The Immigration Mastermind

In immigration hardship cases, husbands and wives are asked to predict the future.

But how do you prove something that has not happened yet?

What will happen to the spouse living alone in the U.S.? What will happen to the kids living without a mother or father they love?

In many cases, the best indication of what may happen next is what happened before.

Sometimes the person sitting across from me understands what could lie ahead. Not because they have a crystal ball.

Rather, because they've traveled a similar road before.

Related Podcasts:

Episode 177: Visualizing The Hardship Of Spouses After Family Separation

Episode 125: The Plight Of U.S. Citizen Spouses Of Immigrants

Recommended Links For More Information:

I-601 Hardship Waiver Factors

Taking The Qualifying Relative As You Find Them: The Thin Skull Doctrine In I-601 And I-601A Extreme Hardship Cases

When it comes to immigration cases, I collect pebbles.

Unlike many immigration attorneys, I don’t swing for the fences.

Sure, if I hit a home run – that is, if I find a truly extraordinary issue, or a set of extraordinary circumstances, I’ll gladly use them to defend my clients.

But I will still surround those bigger issues with as many pebbles as I can collect.

Related Podcasts:

Episode 186: Hardship Is Not A Silver-Spoon Theory

Episode 26: The Wrong First Question

Recommended Links For More Information:

Beyond the Pain: What Immigration Officers Are Really Asking In Hardship Waiver Cases

50 Questions That Decide I-601 & I-601A Waiver Cases: How Officers Evaluate Extreme Hardship

Can you go back who you were once upon a time?

Back to the life you were living, before the thing happened that changed you.

Before you met the person you love today.

Related Podcasts:

Episode 217: The Ghost Of Immigration Law

Episode 40: Ditch Robotic Hardship Formulas

Recommended Links For More Information:

Immigrants Who Believe In Miracles Can Make Them Happen

How To Unlock Hidden Hardships And Win I-601A Waiver Cases (Part 1)

Ralph Waldo Emerson once noted, "Life is a journey, not a destination."

He wasn't talking about lawyers. But he could have been.

No lawyer ever reaches a point of complete mastery.

It is a lifetime pursuit.

Related Podcasts:

Immigration Karate Chops

Immigration Lawyers: The Good, Bad, And Ugly

Recommended Links For More Information:

Hard Work Pays Off

The Fallacy Of Quick Fixes

"If you'll believe in me," the Unicorn told Alice, "I'll believe in you."

Alice understood.

Her adventures in Wonderland had taught her that trust was rarely given — it was earned. I

It sounds whimsical. Childlike. Yet beneath those simple words lies a truth for every lawyer-client relationship.

Related Podcasts:

Why I Fight For Immigrants

Cookies And Immigration

Recommended Links For More Information:

Summer Breaks From Law School

Reflections Of An Activist Turned Lawyer: Why I Support The Dreamers

There are ghosts in immigration courtrooms.

They attend every hearing on hardship.

They never speak.

They never testify.

And yet, judges listen to them anyway.

Related Podcasts:

Hardship Is Not A Silver Spoon Theory

Towards A Hardship Definition

Recommended Links For More Information:

The BIA Is Wrong About Exceptional And Extremely Unusual Hardship (And How It Destroys Immigration Cases)

Hardship Defense At Immigration Court: Three Spectrums Of Severity

It was my first briefcase.

It was black. It was made out of wood. It was cheap.

I paid $1.99 for it.

I bought it at a Thrifty’s – a low cost drug store, located two blocks away from my home.

When I carried it, I carried my dreams.

Related Podcasts:

Thank You, Old Friend

A Lawyer And His Mother

Recommended Links For More Information:

A Tribute To My Father: An American Success Story

The Battle For Immigration Justice: Why Compassion Matters

The moment we stepped out of court, he started crying.

He cried . . . And cried . . . And cried.

His wife had just won her immigration case.

Related Podcasts:

Sports And Immigration

If There's A Will, There's A Way

Recommended Links For More Information:

Meet The Mascogos: Early American Slaves Who Sought Refuge In Mexico

A Jamaican Immigration Story Of Family Unity Persistence

Clients often ask “Do I really need a lawyer to handle my case?”

Here’s the truth.

It depends.

Some immigration cases are easier than others.

Run-of-the-mill family visas petition or citizenship application matters are not as tough as a deportation defense case at immigration court.

But are any cases truly run-of-the-mill?

In other words, are run-of-the-mill cases problem-free?

And supposing your case is run-of-the-mill, are you equipped to handle it?

Related Podcasts:

Episode 27: Immigration Success Is Not A Sprint

Episode 26: The Wrong First Question:

Recommended Links For More Information:

How A Deportation Lawyer Can Help Win Hard Cases At Immigration Court

EOIR Motions To Reopen vs Motions To Reconsider: A Second Chance To Win At Immigration Court

“If destruction be our lot”, Abraham Lincoln once noted, “we must ourselves be its author and finisher.”

That was 187 years ago.

Many things have changed in the United States since that time. 

But not the destructive power of racism.

Related Podcasts:

Episode 204: When Was America Great (For Immigrants)?

Episode 157: Divide And Conquer

Recommended Links For More Information:

The Anti-Immigrant Propaganda War

The Battle To Correct False Labels About Immigrants