Family Petitions are petitions that are filed by either a United States citizen or a lawful permanent resident of the United States to sponsor a family member. Many people who immigrate to the United States, and often become citizens, wish to later bring their family members to the United States to join them. Only certain familial relationships qualify under our immigration laws. For example, United States citizens may petition for their spouses, parents, unmarried and married sons and daughters, and their siblings. However, Lawful Permanent Residents may only petition for their spouses, and unmarried sons and daughters to immigrate to the United States. Each category of relative is put into a classification system and prioritized by the immigration laws of the United States. Some family members are considered to be “immediate relatives,” and therefore theoretically have an immigrant visa immediately available to them. However, backlogs in processing visa applications at the federal immigration service often prevent even immediate relatives from being able to immigrate to the United States immediately. When a family petition is approved by the federal immigration service, it most often leads to the beneficiary relative obtaining lawful permanent resident status (or a green card) themselves.
Kimberly Kinser has completed numerous family petitions, and she is knowledgeable as to the procedures and requirements of the federal immigration service for family petitions.
Deportation Defense
Deportation Defense encompasses a wide array of legal issues. Foreign nationals often find themselves in deportation proceedings for a variety of reasons. For example, staying in the United States after their visa expires, entering the United States without inspection by immigration officials, committing crimes that have deportation consequences, seeking asylum, or failing to comply with special registration requirements, amongst others. There are a number of forms of “relief from removal” that a foreign national may be eligible to obtain in deportation proceedings.
Kimberly Kinser is an experience deportation defense litigator. She is knowledgeable about the various forms of relief from removal, and the interplay of the different provisions of the law that affect one's eligibility on a cases-by-case basis. She has experience successfully defending foreign nationals against deportation, and experience with detained clients.
Employment Based Petitions
There are a number of employment based visas. Some employment based visas are meant to fill temporary shortages in the labor force of the United States in certain industries. Such temporary visas are called nonimmigrant visas. There are a number of nonimmigrant visas for which a business can apply depending largely on the job duties to be performed, and the skills required to fill the position. Other employment based visas are meant to fill permanent shortages in the labor force of the United States in certain industries. Such permanent visas lead to a green card for the foreign national filling the position, and are called immigrant visas. There are a number of immigrant visas for which either a foreign national or a business can apply depending on the job duties and the qualifications of the foreign national. Under certain limited circumstances, some foreign nationals are able to self-petition for an employment based immigrant visa. However, most foreign nationals require a business to sponsor them for an employment based immigrant visa. There are also visas available for foreign nationals seeking to invest in the United States and create jobs to be filled by the labor force of the United States.
Kimberly Kinser has experience in helping employers apply for employment based nonimmigrant and immigrant visas. She has successfully applied a number of workers in nonimmigrant categories, and is familiar with the various requirements for Hs and Ls. She also has experience in the PERM and Schedule A processes and is familiar with the requirements of the Department of Labor as well as the immigration service.
Naturalization (Citizenship)
Many green cards holders, wish to apply to become a citizen of the United States. The general requirements are a five (5) year period of continuous residence and physical presence in the United States (or 3 years in some cases), an ability to read, write, and speak English, knowledge and understanding of the history and government of the United States, good moral character, attachment to the principles of the Constitution of the United States, and a favorable disposition toward the United States.
Kimberly Kinser has completed numerous naturalization applications and she is knowledgeable as to the procedures and requirements of the federal immigration service for naturalization applications. Due to current backlogs in "name checks," Kimberly Kinser has joined forces with other local attorneys to bring these cases to the federal district courts for resolution.
Asylum
In order to qualify for asylum in the United States, a foreign national must meet the definition of a refugee. “Refugee” is defined as “any person who is outside any country of such person's nationality or, in the case of a person having no nationality, is outside any country in which such person last habitually resided, and who is unable or unwilling to return to, and is unable or unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection of, that country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.” INA §101(a)(42)(A).
Some foreign nationals have suffered persecuted in their home country prior to arrival in the United States, and come seeking refuge from future persecution in their home country. Other foreign nationals have visited or worked in the United States, and the conditions in their home country have change in their absence, such that they will be persecuted if they return. There are some limitations on the grant of asylum to foreign nationals. Seek the advice of an attorney for a detailed analysis of your case.
Kimberly Kinser is experience in assisting foreign nationals with their asylum claims. She has experience filing asylum applications both with the asylum office, and the immigration court.
