Issue:

 Olga*, a Mexican National, came to our office with her U.S. citizen husband, Luis, after they had received a Notice to Appear at the Immigration Court for Olga’s deportation proceedings. Luis* had previously filed an I-130 marriage petition on behalf of his wife as well as an application to adjust her status to lawful permanent resident. Because they were not represented by an attorney, the couple was unaware that Olga was ineligible to adjust her status in the U.S. because she had entered the U.S. illegally in 1997 across the Mexican border. The immigration service approved the I-130 petition, but denied Olga’s residency application. A few months later, the immigration service put her in deportation proceedings.

Solution:

 Because Olga had resided continuously in the U.S. for more than ten years, had never been convicted of any crimes, and had qualifying relatives (her U.S. citizen husband and lawful permanent resident parents), she was eligible to apply for cancellation of removal.
Outcome:

Olga’s husband, Luis, has a great job working for the county government as a mechanic on emergency vehicles such as ambulances and fire trucks. Due to his wife’s potential deportation, Luis began to experience depression and a loss of concentration and attention at work – very dangerous for someone who works with heavy equipment and machinery. In addition, Luis was extremely worried about his wife returning to the rural region of San Luis Potosi, Mexico – her hometown – which is currently controlled by a powerful Mexican drug cartels. Olga also suffers from a painful reproductive disease which, if not treated properly, would lead to her infertility. As her husband 

Luis has dreamed of having children his whole life, we were able to show that the lack of proper medical care in Mexico for his wife would be a hardship to him if she became infertile. Lastly, Luis comes from a close-knit Puerto-Rican family; all of his immediate and extended family members were natural born U.S. citizens. Luis has never been apart from his family in the U.S. and has no ties to Mexico; in fact, he has never been there. The judge found that our office established exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to Luis in the event of Olga’s deportation when taking into account the combined effect of all the hardship he would suffer. We are happy to announce that Olga was granted her lawful permanent residency at the hearing and she and her husband are now planning on turning some of their dreams into reality. They will soon be purchasing their first home and starting a family together. Congratulations Luis and Olga!

*Please note that client’s names have been changed for their confidentiality

Tags: cancellation, Permanent Residency
Posted in hardship, Miami Immigration Court, Non-LPR Cancellation, Notice to Appear, removal, Residency, Uncategorized, waiver, Waivers | No Comments »