From U-Visa to Green Card: Our Client’s Success Story
Our client’s green card was approved (U-Visa) one month after RFE was submitted! (Of course, it took USCIS over a year to issue the RFE!).
U-visas are granted to victims of criminal activity who help the police in the investigation or prosecution of the crime. In essence, the U-visa is a way to help victims less afraid of reporting criminal activity, to help them remain in the US to see that justice is done, and to thank them for their role in the investigation and prosecution of a crime. After four years living in the US on a U-visa, a U-visa holder is eligible to file for adjustment of status (green card). After five years of living in the US with the green card, the noncitizen may be eligible to become a US citizen–at least.
In this case, we submitted a strong and approvable application that should have been approved with our first submission. However, to respond to the RFE’s request for evidence of the client’s residence in the US, we collected substantially more evidence that the client lived in the US for the required years and more. This work required brainstorming with the client about which documents to include, finding documents that he otherwise would not have located, and writing letters of support from family and friends. Our team did this legal work from Cambridge, MA for this client who lives in California. Less than one month after the response submission, our firm was notified that the case was approved! Now, our client can continue to live in the US with his green card, and he can start counting the days until he can file for US citizenship. Congratulations, Mr. S.!
If you need to talk to an experienced immigration attorney. We’ve helped hundreds of people traverse the complicated immigration and citizenship process. We would love to help you as well. Call (617-272-7980) or email hello@cambridgeimmigrationlaw.com to get in touch.
Almost two years ago, a mother of an adult son called our office desperate for help. Her son recently attended a US Citizenship interview. Shortly after the interview, he received a Notice of Intent to Revoke his previously renewed and approved marriage-based green-card. Her son (the applicant for US citizenship) was shocked by the accusations in the Notice. USCIS accused her son of lying to get his green card, lying on various immigration applications, and then lying at his US Citizenship interview.
Our client of many years recently got their Citizenship Application approved! When they came to us, they were a newly engaged couple who had experienced some complications with their Fiancé Visa application. They decided that they couldn’t wait to get married so we filed an I-130 instead. Once their application was approved, we worked with them on the National Visa Center applications and prepared them for the Embassy Interview. Not long after that, the couple was reunited in Massachusetts! A couple of years later we submitted their I-751 application. While their I-751 was still pending we submitted their Citizenship Application. On the day of the interview, both the I-751 and the N-400 were approved! All these years later and the newly engaged couple has grown into a happily married family of four.
This week one of our clients became a US citizen in less than three months. She had been a permanent resident for more than 5 years and decided that it was time to take the next step in her immigration process. We immediately began to work with her and submitted a strong application to USCIS on her behalf. She was scheduled for her Naturalization interview within 3 months. Our attorney prepared our client for her naturalization interview and went with her to the interview. The attorney was with our client through the whole interview process to make sure everything went smoothly. Our client’s naturalization application was approved the same day. She is now a United States citizen, in what we consider record time.
This week, one of our clients got his green card approved. It was a long waiting period of over two years to get his green card approved. However, when his application was finally reviewed, he was approved without conducting an interview. Our firm made sure that his application was strong on paper which resulted in approval of his green card. Getting an approval of a green card without an interview is one of the best results we can achieve as an immigration firm. Congratulations to our client!
Our client’s immigrant visa (green card) application approved at US Embassy in Spain, and bonus? The client was able to travel to the US while he was waiting for the final approval. The US citizen spouse needed to return to the US before our client was able to get an immigrant visa, aka as a “green card.” We represented the couple as they were separated for over a year and half, during COVID, waiting for his immigrant visa to process through USCIS, the National Visa Center, and the US Embassy in Europe. Many months into the National Visa Center process, the client wanted to travel to the United States to see his US citizen daughter graduate from high school. Our team prepared a strong package for our client to show to US Customs and Immigration, proving that while he wanted to move to the US with a “green card,” at that time, he just wanted to enter the US for a few days to see his daughter graduate. His quick trip was a success, and a few short months later, he had his Embassy interview and his immigrant visa approved. He wrapped up his life in Europe and moved to the US to start a new life with his wife and children.
A client was arrested for soliciting a prostitute when he was caught in a sting at a local massage parlor. He successfully defeated the criminal case against him by winning “pre-trial” probation and completing probation without any problems. This meant that he had no criminal conviction. However, all criminal issues must be disclosed on US naturalization applications, and even dismissed cases can cause someone to be denied US naturalization. Here, the client waited until 5 years passed after finishing probation and then wanted to apply for citizenship. He was statutorily eligible, meaning there was no reason that USCIS had to deny his case. On the other hand, there was no reason that USCIS was required to approve his case. He had to prove that despite participating in activity that got him arrested, that he was a good person who deserved to become a US citizen. Our team prepared an excellent application that explained that this man was not defined by one error, was an upstanding member of his community, and deserved the privilege of becoming a US citizen. He was approved on the spot at the interview and sworn in as a US citizen on the same day as the interview.