How Individuals Can Immigrate

Immigration Lawyer in Cleveland

Are you planning to bring loved ones from abroad to live with you in the United States? Do you want to apply for a green card or become a fully naturalized citizen? Are you facing possible deportation? If you have any type of immigration legal concern, come to Brown Immigration Law for help. Our knowledgeable Ohio immigration attorneys - Robert Brown, Rishi Oza, Aleksandar Cuic, Erin Brown, and Kathryn Russell - have more than half a century of immigration experience, and our founding attorney is even a former district director for the Immigration Naturalization Service. We can guide you through every aspect of the case and will work diligently to meet your needs and expectations.

Becoming a Permanent Resident or Citizen

Countless people from across the globe share the same goal: to immigrate to the United States and take advantage of the opportunities available in this country. The incredible worldwide demand for chances to immigrate to the U.S. means that achieving this goal can be difficult to say the least. There are three primary routes for applying for a green card: through family, through employment, or through a petition for asylum. The application process is different depending on whether you are applying while in this country on a visa or while still in your country of origin. In the first case, you can apply for adjustment of status with a Form I-485, but you will also need to have someone - a family member or an employer - file out a Form I-130 to sponsor you for a green card. If you are applying from outside of the U.S., then you can use consular processing to secure a visa and then become a permanent resident upon your arrival in this country.

Helping Family Members with Immigration

Many of our clients come to us when they want to help a family member - whether a spouse, a child, parents, or a fiancé - with the process of immigrating to the United States. Legally entering and remaining in the United States can be a considerable challenge, but if you have already established yourself as a lawful permanent resident or citizen you can give your loved one a considerable advantage in the process. The U.S. government provides two primary types of immigrant visas for family members, the Immediate Relative visa and the Family Preference visa:

Family Preference
Unlike the Immediate Relative visa, the Family Preference categories are each allotted limited quantities of visas every year. The first category offers 23,400 visas for the unmarried children of U.S. citizens, regardless of their age, as well as for their own children. The second category is for spouses, minor children, and unmarried adult children of green card holders, and there are 114,200 of these visas. There are 23,400 visas for the third category, which is for married children of U.S. citizens as well as their spouses and children. The fourth category, which receives 65,000 visas annually, is available for the siblings of U.S. citizens over the age of 21, as well as their own families.

Defending You Against Deportation

In the event that the Department of Homeland Security has sent you a notice to appear at an immigration hearing, it is vital that you hire an attorney to represent you with the authorities and help you avoid possible deportation. Whether you have been convicted of a deportable criminal offense or have been accused of unlawful presence, failure to take action now could lead to you being removed from this country and barred from reentry. An attorney from our firm will investigate the situation to find the facts of the case and develop a strategy for preventing an outcome that could separate you from your loved ones and deprive you of everything you have worked so hard to establish.