Services

What I do, and what each path requires

I work on two fronts. One is for those who want to turn what they have already built into autonomy. The other is for those who need to protect their right to remain in the country.

Below is what each process asks for, how long it takes, and what my work covers.

Career and permanent residence

EB-1A

Green card through extraordinary ability, with no sponsor required.

This is the path for someone who already has something to prove. You do not depend on an employer to petition, and the autonomy starts with the process itself.

Preparation: as little as 150 days. Those who arrive with organized material take far less. Those in the middle of a large project, or who still need to satisfy the continuity requirement in their role, can take eight to eleven months to file.

Government decision: from fifteen days, with premium processing.

For Indian and Chinese nationals.

There is a significant EB-1A backlog in visa processing for both countries. Fortunately, a self-petitioner with a previously filed, successful EB petition can carry over his/her previous Priority Date, thereby significantly shortening the wait during the EB-1A process from FOURTEEN YEARS to as little as thirty days upon submission of the Application for Adjustment of Status.

EB-3

Green card through professional qualification, with employer sponsorship.

The path runs through three stages, each with its own phases, and depends on your employer for much of the way.

Stage 1. Labor Certification (PERM), at the Department of LaborDocument the qualifications the role requires (15 days). Obtain the prevailing wage determination (100 to 180 days). Run the advertisement and complete the recruitment protocol (100 to 175 days). Processing time upon uploading the PERM to the Department of Labor (300 to 440 days).

Stage 2. Immigrant Petition15 days with premium processing, 180 days on the standard track.

Stage 3. Final stage, through the Department of State180 to 400 days.

Total: two to almost four years.

Defense and the right to stay

For those who need to protect their right to remain in the country.

Removal Defense

Defense in deportation proceedings.

If you are already in proceedings, there is a path most people do not know about: Cancellation of Removal, the ten-year rule. Those who obtain it stop the deportation and become permanent residents outright. While there is a backlog in this category, the successful applicant will have employment authorization and may apply for Advance Parole for purposes of being able to travel overseas in advance of the arrival of the green card itself.

The court requires four things:

Ten years of continuous physical presence in the country
Good moral character throughout that period
No disqualifying convictions
Exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to a spouse, parent or child who is a US citizen or permanent resident

The last one is where most cases are decided, and it is where I work.

One warning: a single trip of ninety days, or trips totalling one hundred and eighty, break continuous presence.

Timeline: 180 days to five years, depending on the judge. If you are detained, thirty to forty five days.

Unlawful Presence Waiver

Waiver of unlawful presence, filed before you leave the country.

Someone who entered without inspection and is now married to a US citizen faces a familiar trap: obtaining the immigrant visa requires leaving the United States, and leaving triggers the unlawful presence bar, which separates the family for years.

The provisional waiver reverses the order. You obtain the decision before travelling to the consular interview, and you leave the country already knowing the answer.

It requires showing extreme hardship to your US citizen or permanent resident spouse or parent, son, daughter or sibling of a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident.

Political Asylum and Withholding of Removal

Protection for those who cannot go back.

These are two paths, and the difference between them decides your case.

Political asylum requires a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group. The application runs within one year of your last entry, with exceptions.

Withholding of Removal carries no such deadline, but the standard of proof is higher: persecution more likely than not. It bars your removal to that country, without opening the path to permanent residence.

If you missed the one-year deadline, there is still a path.

Timeline: 180 to 350 days. The current Administration is accelerating this process after research found that approximately ninety percent (90%) of all Political Asylum cases are fraudulent. This is consistent with this office’s longstanding analysis. Cases with final hearings set five years or more out are being held in as little as thirty days in a seemingly random call up by ICE to reduce the case load of “less substantively justified requests.”

The documents each process requires

What to gather before our first conversation

Pulling the material together before the consultation saves weeks. Here is what each process asks for.

EB-1A

Resume
Personal income tax returns for the three previous years
Two recent pay stubs
List of former supervisors and skip managers at every employer, current and past
The job title of each of them
News and journal articles about projects you carried out
Awards you have received
Professional organizations you belong to
Articles you have written
Patents listing you as a contributor

EB-3

Resume
Personal income tax returns for the three previous years
Two recent pay stubs
List of former supervisors and skip managers at every employer, current and past
The job title of each of them

Removal Defense

The same five items as the EB-3, plus:

Proof of residence for the past twelve years
Proof of religious and political affiliation, or of disability

Unlawful Presence Waiver

Proof of the family relationship with the US citizen or permanent resident (marriage or birth certificate)
Proof of that relatives citizenship or permanent residence
Proof of your entry and length of stay in the country
Documentation of the extreme hardship a denial would cause your relative: financial, medical, educational, emotional, and conditions in the country of origin
Criminal record, if any
Proof that the immigrant visa process has already begun

Political Asylum and Withholding of Removal

Identity document and proof of nationality
Proof of the date of your last entry into the United States
A detailed account of the facts behind the application
Evidence of the persecution: police reports, medical records, photographs, communications, court decisions
Witness documents or statements from anyone able to confirm the facts
Material on conditions in your country of origin
Documents for the family members included in the application

What is included, and what is not

On every process: all legal services, including each consultation, are provided directly by me. You are never handed off to a paralegal.

NOT INCLUDED

EB-1A

Paralegal services, such as organizing the exhibits for filing
Photocopying of exhibits and other documents
Expert opinions
Shipping and postage

EB-3

Paralegal services, including placing the required advertisements in local newspapers and professional journals
Organizing and photocopying
Shipping and postage

Defense and the right to stay, in all forms

Applies to Removal Defense, Unlawful Presence Waiver, Political Asylum and Withholding of Removal.

Travel expenses, including tolls, food, lodging, shipping and parking
Paralegal services, such as document preparation and filing
Photocopying and copies
Psychological, medical and expert reports

Not sure which path is yours?

That is exactly what the evaluation resolves.

Request a case evaluation