When the new government arrested the young man’s father for his involvement with the former regime, the police accused the father of also being a member of the suspected tribe and that he planned on acting against the new government. He was subjected to torture, starvation, and threats to his family. The police would also go to the young man’s home and search it with out warrant, stalk him and his family, and make threats on his and his family’s lives. The police ordered the family not to leave the area and told them that they were being watched. They also accused the young man and his family of being subversives.

On more than one occasion, the police would enter their house, conduct a search, and physically abuse the young man’s mother in front of him. During one incident, he and his brother were beaten by the police and his brother suffered severe head trauma. Fearing for their lives, the young man’s mother decided to get her two sons out of the country. She secured two tourist visas to the United States and put the boys on a plane bound for New York. The boys then made their way to Seattle. Fortunately, the new government was unaware of what the young man’s mother had done and did not realize that the boys had escaped until it was too late to stop them.

Once in the US, the young man and his brother began to establish roots and attended school despite only having tourist visas. The young man joined his high school track team where he distinguished himself as an exceptional athlete. His coach took interest in him and suggested that he apply for a college scholarship. The young man told his coach about his situation and the coach then realized that he had immigration issues. The coach then advised the young man to seek political asylum and assisted the young man in seeking legal assistance.

The US may grant asylum to a refugee who have escaped persecution in his or her country due to race, ethnicity, politics, religion, sexual orientation, or membership in a social group. He or she must also demonstrate credible and well founded fear of what will happen if he or she is returned to their home country and that no part of his or her country is safe. The refugee must not have sought refuge in a third country, must not have persecuted others or have committed non-political crimes, and must have sought asylum within one year of arriving in the US.

Here, the young man was able to show all of the above but had been in the country for more than a year before applying for asylum. This was the main obstacle I as the attorney had to surmount. Also, we had to establish the current country conditions were still hostile to him by showing State Department and Amnesty International reports. In order to show a credible fear, I had the young man write his own story and state why he was scared to return and how much he feared for his life. None the less, the immigration service opposed asylum because the young man did not request asylum within the required amount of time.

What I had to show to the court was that the young man did not file within the one year time limit because if extraordinary circumstances. Here, the young man came to the US when he was only 15 years old and did not know what his legal recourse was until he was 18. Furthermore, when he first arrived, he spoke very little English and the family members who were already in the US and who already had their green cards were unsophisticated and became green card holders through other means. They did not know about asylum. The young man only became aware of his situation when he spoke to his high school track coach about a college scholarship. Furthermore, I argued that once the young man realized his situation, he acted quickly and filed his application for asylum in a very reasonable time.

The court agreed with this argument and granted his asylum application. He later became a legal resident and is now a citizen. He still has not been able to return home to visit as he still fears persecution and has also lost contact with his family. He fears the worst.

The father had been in the country for 15 years and had a criminal record. Also, he had used false identities to secure work. However, I was able to show that he had made great strides in his life to improve himself and showed that he was a good father to his children and a go husband. More importantly, I showed that he was a good tax payer.

His status became an issue when a domestic dispute between the he and the wife resulted in a domestic violence charge and one for violating a protection order. This fact in addition to his previous criminal convictions made his case very challenging and the possibility of deportation was high.

What I had to show was that, despite his past, he had worked to become a good and productive member of society and that he was truly sorry for what he had done. Also, I had to show that the domestic violence charge was leveled against him even though he was not the instigator. I showed that the wife was doing something self destructive and that the husband was trying to stop her from hurting herself and her kids. In addition, I had to show that the police report indicated the wife as the instigator and that the police officer were required to make an arrest. He had no attorney at the time.

In addition, I had to explain the circumstance surrounding the protection order. This protection order was imposed on him by the prosecutor as part of the domestic violence charge. I had to show that the protection order was something the family did not want and that the protection order was violated because the family wanted him to return home. Even then, I had him tell the court that he was sorry for what he had done.

Furthermore, I had to show that deporting him would cause extreme hardship to his US citizen family particularly his children. For this, I had to show that he was the sole income earner of the family and that the wife could not support the children on her own. Both children are very young and the wife has a history of instability.

As a result of this, I was able to assist the family avoid deportation. The husband now has his green card and is busy taking care of his family.

The young woman came to my office asked me if she could still get her green card despite what happened to her marriage and her being HIV positive. I let her know that her case was challenging but that she had options. Here, I told her she is a victim of abuse at the hands of U.S. citizen. As such, the law allows her to apply for a green card independent of her husband. It is called a self-petition which is something that came about through the Violence Against Women Act.

