As defined by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), adjustment of status is the process through which an immigrant can apply for a green card (permanent residence) while holding a valid non-immigrant visa. If you are eligible, you can adjust your status without returning to your native country. Here, our Los Angeles immigration attorney…
Naturalization is the legal process through which a foreign born immigrant can obtain American citizenship. While you may be familiar with naturalization, you may not have heard the term “denaturalization”—at least not until very recently. Last month, President Trump’s Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the creation of a brand new section dedicated solely to investigating…
On March 10th, 2020, the Los Angeles Times published an important editorial highlighting the disheartening and distributing case of a 17-year-old asylum seeker who had seemingly protected disclosures he made in therapy used against him in official legal proceedings. While the boy was told that the information he shared with mental health professionals would be…
There are few things more frustrating than dealing with a delayed visa application. A delay can cause serious stress and hardship. It is one of the issues that immigration lawyers get asked about most often: What can I do to expedite my immigration case? While the answer depends on your specific circumstances, you should know…
According to a report from The New York Times, the Trump Administration is once against pushing sharp increases in immigration fees—dramatically increasing the costs of certain court filings. If they go into effect, the changes could put a deep financial strain on vulnerable immigrants. In some cases, the fees could make it cost prohibitive for…
According to a report from The Washington Post, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the Trump Administration’s implementation of the Migrant Protocols Protocols (MPP)—often referred to more simply as the “Remain in Mexico” policy. However, later in that afternoon, the San Francisco-based federal court voted to suspend its order, which will allow the MPP…
How To Handle Traffic Tickets On Your Naturalization Application N-400 When you're applying for naturalization to become a U.S. citizen, how do you deal with traffic tickets? Let's say you have a minor speeding ticket with no arrest, a parking ticket, or some other sort of motor vehicle citation. How do you handle…
An O-1 visa is a type of non-immigrant visa that is reserved specifically for people with “extraordinary” abilities. As explained by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), you may be eligible for an O-1 visa if you can demonstrate a record of superior talent and/or ability in the field such as the arts, education,…
In January, nine migrant parents who were unlawfully deported from the United States without their children made a historic return to the country. The group—which was made up of eight fathers and one mother—was greeted by family and well-wishers when they arrived at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in the middle of the night. They…
According to a report from The New York Times, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a lawsuit against California over its new state law banning privately run immigration detention facilities. At the same time, the Trump Administration also announced legal action against New Jersey and King County, Washington. Both of those jurisdictions recently put…
