Client of the Month- March 2018- Yovanny Soto

Client of the Month- March 2018- Yovanny Soto   For March 2018, we want to highlight our clients, Yovanny Soto and Heidi Andrade, and their really cute kids.  On February 7, 2018, Yovanny was admitted to the U.S. as a permanent resident after living in the U.S. without status for 18 years. Since he was a child, Yovanny has worked while going to school to help his elderly parents provide for his 16 siblings.  After his father was murdered in Guatemala, Yovanny fled his home with the hope of safety and a better life.

DACA: Some Venting and Some Solutions

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. 

Walls, DACA and Raids: What has happened in immigration since Trump’s inauguration?

Walls, DACA and Raids: What has happened in immigration since Trump's inauguration? Back in November, we made some predictions about what might occur in a Trump presidency as it relates to immigration.  Generally, we were very pessimistic and presumed that almost all areas of immigration would become more difficult and challenging for immigrants, families and communities.  This has proven to be true, but not in all of the ways we anticipated.  In some areas, such as refugees and admission policies, the administration has been as bad as expected. 

Clients of the Month December 2016: Andres and Jazmine St. Claire

Clients of the Month December 2016: Andres and Jazmine St. Claire Our December 2016 Client of the Month is another member of the “Dreamers out of Trump’s reach” club. Andres St. Claire and Jazmine St. Claire are clients of the month after Andres was granted residence seven years after marrying Jazmine Andres St. Claire is a Dreamer who got protection under DACA. But before that, he was in love with Jazmine St. Claire, with whom he shared an immigrant experience and a love of video games and dogs.

Client of the Month: January 2017 Danieca Bugarin

Client of the Month: January 2017 Danieca Bugarin Our January 2017 Client of the Month is part of our ongoing series of: “Dreamers that Trump can’t touch!”  Danieca Bugarin landed in San Francisco, CA on December 30, 2016, presented her immigrant visa, and was admitted to the U.S. as a permanent resident.  Her admission to the U.S. as a permanent resident looked so improbable for the past two years because Danieca was snake-bit when it came to immigration. 

I-601A Provisional Waiver Expansion Announced

The proposed expansion of the I-601A provisional waiver of inadmissibility due to unlawful presence has finally become a reality.  The President announced the expansion of the waiver as part of his November 2014 suite of executive actions designed to ameliorate the harsh results of strict enforcement of U.S. immigration laws. Of course, the heart of those reforms was deferred action for the parents of U.S. citizens, which remains delayed by an injunction imposed by a Texas judge which the Supreme Court punted on. 

Clients of the Month July 2016- Jorge Martinez and Christopher Gallo

Clients of the Month July 2016- Jorge Martinez and Christopher Gallo We are thrilled to announce Jorge Martinez and Christopher Gallo as our July 2016 Clients of the Month.  Jorge is a permanent resident who just returned from Honduras where he obtained his immigrant visa after being approved for an I-601A provisional waiver for hardship to his U.S. citizen husband, Chris. Jorge returned to Honduras after being gone for more than 20 years and was able to hug his mother again and reunite with his extended family. 

October 2015 Client of the Month- Juan Carlos Acajabon Mendez, Provisional Waiver and Visa Granted!

October 2015 Client of the Month- Juan Carlos Acajabon Mendez, Provisional Waiver and Visa Granted! Our client of the month for October 2015 is Juan Carlos Acajabon Mendez.  After receiving an approval of the I-601A provisional waiver, Carlos recently returned from Guatemala, where he received his immigrant visa and entered the U.S. as a permanent resident after more than two decades of living without status in the U.S.  Carlos is the most recent BR client to receive an immigrant visa under the I-601A Provisional Waiver program, which permits individuals with approved immigrant relative petitions to seek a waiver of their “inadmissibility” (due to unlawful presence in the U.S.)

A Good Week at Benach Collopy

A Good Week at Benach Collopy Last week was one of those weeks that makes us happy to be immigration lawyers.  It ended with several families relieved that their personal journeys to legal status in the U.S. are ended and their lives as U.S. residents have begun.  Here are their stories: YA and EF are a married couple from Bolivia, who have lived in the U.S. for well over a decade.  YA quit working because her son, Joshua, has microcephaly. 

June 2015 Clients of the Month- Oscar Molina and Mirian Campos

June 2015 Clients of the Month- Oscar Molina and Mirian Campos Our clients of the month for June 2015 are Oscar Molina and Mirian Campos. Oscar just returned from El Salvador, where he received his immigrant visa and entered the U.S. as a permanent resident after more than a decade of living without status in the U.S. Oscar is the most recent BR client to receive an immigrant visa under the I-601A Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver program  which permits individuals with approved immigrant relative petitions to seek a waiver of their “inadmissibility” (due to unlawful presence in the U.S.)