The challenge now was to over come her HIV status. The immigration laws make applying for her green card if she has HIV difficult but not impossible. What we must show is that the cost of her treatment would not eventually fall on the U.S. tax payer. In other words, we had to prove that she would not become a public charge. I was able to do this by showing that she had private insurance that was also supplemented by support from a non-profit organization that relied on donations and not taxes.

I filed her application for her green card and sent proof of how her treatment was being paid. Initially, I was able to have the immigration service grant her a work permit and a few months later she was summoned for an interview. I prepared her for the interview and I attended with her. I made sure it went well. She eventually got her green card and is still healthy.

James Ding
Project Manager
Greater China Industries, Inc.

You must make your request within one year of entering the country and you cannot have arrived from a third country after having left the country that you are requesting asylum from. You are eligible to request a work permit while your application is pending and if you granted asylum, you may then file for your green card.

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If you are an American citizen or a foreign national who is engaged to an American citizen and residing in your home country, it is possible for the American citizen to file a fiancée visa for the foreign national fiancée to be able to enter the United States and marry the United States citizen. What is required is that the American citizen has met the foreign national within the two years prior to filing the fiancée visa application.

Once the foreign national fiancée has entered the United States, the United States citizen and the foreign national must marry within 90 days of the foreign national fiancée’s arrival. As such, the visa holder will not be eligible for a work permit. If the foreign national has dependants such as a child, a derivative visa is available which will allow the dependant to accompany the foreign national fiancée.

Non-Immigrant Visas for Foreign National Spouses

If you are an American citizen and are married to a foreign national who still resides in his or her home country, and have filed a family immigrant visa petition for that person, a temporary visa is available that will allow the foreign national to come to the United States and wait for the immigrant visa to become available. This temporary visa will allow the foreign national to work. Also, a derivative visa is available for dependants who will accompany the foreign spouse.

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A visa petition is subject to what is called a “priority date” which determines how long it will take for a visa to become available after a petition is filed. A “priority date” is determined by what type of relative you are petitioning for and what country they are from. For example, a spouse would be considered an immediate relative of a U.S. citizen and considered “first preference”. These priority dates are available on the U.S. State Department web site and are updated monthly

The foreign national that you are petitioning for must first have an available visa before he or she can apply for a green card.

Please be aware that if you are a U.S. citizen and married a foreign national who came into the country legally (through a valid visa), it is possible for you to file an immigrant petition on your spouse’s behalf and for your spouse to simultaneously apply for a green card while still in the United States.

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The first employment preference is for foreign nationals with extraordinary ability in the areas of business, science, the arts, and athletics who have gained professional notoriety and sustained international acclaim. This category is also available for multinational executives and managers.

The second preference category is for those who are professionals who hold advanced degree or the equivalent of an advanced degree. This category is also for those foreign nationals of extraordinary abilities whose work will benefit the national interest of the United States.

The third preference category is reserved for professional, skilled, and other workers. A professional worker is someone who fills a job in which at least a bachelor degree is required. A skilled worker is someone who fills a job in which at least two years of experience is required. This visa category is also available for those who have no degree and less than two years experience.

The third preference visa is typically used for nurses who want to work in the United States who are not coming from Canada. This is because nurses in the United States do not always require advanced degrees but are skilled workers. If you are a nurse who is a Canadian national, you may enter the United States under NAFTA. A Canadian nurse can come to the United States to work with a TN visa as part of NAFTA.

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H-1B visas are for those who are filling specialty occupations that require a degree or the equivalent experience. It is for temporary work in the United States and the foreign national employee must work for the employer who sponsored. An H-1B is renewable for up to 6 years. It may be possible for you apply for an employment based immigrant visa from an H-1B. If the immigrant visa petition is approved, you can renew your H-1B in 3 year increments until an immigrant visa is available. Derivative visas are available for H-1B visa holder’s dependants but the dependants cannot work. However, they may attend school.

Intra-Company Transferee L-1A and B

If you are a foreign national who works for a company that has a presence in the United States as a parent company, subsidiary, or branch, you may enter the United States as a transferee of that company. For example, if you are a German national who works for BMW in Germany and you are to be transferred to BMW in the United States in either a managerial, executive, or technical advisor, this visa would be available to you. Initially, a L-1A or B holder is granted a 3 year length of stay. Below is an explanation of L-1A and L-1B visas:

L-1A: Executive or manager with a maximum duration of stay of 7 years

L-1B : Position of specialized knowledge with a maximum duration of stay of 5 years

You must have worked for that company for at least one year before coming into the United States on either L-1A or B.

NAFTA (TN Visa)

This visa is for Canadian and Mexican nationals who are engaged in employment and activities at a professional level. A TN visa is valid for 1 year and may be renewed multiple times. Self employment is forbidden. Also, a derivative visa called a TD visa is available for dependents of TN visa holders.

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