Deportation Order Vacated & New Proceedings Ordered After Winning Appeal before the Board of Immigration Appeals
Our client was ordered deported-removed based upon his convictions charged by I.C.E. as involving moral turpitude. Since they were committed within several years of his admission, he was ineligible for cancellation of removal. His prior attorney, although promising to file the paperwork necessary to apply to readjust his status as a lawful permanent resident, failed to do so, and the Immigration Judge ordered his deportation.
We were retained for his appeal, and complied with the requirements of Matter of Lozada, in order to raise a claim of ineffective assistance by our client’s trial counsel. We also argued the Immigration Judge’s decision, sustaining the criminal grounds of deportability-removability, was erroneous because she failed to utilize a recent, controlling, B.I.A. precedent decision for analyzing crimes involving moral turpitude, including Matter of Silva Trevino III. The B.I.A. reversed our client’s deportation order, and sent his case back to the Judge for new proceedings. She must now reconsider her initial, threshold, determination of whether our client’s convictions actually render him deportable. Even if she makes such a finding, we have already filed the paperwork necessary for him to apply to readjust his status, based upon his marriage to a U.S. citizen, in conjunction with a waiver of inadmissibility. Clear, well researched, legal argument, combined with sympathetic facts – our client’s wife and children ended up in a homeless shelter while represented by prior counsel – can and will win the day!
Grant of Cancellation of Removal for Non-Permanent Resident: Documenting “Exceptional and Extremely Unusual Hardship”, Rehabilitation for Criminal Convictions, & Favorable Exercise of Discretion Warranted
Among the most difficult burdens to carry in a deportation-removal proceeding, is showing that a client’s permanent resident, or U.S. citizen, qualifying relative would suffer: “exceptional and extremely unusual hardship” if the client is deported. The standard was carefully constructed to limit this relief to a handful of cases nationally every year. Our client’s daughter had suffered from seizures, but it was unclear whether these were only febrile seizures, attributable to her young age, since she had not had any for years. In addition to obtaining hospital records documenting her seizure history, and the records of her speech therapy, we also assisted her parents in obtaining neurological evaluations which revealed speech processing disabilities and previously undiagnosed learning disabilities. Independent psychological examinations and reports reinforced the diagnosis, as did testimony from the child’s teachers. We also showed the devastating impact on the young girl which her father’s deportation would have.
After clearing the hurdle of demonstrating “exceptional and extremely unusual hardship”, we also needed to convince the Judge our client deserved a favorable exercise of discretion. Through testimony we established our client was truly remorseful for his prior criminal convictions; had genuinely rehabilitated himself; gained insight into his prior misconduct; that he had a solid work ethic and that he deserved a favorable exercise of discretion. By winning his case, we not only avoided his deportation, but helped him to gain status as a lawful permanent resident.
Motion to Reopen Denial of Temporary Protected Status Granted
Our client, a Salvadoran national, enjoyed a grant of temporary protected status following the 2001 earthquake in that country. For years he enjoyed the right to remain lawfully in this country, and was granted employment authorizations. Unfortunately, he was eventually denied his T.P.S. renewal, due to his “criminal convictions”. Years later, fearing detention and deportation by I.C.E., he sought our assistance. Our review of his criminal history revealed the U.S.C.I.S. adjudicator had mistakenly read our client’s record, and that our client was in fact eligible for protected status. Our motion to reopen was granted, our client has been reissued his employment authorization card, and no longer fears being deported.
Federal Court Hearing Granted: Motion to Vacate Aggravated Felony Conviction
Our client, a lawful permanent resident, was found removable for having been convicted of an “alien smuggling” aggravated felony. He maintained his prior criminal defense attorney had told him his guilty plea would not trigger his deportation. We obtained our client’s release from custody following a Lora bond hearing, and have worked with an experienced federal criminal defense attorney in bringing a motion to vacate the conviction: we provided criminal-immigration expertise by writing sections of the motion dealing with the aggravated felony, and ineffective assistance of counsel, arguments. Our client was granted a hearing on his motion to vacate his conviction, when such motions are simply, routinely, denied. The hearing was commenced, testimony taken, and we are still litigating this matter.
Three, I.N.A. §601(a), Provisional Waivers of Inadmissibility Granted
A non-citizen who enters the U.S. without inspection, or who overstays a lawful admission after his visa has expired, and who remains in the U.S. for a year or longer in that undocumented status, is rendered inadmissible to the U.S. for a ten (10) year period. Even if the person has a family member who can petition for him to gain status as a lawful permanent resident, historically, he or she must first leave the U.S., and then if they are eligible, apply for an I.N.A. §601 waiver of their inadmissibility, as part of the consular processing of their petition for an immigrant visa, or “green card”. This process divides families by requiring the non-citizen to apply from outside the U.S. – a process that often takes years.
President Obama acted to ease this suffering by enabling certain non-citizens to apply for an I.N.A. § 601(a) provisional waiver of inadmissibility from within the United States. The person must demonstrate the denial of a provisional waiver will cause their lawful permanent resident, or U.S. citizen, parent or spouse, to suffer extreme hardship, which is a difficult standard to meet.
This past month, two of our clients, for whom we previously obtained § 601(a) provisional waivers, just received their green cards after successfully completing their Consular interview in their native country; and a third client just had his provisional waiver approved. We are consistently successful with these cases because we carefully document the financial, psychological, and emotional hardship our clients’ family members will suffer if denied a waiver. We carefully collect, index and submit: medical records and reports; psychological evaluations; financial and tax records; employment records; and our clients’ children’s educational and special educational records. These records are in turn supported by the carefully prepared affidavits of our clients, their family and friends. We ensure the applications we submit are easy to read, well organized, and present the hardship in a compelling manner. While time consuming, we believe it is important to build a stronger bridge to ensure our clients get across safely.