Our client received a decision denying his request for naturalization based on allegations that he failed to continuously maintain lawful immigration status since initial entry. Specifically, Service found that the applicant worked at unauthorized locations during his employment with a Petitioner whose owner/CEO pled guilty to visa fraud. We filed an “appeal,” Request for Hearing on Naturalization, arguing that employees of the aforementioned company had no knowledge of the visa fraud scheme and were without fault. In addition, we pointed out that USCIS regulations permit approval of the adjustment of status, if the applicant has been out of status, or worked without authorization, if the aggregate period of such violations does not exceed 180 days, and that equitable considerations dictate approval of the hearing request. The N336 request was granted after approximately one and a half months. Subsequently, we attended the hearing with our client and clarified the applicant’s eligibility. The client’s citizenship application was approved in about three months.
Success Stories From 2019
These are some sample cases from our files. It is impossible for us to highlight all we have done in the past thirty years of our practice. These are just some of the cases that come to mind.
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Our client received a NOID after attending his interview to determine eligibility for adjustment of status. After analyzing the applicant’s address history, Service alleged that several years back, the applicant had failed to continuously maintain lawful immigrant status due to a failure to take a full course load as a student on F-1 status. We responded with a detailed letter from the University, explaining that despite the distance education, the school’s academic program structure and the applicant’s attendance records were consistent with regulatory requirements for a full course of study. The case was approved approximately two months after we submitted our response.
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