The HMA Law Firm - Immigration & Criminal Defense Lawyers

Call: 703.964.0245

  • Home
  • Our Team
  • Practice
    • Immigration >
      • Employment-Based Immigration >
        • The H-1B Visa
        • Investor and Intracompany Transfers (E & L Visas)
        • PERM Labor Certification >
          • Cross Chargeability
          • EB-5 Green Cards
      • Marriage & Fiancé Visas >
        • Special Service for Servicemen
        • Marriage Interview Questions
        • The I-751 Good Faith Waiver
        • Evidence for Filing an I-751
        • My I-751 Was Denied: Now What?
        • Same-Sex Marriage Immigration Issues
        • New 90 Day Rule
      • General Immigration >
        • Filing a FOIA from USCIS
        • Form G-639: How to Complete
        • Re-Entry Permits
        • TPS >
          • More on TPS
          • SYRIA TPS
          • TPS Yemen
        • U Visas
      • Legal Victories
      • How To Choose The Right Immigration Lawyer
      • Waivers (I-601/I-601A) >
        • Drunk Driving (DUI/DWI) and I-601/I-601A Waivers
      • Citizenship >
        • N-648 Medical Waivers
        • Naturalization Pitfalls
        • The Civics Test for Naturalization
        • Exceptions for English Test
        • Criminal Convictions and Naturalization
      • Mandamus: It's Taking Too Long >
        • Mandamus: What to Think, What to Expect
        • How an Immigration Writ of Mandamus Works
        • Petition for Hearing on Naturalization
      • Deportation Defense >
        • Overview of Removal Proceedings
        • Deportation: Preventive Maintenance
      • Deferred Action (DACA) >
        • To Lawyer Or Not To Lawyer
        • Applying for a Social Security Number
    • Criminal Defense >
      • Traffic Offenses
    • Learn >
      • Immigration In A Nutshell >
        • The Visa Bulletin and Family Immigration
      • Criminal Immigration Law 101 >
        • Know Your Rights
      • Eligibility for Citizenship >
        • Citizenship versus Naturalization
        • Why Become a Citizen?
  • Consult/Pay Fees
  • Testimonials
  • Careers
  • Blawg
  • En Español
    • Accion Ejecutiva
    • El Interdicto Temporal
    • Buscar Detenido
    • Reforma Inmigratoria
    • Papeles Por Los Indocumentados

The HMA Law Firm Blawg

    Question? Contact a lawyer now!

Submit

Arrabally Adjustments: Green Cards For People Who Entered the US Illegally

12/20/2013

8 Comments

 
Picture
Have you been granted TPS or deferred action (DACA) and eligible for an I-130 petition but stuck and unable to adjust your status (file for a green card from within the United States) because of your past unlawful presence? Then seeking Advance Parole may be your answer.

If you entered the United States without being legally admitted and inspected, then any period of time you have accrued in the United States will be counted as unlawful presence. Unlawful presence is very dangerous and can create a bar to most types of relief from removal as well as a bar to subsequent legal admission into the United States.

Under Section INA §212(a)(9)(B)(i)(II), if an individual has been unlawfully present in the United States for one year or more and the individual subsequently “departs” or is removed from the United States, the individual may not again seek admission into the United States within 10 years of the date of departure. However, the good news is that this bar to admission after a period of unlawful presence can be overcome by a certain category of people.

For those who entered without inspection and were later granted Temporary Protected Status (TPS) or now qualify for TPS, you may be able adjust your status by means of applying for advance parole. Also, Dreamers who qualified for, and received “deferred action” under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, you may also apply for advance parole.

If you have been granted TPS or deferred action, you are eligible to apply for advance parole. Important: you cannot file for advance parole until you have been approved for TPS or deferred action. But once you receive your advance parole, you may exit and re-enter the United States with your advance parole document. The Board of Immigration Appeals in a recent case, Matter of Arrabally and Yerrabelly, 25 I&N Dec. 771 (BIA 2012), held that “[a] departure under advance parole does not trigger the inadmissibility ground under 212(a)(9)(B)(i)(II).” Therefore, leaving the United States under advance parole does not trigger inadmissibility and you will be able to re-enter, this time with inspection. Once you have been paroled into the United States with inspection, you may adjust pursuant to INA §245(a), and will not be barred from adjustment because of inadmissibility under §212(a)(9)(B)(i)(II) (the “10-year bar” - or ley del castigo.)

