Sometimes immigration cases take a long time to be resolved. I recently completed three cases in immigration court that I will long remember. One of them began in 2001 with a labor certification and finished with a family petition through a new spouse and a happy ending. The second one began several years ago with my former partner who is now deceased, and finished after a long and winding road through several courts. And the third one began with my client entering the United States in a way that wasn’t quite kosher, then fell in love, started a family, was initially denied adjustment of status and a waiver by USCIS, and then was granted adjustment of status and a waiver by the immigration judge. Thankfully, most cases DON’T take this long.
Each of these cases involved families who wanted to stay together in the United States, and each of them were ultimately successful. The clients were from much different parts of the world, Nigeria, India, and Mexico. But their common bond is a desire to be together with their families. Another commonality of these cases was that they were each a little bit complicated by the roller coaster of their lives along the way, including an economic downturn, chance meetings of future spouses, and a criminal investigation of that that was ultimately dismissed.
For me, as an immigration lawyer, it gives me a great sense of satisfaction to help good people like these pursue their life in the United States. It’s not just shuffling paper. It’s using knowledge of the immigration laws and procedures, and using that knowledge and putting it into action, to help people.