March 14, 2022 – Citizen of El Salvador has motion to reopen granted in the Board of Immigration Appeals
July 11, 2022
Facts: In March of 2020, a citizen of El Salvador came to the firm seeking help with his immigration case because he had hired an attorney in 2017 to reopen his removal order, but as of March of 2020, this attorney had not even tried to reopen his removal order.
The Firm’s Representation: The firm immediately requested our client’s immigration files from the government through Freedom of Information Act requests. Upon review of our client’s immigration court file, the firm noticed that our client’s former attorney made a mistake and should have immediately filed a motion to rescind in 2017 but instead did nothing and let the deadline to file a timely motion to rescind elapse. The firm filed a motion to reopen and rescind based on ineffective assistance of counsel according to the Board of Immigration Appeal’s case of Matter of Lozada, 19 I&N Dec. 637 (B.I.A. 1988).
Proceedings: The firm’s motion was contested by the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”). The firm wrote a response to the DHS opposition, but the Immigration Judge ultimately denied the motion for the reasons stated by the DHS. The firm timely appealed to the Board of Immigration Appeals.
Outcome: On March 14, 2022, the Board of Immigration Appeals reversed the decision of the Immigration Judge and reopened our client’s removal proceedings and the case was remanded back to the Immigration Judge. On June 13, 2022, the Immigration Judge dismissed our client’s removal proceedings so that he could pursue an immigrant visa abroad.
Comments: The firm prides itself on fighting for our clients when there has been an injustice. Here, our client hired an attorney to reopen his removal order, our client paid the attorney to do so, but the attorney never filed the motion to reopen and missed an important deadline, which is an injustice. It is also important to realize that the firm has no control over immigration judges and their decisions, but the firm will not stop fighting to get a positive outcome for our clients who have suffered injustices.
10/26/2021: Citizen of El Salvador is granted a green card through NACARA special rule cancellation of removal in the Baltimore Immigration Court after being ordered removed over 12 years earlier
October 28, 2021
Facts: In July of 2020, a citizen of El Salvador, who had been living in the shadows because he was afraid of being deported based on a 2009 removal order, came to the firm seeking help with his immigration case.
The Firm’s Representation: The firm immediately requested our client’s immigration files from the government through Freedom of Information Act requests. Upon review of our client’s immigration court file, the firm noticed that our client’s prior attorney made a mistake in 2009 and missed the fact that our client was eligible for a green card through NACARA (our client’s father received NACARA benefits at a time that could benefit our client too), and instead let our client take an order of removal. Notably, the attorney who had made the mistake had been indefinitely suspended from the practice of law in 2018 for, among other things, “for failing to represent his client competently and diligently.” Based on the mistake made by our client’s previous lawyer and the fact that the previous lawyer had been suspended for incompetence, in early 2021, the firm filed a motion to reopen based on ineffective assistance of counsel according to the Board of Immigration Appeal’s case of Matter of Lozada, 19 I&N Dec. 637 (B.I.A. 1988).
Outcome: On August 13, 2021, our client’s motion to reopen was granted and our client was given a quick hearing date and on October 26, 2021, our client was granted lawful permanent residency pursuant to NACARA.
Comments: Our client is a devoted family man and he did not want to get deported, so for 12 years he hid in the shadows to avoid detection by immigration authorities. After being granted a green card in court, our client and his family were overcome with emotion because, after so many years of hiding, our client could finally come out of the shadows.
Citizen of El Salvador is approved for suspension of deportation after nearly 30 years in deporation proceedings
September 3, 2021
Facts: In September of 2018, a citizen of El Salvador came to the firm seeking help with her immigration case.
The Firm’s Representation: Our client had had several other immigration lawyers representing her, but these attorneys were not able to get her into a legal status. The firm noticed that she had been placed in deportation proceedings in 1993 and that her case had been placed in administrative closure for a very long time. The firm also noticed that because the Order to Show Cause had not been properly served on our client, she was still eligible for suspension of deportation, which is a form of relief that had been repealed in 1997, but was still available to our client even in 2021. The firm re-calendared our client’s deportation proceedings and asked the immigration court to schedule our client for a hearing on her application for suspension of deportation, which took a long time based on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Outcome: On September 3, 2021, our client’s application for suspension of deportation was approved pending visa availability in the next two to three years.
Comments: The firm prides itself on digging deep into our client’s immigration files and history to find avenues for relief that other attorneys miss.