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The Crespo Family

Franklin Crespo is our Client of the Month for June 2015.  BR attorney Dree Collopy has been representing Mr. Crespo and his family since 2009.  At that time, Mr. Crespo’s adjustment of status and extreme hardship waiver under section 212(h) of the Immigration and Nationality Act had been denied by the Immigration Judge, his appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals had been dismissed, and Mr. Crespo had been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.  His wife Rachael was seeking a new attorney to continue the family’s long legal battle that began back in 2006.  Dree was able to secure Mr. Crespo’s release from detention and represented the Crespo family is seeking judicial review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ decision before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.  After extensive briefing and oral argument, the Fourth Circuit issued a precedent decision agreeing with Dree’s argument that Mr. Crespo’s past charge for possession of marijuana, which had been dismissed following his successful completion of probation, was not, in fact, a conviction for immigration purposes.  The Fourth Circuit remanded the case back to the Board of Immigration Appeals and Dree filed a motion to remand the case back down to the Immigration Judge for further development of the evidentiary record.  The Board agreed to remand the case for further testimony and submission of new evidence in support of Mr. Crespo’s waiver application.  In May, after submission of new adjustment of status and waiver applications and a three-hour fight in Immigration Court, the Immigration Judge granted Mr. Crespo lawful permanent resident status.  He will now be able to continue his life in the United States with his U.S. citizen wife and children.  The Crespo family exemplifies the values that make our country so great – family, strength, teamwork, and love.  They demonstrate that with perseverance and the right support, even the highest hurdles can be overcome.