Visa Lawyer Blog

by

The Law Office of Jacob J. Sapochnick is delighted to introduce associate attorney, Ms. Ekaterina Powell,  for our second staff spotlight.

Ms. Powell has worked for our firm since June 2010 and is one of six attorneys working in our law office. Ms. Powell specializes in various family-based, investment-based, and employment-based immigration matters. Ms. Powell’s specific focus of work is on nonimmigrant and immigrant work and investment visas, extraordinary ability petitions, national interest waivers, EB-5 investment petitions, waivers of inadmissibility, VAWA cases, H-1B/LCA compliance matters, government worksite audits and investigations, as well as complex requests for evidence, motions and appeals.

ekaterina
Bio: After receiving her law degree in Russia in 2007, Ms. Powell decided to make California her permanent home. Within only three years of immigrating to the U.S., Ms. Powell graduated from an American law school and became a California licensed attorney.

Continue reading

by

USCIS recently announced new policy changes regarding Form I-693, Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record. Starting June 1, 2014, USCIS has limited the validity period for all Forms I-693 to one year from the date that USCIS receives the form. This updated policy applies to any Form I-693 supporting a benefit application that USCIS adjudicates on or after June 1, 2014.

If you are applying for adjustment of status, you may submit Form I-693 in one of the following ways:

Continue reading

by

8077356084_7f4aede836_z

By Lupe Lopez

Daniel couldn’t take it anymore.  Here he was being tortured, humiliated, and abused in the country where he thought he would be able to live a better life.  He could recall the excitement he felt when he first arrived in the United States.  He was young, inexperienced, and hopeful of living the “American Dream.”  Instead, Daniel was in a living nightmare.  He was trapped (or so he believed) in a marriage that was filled with verbal, physical, and sexual abuse.  He believed that there was nothing he could do but to ride it out.  Now that he was here, he was ashamed to go back to his home country having failed at marriage and at life.

Daniel had come to the United States as a tourist.  Daniel met Bethany through a friend and from the moment Daniel met her, he thought this was the woman of his dreams.  He fell in love with her immediately.  They began dating and soon after they decided to room together; not just to save money, but also to spend more time together.  In the beginning all went well.   But when it was time for Daniel to go home, Bethany begged him to stay.  Bethany immediately proposed to him and told him that he couldn’t leave without her.  Daniel was elated and accepted her proposal.  They married soon after.

Continue reading

by

8011274458_95ea582e2f_z

By Marie Puertollano, Esq. 

Form 1-131 Application for Travel Document is the form you must file with immigration when requesting a travel authorization from USCIS. This Application for Travel Document can be requested in various situations for the purposes of obtaining a reentry permit or advance parole.

One of the most common Form I-131 application’s we file within our practice, is the advance parole for an applicant who has a pending I-485 Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status application for a green card. While awaiting a decision from USCIS about the green card application, the applicant CANNOT leave the United States without a travel authorization issued by USCIS, or the application will be considered abandoned.  Given that many applicants need to travel while their green card application is pending, we submit an I-485 Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status application along with Form I-131 Application for Travel Document to request an advance parole which will allow the green card applicant to travel once it is issued by USCIS, approximately 60-90 days after being filed. The applicant need not pay any fees for the I-131 Application for Travel Document, if it was submitted with an I-485 Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, to obtain a green card.

Continue reading

by

8468738832_c2ce784c7c_z
For many, the American Dream has proved to be far beyond reach. This is the story of our client, Rafael Espinoza Iniguez, as told by his wife, Maria:

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness are birth rights our government sought to protect through a living breathing document known as the Declaration of Independence. These “inalienable rights” have been challenged at times by life’s many obstacles and ironies, some of which are brought about by medical conditions, which are alleviated by research institutions, by economic difficulties, which are alleviated by charities, by social pressures, which are alleviated by advocacy groups, and by injustices, which are alleviated by our government; the institution which has declared to protect our rights as citizens. Our government was designed in its inception as a progressive government by our founding fathers, who were dissatisfied by the tyranny of monarchies, and created this nation with the goal of establishing a just government, recognizing the rights all human beings are entitled to. And so, in pursuing our own life, liberty, and happiness, this is our family challenge:

To present our story in order to advocate for comprehensive immigration reform that will allow entrance into the United States for law abiding and deserving individuals, who have come to this great nation in the pursuit of that same happiness our founding fathers were in search of. 

Continue reading

by

5554035521_f6b59ccafa

By Yingfei Zhou, Esq.

Today, June 09, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that children who waited for years with their parents to obtain immigrant visas still have to go to the back of the line when they turn 21.

BACKGROUND: The case, Mayorkas v Cuellar de Osorio, began as two separate suits, one joining many individual plaintiffs, and the other certified as class action.  One of the respondents involved in this case is a Salvadoran family-sponsored immigrant who was in line for a visa along with her 13-year-old son.  But after years of waiting, her son turned 21 and government officials said he no longer qualified as an eligible child.  The aged-out son was then placed at the back of the line, resulting in a wait of several more years.

Continue reading

by

The Law Office of Jacob J. Sapochnick is delighted to introduce our very own legal assistant/client relations specialist, Ms. Catherine Nieto in our first staff spotlight. Ms. Nieto has worked with our firm since 2012 and is one of the very first people you meet when coming in to the office or calling our office. She is not only personable, but genuinely enjoys learning about our clients lives and situations.

cathy

 Bio: Ms. Nieto was born and has lived in San Diego, CA all of her life. Ms. Nieto’s passion for immigration stems from her family’s immigration to the U.S. many years ago from Mexico. Ms. Nieto is fluent in English and Spanish. Her knowledge  of Spanish enables her to assist our Spanish speaking clients. Ms. Nieto attended  San Diego High School and Southwestern Community College.

 Her responsibilities include assisting attorneys with immigration cases, which  include: Marriage Adjustments, Naturalization, and Removal proceedings. Ms.  Nieto helps to analyze case documents, completes paperwork, and maintains  contact with clients.

Continue reading

by
4461975475_0327d6d722_z

Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson

On June 05, 2014 the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Jeh Johnson, announced the renewal process for enrollment in the program, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Effective immediately, USCIS will begin to accept renewal requests, as well as initial requests from DACA applicants who have not yet benefitted from the program. The first DACA applications that were approved by USCIS will expire in September 2014. USCIS recommends that initial DACA approved applicants file their renewal requests approximately 4 months before their current DACA expires. Following the renewal process, these applicants will be able to remain lawfully present in the United States and apply for an employment authorization valid for up to 2 years. According to USCIS, more than 560,000 applicants have already been approved under DACA since April of this year. The Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Jeh Johnson, added that children who crossed the border illegally with their parent(s) in search of a better life, should not be punished as adult offenders and should thus receive different treatment, given that they did not have a choice in the matter.

NOTE: Individuals who have not resided continuously within the United States since June 15, 2007 are not eligible to apply for DACA.

Continue reading