Immigration Law Attorney in San Antonio

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If you or a loved one are looking to make a home in the United States, you will need to navigate the U.S. immigration system. Immigration law is very complex and can be difficult to interpret on your own. Your case is too important to risk. An experienced immigration attorney can help you make the most of your case and ensure that your rights are protected.

Salmón & Haas Immigration Attorneys has years of experience helping individuals and families with adjustments of status, naturalizations, waivers, fiances visas, consular processing, and many other immigration cases. Our clients come from all over the world to make their home in Texas. Let us help you build the life you and your family want.

We Handle A Wide Variety Of Cases, Including:

Permanent Residence/ Green Card

Your Pathway to Calling the United States Home

Securing a Permanent Residency or a Green Card is a pivotal step in making the U.S. your home, providing you the liberty to live and work across the nation. Navigating through the distinct pathways available, each requiring a nuanced understanding of eligibility, application processes, and regulatory compliance, demands expertise and delicate handling. For an immigration lawyer to assist you with permanent residence or a green card in San Antonio, trust Salmón & Haas Immigration Attorneys . 

Family-Based Adjustment of Status

Family unification is a cornerstone of U.S. immigration policy. Family-Based Adjustment of Status enables eligible U.S. citizens and Permanent Residents to sponsor certain family members for a Green Card. The process entails filing a petition, validating the familial relationship, affirming financial ability to support the intending immigrant, and ensuring all admissibility criteria are met, weaving through both USCIS and State Department protocols.

Family-Based Adjustment of Status

Employment-Based Adjustment of Status

Pursuing a career in the U.S. becomes seamless with Employment-Based Adjustment of Status, which allows individuals and their families to transition from temporary workers to Permanent Residents. Navigating through preference categories, labor certifications, and meticulous documentation while synchronizing with potential visa retrogression requires a strategic and legally sound approach.

Employment-Based Adjustment of Status

Conditional Permanent Residents

Individuals granted Conditional Permanent Residency, typically through marriage or certain investment categories, hold their status for two years. Before this period expires, it is imperative to file a petition to remove the conditions and convert to a regular Permanent Residency. This demands authentic documentation, demonstrating the legitimacy of the qualifying marriage or sustained investment, ensuring a smooth transition to continued U.S. residency.

Conditional Permanent Residents

National Interest Waivers

For those who exhibit exceptional ability in their fields, National Interest Waivers (NIW) offer a pathway to Employment-Based Permanent Residency without the conventional labor certification. Here, delineating that the applicant’s contributions significantly benefit the U.S. becomes crucial, necessitating a compelling case substantiated by a robust portfolio of achievements, endorsements, and potential impact.

National Interest Waivers

Section 245(i) Adjustment of Status

Section 245(i) Adjustment of Status allows certain individuals who are present in the U.S. without a lawful entry or have overstayed visas to adjust their status to Lawful Permanent Residents under specific conditions. Successfully maneuvering through this provision requires establishing eligibility, particularly concerning qualifying relationships and petition timelines, ensuring that the candidate’s path toward adjusting status is firmly anchored in legal precedence.

Section 245(i) Adjustment of Status

Green Card Renewal

The renewal of a Green Card is an essential process for maintaining lawful permanent residency status in the U.S. This process involves filing Form I-90, ensuring all documentation is up-to-date and accurate, and navigating through any subsequent reviews or requests for evidence. Ensuring punctuality, completeness, and accuracy in the renewal process is pivotal to maintaining one’s lawful status seamlessly.

Green Card Renewal

Family Members of Lawful Permanent Residents

Family members of Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs), under certain visa categories, may be eligible for Green Cards themselves. This involves the LPR sponsoring their relatives, navigating through visa availability, and ensuring that all requisite documentation substantiates the claimed familial relationships and satisfies all eligibility and admissibility requirements to facilitate smooth processing.

Family Members of Lawful Permanent Residents

Lawful Permanent Resident

Becoming a Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) is a multifaceted process, encompassing eligibility assessment, adjustment of status or consular processing, and ensuring admissibility to the U.S. Ensuring that all pathways leading to LPR status, whether family, employment, or humanitarian-based, are navigated with thoroughness and compliance, is crucial to securing and maintaining this cherished status.

Lawful Permanent Resident

Motions to Reopen/Reconsider

Filing Motions to Reopen or Reconsider involves requesting USCIS to review a decision concerning an immigration case. Successfully navigating through this entails a meticulous compilation of legal arguments, new evidence if applicable, and adherence to stipulated timelines, ensuring that the case is reviewed with thoroughness and fairness, potentially altering the original decision favorably.

Motions to Reopen/Reconsider

Work Authorization

While awaiting Green Card approval, candidates may seek Work Authorization (Employment Authorization Document, EAD) to work legally in the U.S. This involves filing Form I-765, ensuring accurate categorization of the employment eligibility category, and effectively addressing any subsequent requests for evidence or additional documentation, ensuring the applicant can work without jeopardizing their status.

