Despite the changes that President Obama announced last week, for many immigrants and their families, the immigration process continues unchanged and as planned. This includes going to interviews for citizenship and permanent residency at USCIS offices. The Atlanta USCIS Office is like a second office to me. Seriously – some of the officers have joked […]
How to Prepare for Interviews at the Atlanta USCIS Office Read More »
On November 20, 2014, President Obama announced his plans for shifting policies and priorities in immigration law. We were fortunate to be on a call with the White House 90 minutes before the President’s announcement. As we listened, we all had goosebumps and were thrilled with what we were hearing. The changes are overall very
Executive Action: It’s Here! Read More »
Update: The announcement is now scheduled for tomorrow, Thursday, November 20, 2014, at 8 PM EST. We understand that President Obama will travel to Las Vegas on Friday and announce his plans for immigration reform. Remember, it will still take time for the policies and plans to be implemented. You will not be able to
Breaking News: Immigration Executive Action Announcement Expected Friday Read More »
Late last week, various media outlets began reporting about President Obama’s ten-point plan on immigration reform. Within hours, the White House responded by saying that nothing was final, no decisions had been made, and that the points listed in the articles were mere speculation. Some of the points listed made sense. For example, extending DACA to people
Rumors of Immigration Reform Read More »
An Ombudsman is a wonderful thing and it’s a too-little used resource in the immigration world. The USCIS Office of the Ombudsman is responsible for working with USCIS to resolve problems that applicants have with their cases. While this office is always the last resort, sometimes no amount of “lawyering” or liaison work can get USCIS to
The USCIS Ombudsman’s Office Read More »
I’ve been very lucky. In over five years of practice, I have never had a U visa denied. But, when U visas make up one-third of your practice, a denial is bound to happen at some point. We filed an application for Juana (name changed) in the summer of 2013. Her niece had been kidnapped and assaulted
Our First U Visa Denial Read More »
The National Visa Center (NVC) plays a key part in helping bring family members together. It’s an office within the U.S. Department of State and serves to collect documents and information needed for an immigrant visa interview that will be held at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate outside the United States. A file arrives at
Problems with the National Visa Center (NVC) Read More »
Late last fall, I wrote about how U visas were gone for 2014. Now again, USCIS has run out of U visas. The government fiscal year begins on October 1st. That means that the fiscal year 2015 is from October 1, 2014, through September 30, 2015. When Congress created the U visa, they made it so
No More U Visas for 2015 Read More »
My lease for the Klinke Immigration office space began on October 1, 2012, so I consider that our official opening day. Here we are, two years later, and I’m so proud of what we’ve done. We’ve come a long way since then. I remember first meeting clients at Panera Bread or Starbucks because I didn’t
Reflecting on Two Years Read More »
Sometimes it’s good to be reminded about the good in the world when we’re constantly surrounded by disappointment and despair. I had one of those weeks last week and with my disgust with no immigration reform, it was nice to switch from being cynical to being hopeful for the future. Klinke Immigration is a co-sponsor
