Musings on Immigration

We’ve all seen some of the hoops USCIS is making practitioners and employers jump through when trying to seek an L-1B (Specialized Knowledge Intracompany Transferee) approval for an employee and the daunting prospect of submitting a Motion to Reopen to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“CIS”) to challenge a wholly unfounded denial.   I think it goes without saying that filing a Motion to Reopen can not only be fruitless, but also be subject to what seems an endless processing time. My most recent approval was just this scenario, and we took it to federal court instead – a denied L-1B, and after only a few short months a reopening of the denial, and a response to an RFE, we now have an approved L-1B success story.      Fortunately, there is a much better alternative – look into filing a Declaratory Judgment Action in federal court.   It’s the best and most efficient way to challenge the decision AND make it an even playing field to argue yo...

A removal order in your record will not allow you to get a green card. Sometimes, people do not know that a Judge issued a removal order against them in the past. The removal order may be decades old or may be as recent as this week. The reasons are many: their attorneys did not inform them of their hearing dates, so they did not show up at the hearing; they never received the hearing date in the mail; they intentionally missed the hearing; etc. The remedy to getting rid of this removal order will depend on the reason a green card applicant has that order in the first place. A consultation with an attorney can shed light on the type of evidence the applicant will need to ask a court to terminate the removal order. Sometimes motions, forms, and proper evidence need to be filed with the court that issued the removal order. Judges do not take these motions lightly and it is highly discouraged to file several motions in a given case for fear of giving the impression that the applicant...