Work Authorization

Delays/Denials of Immigration Applications

Navigating through delays or denials in immigration applications requires a strategic and informed approach. This involves understanding the reasons for delays or denials, possibly filing inquiries or appeals, and ensuring that any additional requests or conditions are addressed comprehensively, mitigating any negative repercussions and enhancing the chances of a positive outcome.

Delays/Denials of Immigration Applications

Special Immigration Juvenile Status (SIJS)

SIJS provides a pathway for foreign children in the U.S. who have been abused, abandoned, or neglected to secure lawful status. The process involves navigating through state juvenile court and USCIS, substantiating the claim of maltreatment, and ensuring the child’s best interests are forefront, providing them a secure and stable future in the U.S.

Special Immigration Juvenile Status (SIJS)

Naturalization

Embrace U.S. Citizenship with Confidence and Clarity

Naturalization is a fulfilling journey toward U.S. citizenship, presenting privileges and responsibilities that signify your commitment to the nation. The path involves varied criteria, intensive scrutiny, testing, and an oath of allegiance, demanding a profound understanding and compliance with the outlined processes. If you’re looking for an immigration lawyer to assist you with naturalization, trust Salmón & Haas Immigration Attorneys. 

N-400 — Application for Naturalization

Filing Form N-400, the Application for Naturalization, initiates your journey toward U.S. citizenship. This procedure encompasses establishing your eligibility, preparing for civic and language examinations, navigating through interviews, and culminating in the Oath of Allegiance. The pivotal aspect is ensuring authenticity, compliance, and readiness at each juncture.

N-400 — Application for Naturalization

Delays/ Denials of Naturalization Applications

Encountering delays or denials in your Naturalization Application can be disheartening. Addressing such scenarios involves deciphering the underlying reasons, exploring avenues for redressal, and potentially filing an N-336, Request for a Hearing on a Decision in Naturalization Proceedings, ensuring that your case is presented with utmost clarity and robust representation.

Delays/Denials of Naturalization Applications

Naturalization Through Military Service

U.S. Military service members and their families are granted special considerations under U.S. immigration law. This encompasses expedited processes and certain exemptions in Naturalization proceedings. The intricacies involve ensuring thorough documentation of the service member’s status and aligning the application with the specific provisions available for military personnel and their dependents.

Naturalization Through Military Service

Proof of Citizenship/Derivative Citizenship

Proving U.S. citizenship, whether acquired by birth or through parentage (derivative citizenship), involves meticulous documentation and adherence to varied eligibility frameworks. Establishing this, particularly when records are not straightforward, requires a strategic compilation of evidentiary documents and potentially, legal representations to affirm your status unequivocally.

Proof of Citizenship/Derivative Citizenship

Visas & Waivers

Navigating the Vistas of U.S. Visas and Associated Waivers

Whether exploring the U.S. for education, work, or union with a loved one, the journey through visas and associated waivers is a meticulous process. Addressing each visa type demands a unique strategy, whilst navigating through potential inadmissibility issues requires adept handling of waivers. Our immigration lawyers have helped countless individuals navigate the U.S. visas and associated waivers process, and are ready to help you next. 

Diversity Lottery

The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, or the “Green Card Lottery,” provides an avenue for nationals from countries with low immigration rates to the United States to obtain a U.S. immigrant visa. Success in navigating this opportunity not only relies on winning the lottery but also meticulously adhering to the subsequent application processes, ensuring eligibility, and preparing for consular interviews, thereby safeguarding your chance to make the U.S. your new home.

Diversity Lottery

Consular Processing

Navigating through consular processing involves obtaining a visa from a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad and subsequently entering the United States. Precision in application submission, readiness for the consular interview, and ensuring all documentation and relationships are verifiable and bona fide are paramount in ensuring your journey from visa approval to U.S. entry is smooth and successful.

Consular Processing

Provisional Waivers

Provisional waivers (I-601A) allow certain immediate relatives of U.S. citizens to request a waiver for unlawful presence while still in the United States. Crafting a strong case for the extreme hardship that a U.S. citizen spouse or parent would face upon the applicant's denial is crucial to maneuver through this waiver process successfully and establish eligibility for an immigrant visa.

Provisional Waivers

Employment-Based Immigration

Employment-Based Immigration encompasses a wide range of visa categories, each with specific requirements and quotas. From highly-skilled workers and outstanding professors to executives and managers, ensuring your credentials, the prospective U.S. employer’s needs, and policy compliance are in sync is vital to navigating through employment-based pathways successfully.

Employment-Based Immigration

Temporary Work Visas

Temporary Work Visas, spanning various categories like H-1B, L-1, O-1, and more, offer non-permanent U.S. work opportunities to foreign nationals. Ensuring that employer petitions, beneficiary qualifications, and all policy stipulations are thoroughly addressed and complied with is vital to securing and maintaining valid work status in the U.S.

