Practice Areas
Labor Certification
Requirement for U.S. employers seeking to employ certain persons whose immigration to the United States is based on job skills or nonimmigrant temporary workers coming to perform services for which qualified authorized workers are unavailable in the United States. Labor certification is issued by the Secretary of Labor and contains attestations by U.S. employers as to the numbers of U.S. workers available to undertake the employment sought by an applicant, and the effect of the alien’s employment on the wages and working conditions of U.S. workers similarly employed. Determination of labor availability in the United States is made at the time of a visa application and at the location where the applicant wishes to work.
Green Cards
You may be eligible to apply for a green card (permanent residence) through your family, a job offer or employment, refugee or asylum status, or a number of other special provisions. In some cases, you may even be able to self petition or have a record created for permanent residence on your behalf. In general, to meet the requirements for permanent residence in the United States, you must:
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Be eligible for one of the immigrant categories established in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA)
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Have a qualifying immigrant petition filed and approved for you (with a few exceptions)
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Have an immigrant visa immediately available
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Be admissible to the United States
Each requirement is detailed below.
Eligibility for an Immigrant Category
Individuals who want to become immigrants (permanent residents) through their qualified family member, a job offer or employment, or a special category will generally be classified in categories based on a preference system. Except for immediate relatives of a U.S. citizen who are given the highest immigration priority and a few other exceptions, Congress has set a finite number of visas that can be used each year for each category of immigrants.
Family Based
Some relatives of U.S. citizens, known as immediate relatives, do not have to wait for a visa to become available. There is no limit to the number of visas that can be utilized in this category in a particular year. Immediate relatives include:
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Parents of a U.S. citizen
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Spouses of a U.S. citizen
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Unmarried children under the age of 21 of a U.S. citizen
Note: U.S. citizens must be at least 21 years old to apply for their parents.
Job or Employment Based
People who want to become immigrants based on employment or a job offer may apply for permanent residence or an immigrant visa abroad according to the following employment based preferences:
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First Preference: Priority Workers, including aliens with extraordinary abilities, outstanding professors and researchers, and certain multinational executives and managers
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Second Preference: Members of professions holding an advanced degree or persons of exceptional ability (including individuals seeking a National Interest Waiver)
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Third Preference: Skilled Workers, professionals and other qualified workers
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Fourth Preference: Certain special immigrants including those in religious vocations
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Fifth Preference: Employment creation immigrants (investors or entrepreneurs) -USCIS
Adjustment of Status
The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) permits the change of an individual's immigration status while in the United States from nonimmigrant or parolee (temporary) to immigrant (permanent) if the individual was inspected and admitted or paroled into the United States and is able to meet all required qualifications for a green card (permanent residence) in a particular category. The common term for a change to permanent status is “adjustment of status.”
The INA provides an individual two primary paths to permanent resident status. Adjustment of status is the process by which an eligible individual already in the United States can get permanent resident status (a green card) without having to return to their home country to complete visa processing. -USCIS
Visas
Extensions of all non-immigrant visa types and changes of status from one visa type to another
Student Visa
H Visa (Work)
L Visa (Managerial)
J Visa (Research)
P Visa (Artists/Athletes/Entertainers)
Defense against Removal
Representation before Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), ICE Deportation and Removal branch, and Immigration Court (Executive Office for Immigration Review).
Family Immigration
Providing legal advice and representation in all types of family law cases.
Traffic Violations
Providing legal advice and court representation in all types of traffic violation cases.