August 13, 2023 – Citizen of Nigeria is naturalized after appeal to USCIS
September 2, 2023
Facts: On September 7, 2022, a citizen of Nigeria came to the firm for help because USCIS had denied his naturalization application accusing our client of lying during his naturalization interview.
The Firm’s Representation: After talking with our client, the firm came to the conclusion that USCIS made a mistake and recommended that our client appeal the decision. After reviewing the evidence and taking an affidavit from our client and preparing a legal brief, the firm filed an N-336, Request for a Hearing on a Decision in Naturalization Proceedings Under Section 336 later in mid-Setpember of 2022 (within the 33-day appeal deadline).
Outcome: On August 13, 2023, our client was naturalized as a U.S. citizen.
Comments: The employees of USCIS try to do their best, but they sometimes make mistakes. Here, the USCIS officer realized that a mistake had been made and took corrective action and granted the firm’s appeal and naturalized our client.
Citizen of El Salvador’s Temporary Protected Status is reopened after being closed for over 10 years
July 10, 2014
Facts: In 2001, a citizen of El Salvador applied for Temporary Protected Status (TPS). In 2004, the El Salvadoran citizen’s TPS renewal application was denied. The El Salvadoran citizen tried several times to have the case reopened with no luck. In 2013, the citizen of El Salvador came to the firm for help.
The Firm’s Representation: Reopening TPS cases can be very tricky and every case is different. Nevertheless, the firm has had quite a bit of success reopening old TPS denial cases. In many cases, the legacy Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) denied TPS applications when the applicant failed to attend a biometrics (fingerprinting) appointment or when the applicant failed to respond to a notice. In our client’s case, INS denied our client’s TPS application because she missed a biometrics appointment. However, the firm discovered paperwork that our client did not miss the appointment and that it was possible that INS made a mistake. The argument for reopening at that point was straight forward. The adjudication process of reopening TPS cases with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) takes quite a while, typically about a year.
Outcome: On July 10, 2014, our client’s TPS application was reopened. The firm is in the process of helping our client apply for a work permit again, over ten years after her last one was approved.