Archives, page 3

June 2022 Client of the Month- YMM

June 1, 2022
June 2022 Client of the Month- YMM Our client of the month for June 2022 is YMM, who has been a client of Benach Collopy since 2013 and sought and was granted citizenship this winter.  In addition to being one of the loveliest people one could ever hope to meet, YMM is a Spanish national who worked with BC Partner Dree Collopy to seek lawful permanent resident status along with her husband.  She and her husband were granted green cards in 2015 based on an approved extraordinary ability (EB-1) petition. 

Client of the Month- April 2022- Edimilson!

April 1, 2022
Client of the Month- April 2022- Edimilson! This month, we are so pleased to celebrate our client Edimilson Mendes Ferreira, who just won his case to remain in the United States with his family after years of waiting in Immigration Court. Edimilson has lived in the United States for nearly two decades. In that time, he has raised two daughters and become a grandfather to three US citizen grandchildren. He has started his own successful housecleaning business, which he has now run for over a decade, servicing clients throughout the greater Washington region.

Client of the Month- March 2022- Azeb!

March 1, 2022
Client of the Month- March 2022- Azeb! Azeb and Dree Collopy We are happy to once again begin our client of the month series with a Dree Collopy victory! This month, we celebrate our client Azeb, who was granted asylum from Ethiopia after a long battle to obtain the safety in this country that she deserves. Azeb fled to the US after she had been wrongfully imprisoned in Ethiopia for standing up to government harm to journalists and political opponents.

Legal Assistant Position Available

December 11, 2017
Benach Collopy LLP is a nationally renowned, full-service immigration and nationality law firm in Washington, DC.  The firm is one of the nation’s leading voices for immigrants’ rights and its attorneys are among the most respected immigration lawyers in the nation.  Benach Collopy represents a wide range of clients, providing innovative, zealous representation to immigrants and their families while maintaining the highest standards of ethics and client service.

Same trusted immigration law firm. New look that’s more us.

November 30, 2017
Same trusted immigration law firm. New look that’s more us. Our website looks subtly different. When you visit our new offices (soon!) or open our emails, you’re greeted with a fresh, clean vibe. Today, we’re excited to unveil the new look of Benach Collopy!   Why the new look? Candidly, our old look was pretty boring. While it was clean and professional, it was also a little trite and expected from a law firm. That’s simply not us.

Argument Recap from the Supreme Court- Jennings v. Rodriguez: The Mandatory Detention Case

October 13, 2017
This article originally appeared on Law360: https://www.law360.com/immigration/articles/972810/assessing-constitutional-constraints-on-immigrant-detention Starting in July 1999, Hoang Minh Ly, a refugee and permanent resident of the United States, spent 564 days in detention by U.S. immigration authorities who sought his removal to his native Vietnam.[i]  He was released from detention only after a U.S. District Court in September 2000 ordered that an immigration judge provide him with a bond hearing.  That order was the result of an August 1999 petition for a writ of habeas corpus filed by Ly. 

Client of the Month October 2017- Reina Mercado

October 10, 2017
Client of the Month October 2017- Reina Mercado This one makes us so happy.  Reina Mercado is a catracha (native of Honduras) who arrived to the U.S. undocumented in the early 90s.  Following the destruction wrought by Hurricane Mitch in October 1998, the Attorney General designated Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Hondurans on January 5, 1999 and Reina was eligible for it.  The government may designate a country for TPS when there is a catastrophic situation in that country, such as war or natural disasters, that makes it inhumane to remove individuals to that country at that time. 

DACA: Some Venting and Some Solutions

September 11, 2017
DACA: Some Venting and Some Solutions Of all the stupid, dirty, slimy, no-good, treasonous, villainous, putrid, double-crossing treachery, low life, vengeful, mean-spirited, spiteful, nasty, pin-headed, pathetic, weak, ugly, traitorous, short-sighted, weak-kneed, unbecoming, dumb, awful, smelly, vile, cruel, vicious, unjustifiable, illogical, unfriendly, basic, ungrateful, pig-nosed, trashy, small-minded, ham-handed, mercenary, ruinous, bad, fallacious, godawful, crummy, abominable, bad trip, lame, poor, slipshod, cruddy, wicked, corrupt, mean, discouraging, unpleasant, sulfurous, harsh, rotten, scandalous and just plain uncool things that Donald Trump has done, his elimination of DACA, after promising to treat the Dreamers with “great heart,” has to be the worst, the lowest, the meanest, the weakest and the dumbest thing his administration has done. 

End of DACA- What are the new rules?

September 7, 2017
End of DACA- What are the new rules?   This is the first of several articles detailing the changes to the DACA program announced on Tuesday September 5, 2017.  This is meant to give quick and dirty information, whereas the next one we will: (1) get our emotions out; (2) plan our resistance; and (3) offer ideas how DACA holders can protect themselves. Sandwiched between the natural disasters of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, the Trump administration unleashed its own man made disaster by eliminating Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (“DACA”) on September 5, 2017. 

August 2017 Client of the Month- Milan Stankovic

September 1, 2017
August 2017 Client of the Month- Milan Stankovic This month we are thrilled to recognize Milan Stankovic as our client of the month.  After filing his I-589 asylum application and three evidentiary filings, several hours of grueling interviews, numerous status inquiries, and six long years of seeking protection in the United States, Milan has finally been granted asylum.  Milan, previously a professional soccer player and small business owner in his home country of Serbia, fled his home in 2011 following years of brutal violence against him. 

We’re Moving! But we are Making Two Stops!

August 21, 2017
We're Moving! But we are Making Two Stops! Boxes are full and stacked.  Art is off the walls.  Copies of the Immigration & Nationality Act from 2012 have been donated (although it is not like Congress has made many changes to the Act).  Several hours of discussions with telephone providers, IT specialists, movers, and real estate professionals have all led up to this moment: we are moving out of 1333 H Street, NW as of August 30, 2017. 

Intern Week: Sophie Macklem-Johnson “From Minnesota to Argentina.”

July 24, 2017
Intern Week: Sophie Macklem-Johnson "From Minnesota to Argentina." I’m Sophie Macklem-Johnson, and I am about to be a senior at Grinnell College (Dree’s alma mater). I am majoring in History and Spanish, and have a concentration in Latin American Studies. I have been speaking Spanish and learning about Latin America since I was started Kindergarten at a Spanish immersion elementary school in Minnesota. I am sure my parents couldn’t have foreseen how much of an impact their decision to send me to this public school rather than the one in our neighborhood would have on my worldview, values, and career aspirations.

Intern Week! Jane Vukmer and Seventeen Trans Asylum Cases!

July 20, 2017
My name is Jane Vukmer, and I am a third-year student at the University of New Hampshire School of Law. This summer, I worked as the Trans Asylum Fellow for Benach Collopy and Whitman-Walker. The Benach Collopy and Whitman-Walker legal partnership provides pro bono legal services to transgender asylum seekers who have been victimized, abused, tortured, and persecuted in their country of origin. I have had the great privilege to work on seventeen different asylum cases involving transgender women from Central America who fled their country due to persecution based on gender identity.