Citizen of Ecuador has his I-360 Special Immigrant Juvenile Status visa approved through nunc pro tunc findings after turning 21 years of age
September 3, 2019
Facts: In August of 2017, a citizen of Ecuador came to the firm seeking help with his Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) petition.
The Firm’s Representation: At first, the firm was concerned that we could not help our client since he had already turned 21 years of age, which is the cut-off age to obtain SIJS benefits. But, the firm learned that our client’s previous attorney had provided our client with horribly deficient legal representation – the previous attorney had obtained the custody order and filed the I-360 SIJS petition without the SIJS findings and despite repeated notices from USCIS for the SIJS findings, the previous attorney did nothing and allowed our client’s I-360 to be denied for abandonment and allowed our client to turn 21 years of age. The firm was outraged and accepted the representation.
First, the firm helped our client file a bar complaint against his previous attorney. Then the firm filed a motion in the Wicomico County Circuit Court to reopen our client’s custody case and asked the Wicomico County Circuit Court to make nunc pro tunc SIJS findings. After intense briefing on the issue of the court’s jurisdiction to make SIJS findings even though the minor turned 21 years of age, the Wicomico County Circuit Court made the nunc pro tunc SIJS findings.
Then, the firm filed an I-290 Motion for Reopen our client’s denied I-360 SIJS petition with USCIS and submitted the nunc pro tunc SIJS findings, even though the I-360 had been denied almost two years earlier. Unfortunately, the USCIS denied our motion to reopen as untimely. The firm then sued USCIS in federal court and asserted that USCIS abused its discretion in denying the motion to reopen pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act (APA).
Outcome: On September 3, 2019, after two years of litigation in the Maryland State Courts, the USCIS and the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, USCIS granted our motion to reopen and granted our client’s I-360 SIJS visa. Our client can now apply for permanent residency which he plans to do right away.
Comments: This was an extremely gratifying case for the firm because we were able to salvage a case that did not seem salvageable at first, but the firm would not give up on our client’s case because we believed that our client had been tragically wronged by his previous attorney and we were determined to fix it if possible.
Mandamus suit in federal court prompts USCIS to grant green card application for a citizen of El Salvador who was “waved through” the border
June 21, 2019
Facts: In early 2017, a citizen of El Salvador came to the firm seeking help to get a green card.
The Firm’s Representation: Our client was married to a U.S. citizen. Our client had been previously represented by a notario who had successfully obtained an approved I-130 family based petition, but the notario had told our client that she had to return to El Salvador to get an immigrant visa to return to the United States because she had entered the United States illegally. However, the firm asked the client to describe her entry into the United States and the firm determined that our client had been “waved through” the border which is a valid entry into the United States according to a case in the Board of Immigration Appeals entitled Matter of Quilantan, 25 I&N Dec. 285 (BIA 2010). So, in April of 2017, the firm filed our client’s I-485 application for permanent residency based on the approved I-130 from her U.S. citizen spouse and the “wave through”. The firm attended an interview with USCIS, but USCIS would not make a decision on the case, even after two years of waiting. In April of 2019, our client was tired of waiting and engaged the firm to file a mandamus in federal court to compel USCIS to make a decision on our client’s I-485 green card application.
Outcome: On June 21, 2019, USCIS granted our client’s green card application. The client was needless to say overjoyed and celebrated July 4th as newly minted permanent resident of the United States.