The Law Offices of Wolf W. Kaufmann
Southern California Immigration Attorney
Telephone: (951) 710-3250
Email: info@wolfklaw.com
Main office in Riverside - Serving clients worldwide
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Problems entering the U.S., problems during your stay, problems with the green card... and what we can do to help you solve them
1. Problems entering the U.S. or problems getting a visa
Nowadays people are used to easy travelling across many borders. The more they are surprised, confused and angry when problems appear. Problems entering the U.S. can be disastrous, a traveller may be turned back at the airport, or even arrested and detained to wait for transportation back to his or her home country. Others may have planned their trip in detail, made costly arrangements, only to be denied the visa by the consulate.
Most visa denials and refusals of entry are caused by one of these problems:
-The traveller could not convince the consular officer or the CBP officer at the border that she or he would return to the home country after the visit
-The traveller did not have sufficient funds for the planned duration of the visit
-The traveller has been convicted of crimes in the past
-The traveller misrepresented her or his intentions to an officer
-The traveller had “overstayed” on a previous visit
-The traveller had engaged in unauthorized employment during a former visit
-Former visa applications had been denied
-The traveller made mistakes in the application
-The traveller missed important dates and deadlines
-The traveller forgot to obtain necessary documents (e.g. an advance parole)
-The traveller relied on information given to her or him by a “notario”, an “immigration agency”, his grandmother’s hairdresser or which he found on the internet
What can you do to avoid these problems?
-You obtain information only from official sources such as USCIS, consulates.
-You do not rely on “agencies,” “notarios”, the internet or other doubtful sources
-If you have the feeling that there might be problems you contact us before you make travel plans or apply for a visa
-On a visa application you make sure to answer each question truthfully. If a question seems ambiguous you contact us first to clarify
-You don’t rely on anyone’s advice but advice from an immigration attorney
What can we do to help?
-We will advise you before you apply for a visa or before you travel. If there are problems on the horizon, we will counsel you about ways to avoid them (e.g. if you have criminal convictions in the past, we can attempt to obtain a waiver etc.)
-If you have been denied a visa, we can review the case and counsel you about the steps you can take, such as
-renewed application
-communication with the visa officer
-appeal
-in special cases we may even be able to have you paroled into the United States instead of being returned home, so your case can be adjudicated in the U.S.
Problems while waiting for a decision on a visa application etc.
Sometimes it seems nothing is moving in your case. The bureaucracy is very slow, but it frequently happens that a case is put on “eternal hold:” a file gets lost, an interview never gets scheduled etc.
The immigration bureaucracy is not equipped to deal with sudden changes. If there are changes to your situation (for example a change of employer, of family status, of residence, etc.) while you are waiting for a response to an application, this might cause major delays and problems.
There are ways to deal with delays and changes. If you are not yet represented by an attorney, this is the time to contact us. We can help get your application back on track.
Please also remember that if your employer has hired an attorney to process your visa application, that attorney is committed to your employer’s interests, not necessarily to yours. If there are circumstances in which you do not want an employer to know details (e.g. criminal convictions in your past etc.), you should hire your own attorney.
Problems after you have acquired your visa or your residency permit
Life is full of unanticipated changes. Bureaucracy however hates change. There can be many problems after you have obtained your visa or permit:
-You need to stay longer than you have been authorized to stay
-You violated the restrictions on employment
-You would like to change your situation, e.g. change employers
-You are in conflict with criminal laws
-Your family situation has changed, e.g. you contemplate separation and divorce, your children turn 21 etc.
-You unexpectedly need to travel abroad and might endanger your visa status
-The authorities are suspicious of your former representations and accuse you of immigration fraud
In all these situations you need to obtain legal counsel. In many cases negative implications can be avoided if the problem is encountered early enough.
Loss of the Green Card
Astonishingly many holders of “Green Cards” seem to be oblivious to the fact that they have been granted the card only on the condition that they actually have a domicile in the U.S. Having a domicile means that the major focus of your life needs to be in the U.S., that is your regular work place, residence etc. If you spend a long time abroad or travel more than usual you might have your “Green Card” revoked. Normal trips for vacation or business are no problem, but if you need to be abroad for more than 2 months or more than a few times a year, you should obtain a consultation. In certain cases permission for longer absences can be granted.
American soldiers and their families stationed abroad are subject to different rules.
Problems when things change
Often problems are encountered when an immigrant or visitor legally is in the country, but then desires to change substantial factors such as employers, residencies, etc. An example is a student on a F-1 visa who has graduated and now desires to obtain a work visa (H-1B).
In some cases an alien is allowed to stay in the country and wait for new documentation, in other cases not. Many aliens do not know all the important rules when “changing” or “adjusting” status. We advise you to contact us and let us handle your application.
Unauthorized stay, unauthorized work, removal procedures (deportation)
Things become dramatic if ICE or USCIS revoke your permission to stay, or even detain you and begin removal proceedings (which in former times was called deportation). Not only can you be removed from the country, you might also be barred from re-entering for many years.
In such a situation you should immediately contact an immigration attorney. There are ways to mitigate the problem, e.g. to obtain waivers, or to fight removal in court.
Read more about unauthorized presence and possible remedies on the next page.
or
Read more about removal and deportation, immigration holds and similar measures
The contents of this website may constitute advertising of legal services. We do exclude any warranty for the correctness of the information posted here. Users of this website will not enter an attorney - client relationship with the Law Offices of Wolf W. Kaufmann unless a written client agreement is signed by both parties.