
• Robbery
  The U visa status may be available to victims of domestic violence crimes, stalking, sexual assault, or victims of certain other crimes which can be crimes that have nothing to do with domestic abuse including aggravated assault, robbery, bribing a witness, and labor and wage violations that are substantiated by the labor department in your particular state. There is no statute of limitations (deadline) to apply for a U Visa. The application can be filed years after the crime was reported.
• Misdemeanors
  Successful Renewed DACA renewal application for an individual who thought that he did not qualify due to his criminal record using the USCIS Policy relating to misdemeanor convictions as they are treated for DACA purposes.
• Assault
  You have not been convicted of a felony, significant misdemeanor, or three (3) or more other misdemeanors, and do not otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety. If the misdemeanor convictions were three or more but were related to the same incident, they all may count as one misdemeanor conviction. A DUI conviction disqualifies you. A domestic violence conviction disqualifies you. A simple assault conviction does not disqualify you. If you convictions were all based upon one incident, your multiple convictions may be counted as one conviction and you may qualify. We need to review your conviction record.
• Murder
  Serious crimes include domestic violence, felonious assault, kidnapping, wage discrimination, witness tampering, robbery, attempted murder, and sexual abuse of a minor. Family members of the principal applicant may also apply along with the victim and those members may include a spouse, parent, sibling or child. If you are undocumented and your U.S. citizen child is a victim of a crime, you may also qualify to file for a U non-immigrant visa as an indirect victim. If you are a essential witness to a crime, you may also apply for a U non-immigrant visa.
• Kidnapping

Immigration Law

• Citizenship and Naturalization
• Family Immigration
  Arelys Rico is a immigration paralegal with 10 years of experience in family based immigration. She works out of the California office and works directly with the firm's clients to prepare the petitions and applications for filing. She is the daughter of...
• Green Cards
• Student Visas
  You did not have lawful status on June 15, 2012; Therefore, if for example, you were in the United States on a student visa, or tourist visa on June 15, 2012 and it was still valid, you do not qualify for DACA.
• Work Visas
  We have obtained family-based and employment visas and green cards for clients from all around the world and when they get stuck in the process, we use means of communication that are only available to an AILA immigration attorney like Gloria Cardenas.
• Investor Visas
  Foreign investors applicants and their spouses and children under 21 years old can obtain their permanent residency green card through an EB-5 Visa program that was recently relaunched in the United States.