For many people who do not or cannot risk a provisional waiver on Form I-601A, an Arrabally adjustment provides a much easier way to normalize status.

Questions? Want to see if you might qualify? Call or text us at 703.964.0245, or fill out the contact form on this page.  We'll let you know if it makes sense for you to file for advance parole and leave and re-enter.

CAUTION: Leaving the United States when your immigration status is not permanent always has some degree of risk.  Do not leave the United States - even under a grant of advance parole - without talking to a lawyer first. 

Sharifa Abbasi, Esq.














8 Comments

Spouses of Green Card Holders: File Now!

12/20/2013

11 Comments

 
Picture
USCIS announced that it is taking steps to speed processing of I-130 petitions (the family-based relative petition,a necessary first step in petitioning a relative for a green card).

The Department of State announced that it expects the category for spouses and unmarried children under 21 of lawful permanent residents (F-2A) to retrogress in the last quarter of 2014.

Since it takes several months for a visa petition like an I-130 to be approved, this means that green card holders who want to file for a spouse or an unmarried child under 21 should file their I-130 petitions NOW.


Since the summer of 2013, the wait for people in F-2A category has sharply reduced; what used to take 2 - 3 years is now taking less than 1 year.  Many of our clients have benefited from the reduced waiting time.  But if the visa numbers retrogress before your relative appears for their immigrant visa interview at the overseas consulate, you will have to wait.

If the green card petitioner is able to naturalize in the meantime, the petition they filed (even if approved) will be automatically upgraded to that of a citizen.  But if not, it makes good sense to file the visa petition now and not wait for citizenship.

Read more about visa preferences and family-based immigration.


11 Comments
    DISCLAIMER: If a blog post you read here contains case results, be advised that case results depend upon a variety of factors unique to each case. Case results do not guarantee or predict a similar result in any future case.

    Authors

    Sharifa Abbasi, Esq.
    Hassan M. Ahmad, Esq.
    Humza Kazmi, Esq.
    Faisal Khan
    ​Valeria Prudencio
    Carly Stadum-Liang, Esq.

    Archives

    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    August 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    May 2014
    April 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    April 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    August 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    July 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010

    Categories

    All
    Appellate
    Asylum
    CBP
    Citizenship
    Constitutional Rights
    Criminal
    DACA
    Deportation
    Family
    Framing
    General
    H 1B
    H-1B
    Hma Law Firm
    Immigration
    Immigration Policy
    Immigration Reform
    International
    Interns
    Muslim Ban
    National Security
    Politics
    Removal
    Syria
    Tanton FOIA Lawsuit
    Trump
    Waivers

    RSS Feed

Quick Links

  • Our Team
  • Practice Areas
  • Executive Action
  • Consult

Contact Info

8133 Leesburg Pike, Ste 801
Vienna VA 22182

Tel:  703.964.0245

Fax: 703.997.8556
Email: info@hmalegal.com

Subscribe to the HMA LawFeed

Picture

​Pay Fees Here

Book you consult online by clicking on this link now!

©2009 - 2021 by Hassan M. Ahmad. All rights reserved. No portion of this website may be copied or reproduced for any purpose without express written permission.

Photos used under Creative Commons from Beshroffline, Thorne Enterprises, alex-s, swanksalot, 401(K) 2012, hyku, Gage Skidmore, Gage Skidmore, michaeln3, Antony J Shepherd, Korean Resource Center 민족학교, Don Fulano, lewebafricain, Images_of_Money, Lord Jim, Kevinth Nunez, Joe Crimmings Photography, Cohen.Canada, Thane Eichenauer, Gage Skidmore, CGP Grey, digitalshay, anokarina, Debbie Ramone, slightly everything, loop_oh, aaron_anderer, U.S. Marshals Service, tsuacctnt, Andrew Feinberg, Official U.S. Navy Imagery, Soggydan, Keith Bacongco, photosteve101, Emery Co Photo, futureatlas.com, david_terrar, weiss_paarz_photos, juanktru, Anh Le Tran's Photogphy, Amanda M Hatfield, IcronticPrime, Fibonacci Blue, blvesboy, Carl Montgomery, zappowbang, khawkins04, kennethkonica, opensourceway, Supernico26, mynameisharsha, JBrazito, Glyn Lowe Photoworks, Justin A. Wilcox, Wesley Fryer, MAClarke21, khalid Albaih, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff