Here’s a common question I get from people who are stuck in administrative processing: “Hey Josh. Can you help me? I’m located in Texas (or Tehran or Washington State), and you’re in California in Los Angeles. Can you help me even though you and I are not located in the same place?”
The answer is always emphatically, “Yes, I can absolutely help you.” In fact, most of my clients are located somewhere other than where I am.
Let me explain exactly why that is, how these cases work, and what the solution is to your administrative processing delay. In case you don’t know me, my name is Josh Goldstein. I’m an immigration lawyer, and I help families across the country and around the world get their visas out of administrative processing.
Why can I help you even though you’re not near me?
So, why is it that I can help you even though you’re not located near me? First of all, I’m licensed to practice law in the state of New York and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and I am not licensed in the state of California. But why can I help you even though you’re not near me?
Immigration law is federal in nature
The answer is that immigration law is federal in nature. It is also administrative in nature. It’s a federal, administrative law. We have the same immigration laws uniformly across the United States, and at consulates around the world.
Consulates are issuing visas. They’re following U.S federal immigration law. It’s the same law, regardless of where you’re located, regardless of which consulate you’re dealing with.
What about location?
Here’s a follow-up question I often get, “Well, wait a minute. If you’re going to sue the agency to resolve my administrative processing delay and get the visa issued, how is that going to work? What court are you going to go to? You’re in California, and I’m somewhere else or I’m out of the country. How are we going to manage that?”
The answer is quite simple. I file (almost) all of the lawsuits against immigration agencies in Washington D.C. I’m able to do that because of something called venue.
The solution? Something called “venue”Under the federal rules of civil procedure, as a plaintiff, you can sue them where the agency is headquartered. So, all of the agencies and the consulates are managed by the state department. And the state department is headquartered in Washington D.C. In fact, all the agencies are headquartered in D.C.
So, no matter where you are located, no matter which consulate is sitting on your visa, if you need help, wherever you are, I am ready to help you. And I can help you regardless of your location. Contact me today.
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