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Non Immigrant Visa Waiver 212(d)(3)

Author: New York Immigration Lawyer Alena Shautsova All visas to the US can be classified as immigrant, non-immigrant and dual intent visas. Immigrant visas are basically “stickers” in one’s passport that allow a person to cross the border in the US and be admitted into the US an immigrant or a green card holder. They can be issued in various cate ...

When Vacated Conviction Sill Counts For Immigration Purposes

Author: New York Immigration Attorney Alena Shautsova You had your conviction vacated, and now you believe you have a “clean record.” It is time for your Immigration application, and you are wondering if you even need to mention that you were convicted, after all, that conviction is no longer valid... Well, it might be true that you are “not conv ...

245(i) Adjustment Of Status

Author: New York Green Card Lawyer Alena Shautsova I bet that almost every long-term US immigrant has heard of the 245i law. But I have noticed that many have misconceptions about the statute that how it actually can be used for a person’s benefit. 245(i) allows to adjust status without leaving the US for those who: entered the US without insp ...

Immigration Benefits For Military Members And Their Families

Author: New York Immigration Lawyer Alena Shautsova U.S. military provides much more immigration benefits to its members and their families than the public is generally discussing. For example, many know that U.S. military provides an expected path to the US citizenship, but few are aware that in some cases, it is also possible to obtain a law ...

Diplomatic Visas: Change Of Status, Adjustment Of Status And Out Of Status

Author: New York Immigration Attorney Alena Shautsova I have noticed that there is little to none information online regarding diplomatic visas, such as A and G. I feel it comes from a general assumption that those visas reserve for such a small percentage of “high officials”, that they will never ever need a regular Immigration lawyer in the US. ...

Permanent Bar: Possible Solutions

Author: New York Immigration lawyer Alena Shautsova A permanent bar is a scary thing for any immigrant: a permanent bar means that a person is disqualified from any relief in the US until he/she serves 10 years outside of the United States. There is no waiver for a permanent bar. In addition, after the 10 years are served, a person has to obtain ...

IJ Must Consider Immigrant’s Ability To Pay When Setting The Bond

Author: Immigration Attorney Alena Shautsova An immigration bond is an amount an immigrant has to pay to be released from the immigration detention. The usual situation involving an immigration bond would unfold when asylum seekers I detained at the border and placed in detention pending credible fear interview. If an asylum seeker passes an inter ...

Asylum: Family As A Social Group And Ms-13 Gang

Author: Asylum Lawyer Alena Shautsova A family as a social group for the purposes of asylum claims is a relatively new trend: the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) recognized the family as a social group in 2011. The law is not settled yet, however, and many cases are hard to win at the first level, especially if the one-year deadline was los ...

US Supreme Court Decision Regarding Immigration Bond

Author: New York Immigration Lawyer Alena Shautsova On February 27, 2018, US Supreme Court in the case of Jennings v. Rodriguez stated that the lower Federal Court (the Ninth Circuit court) was wrong when held that detained immigrants have a right to periodic bond hearings. It has to be noted that under the Immigration law, usually, in a case ...

Stuck I 751 Petition

Author: Green Card Attorney Alena Shautsova An I 751 petition is a petition that has to file by a conditional resident who received his/her status based on marriage. Without the grant of the I 751 petition, a person’s application for citizenship (naturalization) would not be granted. It is a necessary step towards “legalization” in the US. I ...