Temporary Work Visas

Student Visas

Securing a Student Visa (F-1 or M-1) necessitates proof of admission to a U.S. school, financial sustainability, and adherence to study and potential work stipulations. Ensuring that your U.S. educational journey is uninterrupted involves strategic planning from application, and maintenance of status, to exploring options post-study.

Student Visas

K-1 Fiancé(e) Visa

The K-1 Visa facilitates U.S. entry for the foreign fiancé(e) of a U.S. citizen. Ensuring genuine relationship evidence, meeting in-person requirements, and navigating through subsequent adjustment of status post-marriage is critical to ensuring your journey from fiancé(e) to U.S. resident is facilitated seamlessly.

K-1 Fiancé(e) Visa

Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility

Seeking a Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility involves demonstrating that denial of admission into the U.S. would cause significant hardship to a U.S. citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident relative. Establishing this hardship and presenting a robust case can pave the way for approval, ensuring family unity and lawful entry/residence in the U.S.

Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility

I-212: Waiver of Bar to Reentry After Deportation

The I-212 Waiver allows certain individuals to apply for reentry after deportation. Navigating this involves not only substantiating the rationale behind seeking U.S. re-entry but also possibly demonstrating remorse and rehabilitation since the removal, ensuring compliance and readiness to adhere to U.S. laws upon return.

I-212: Waiver of Bar to Reentry After Deportation

3 or 10-Year Bar Waiver

Addressing the 3 or 10-year bars to re-entry for prior unlawful presence demands a strong case for extreme hardship to a U.S. citizen or LPR relative. Developing a case that thoroughly depicts emotional, financial, and medical implications upon denial is key to successfully navigating through this waiver.

3 or 10 Year Bar Waiver

Waiver of Health-Related Grounds of Inadmissibility

In instances where health-related grounds hinder admissibility, seeking a waiver involves thorough documentation from a panel physician, potential assurances regarding non-dependence on public resources, and potentially, evidence of vaccinations to mitigate public health concerns and facilitate U.S. entry.

Waiver of Health-Related Grounds of Inadmissibility

Humanitarian Programs

A Beacon of Hope in Your Humanitarian Journey to the U.S.

Humanitarian programs under U.S. immigration laws extend a helping hand to individuals experiencing persecution, abuse, or life-threatening circumstances. Each program is intertwined with the empathy of legal provisions and the complexity of regulatory adherence.

VAWA (Violence Against Women Act)

VAWA provides a lifeline for foreign nationals experiencing abuse at the hands of a U.S. citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) spouse or parent. Filing a self-petition under VAWA requires meticulous documentation of abuse and adherence to eligibility criteria, ensuring the applicant can seek relief and a pathway to lawful status independently of the abuser.

VAWA (Domestic Violence)

Asylee / Refugee Adjustment

Individuals granted asylum or refugee status can seek to adjust their status to Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) after specific periods of residence in the U.S. Navigating this involves compliance with residency requirements, ensuring no post-arrival conditions hinder admissibility, and ensuring the adjustment application robustly reflects continued eligibility.

Asylee/Refugee Adjustment

DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals)

DACA provides certain individuals who came to the U.S. as children with protection from deportation and eligibility for work authorization. Ensuring continuous eligibility, compliance with educational or military service requirements, and prompt renewals are pivotal in maintaining protections under DACA and exploring any potential pathways to more permanent status.

DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals)

Visas for Victims of Human Trafficking, Domestic Violence, or Other Crimes

Certain visa categories, such as the U and T visas, provide relief for foreign nationals who have been victims of crimes in the U.S. and cooperate with law enforcement. Successfully navigating through these requires substantial evidence of victimization and any resultant harm, and where applicable, substantiating cooperation with legal authorities.

Visas for Victims of Human Trafficking, Domestic Violence or other Crimes

Asylum

Asylum provides protection to foreign nationals in the U.S. who have suffered persecution or have a well-founded fear of future persecution based on specific protected grounds. Ensuring a compelling asylum claim involves robustly documenting past persecution or the fear thereof, substantiating the nexus to protected grounds, and adhering to filing deadlines.

Asylum

Temporary Protected Status (TPS)

TPS provides temporary protection and work authorization to nationals of countries designated due to conditions like natural disasters or conflict that temporarily prevent safe return. Ensuring continuous benefit from TPS involves timely re-registration during designated windows and maintaining eligibility through compliance with all requirements.

Temporary Protected Status

Padilla Immigration

For non-citizens facing criminal charges, understanding the immigration consequences is crucial. The Padilla Immigration approach involves ensuring that non-citizens are fully informed about the potential deportability or inadmissibility implications of criminal convictions, enabling informed decisions in criminal proceedings.

Padilla Immigration

International Adoption

Navigating through international adoption involves adherence to the Hague Adoption Convention, or orphan process (non-Hague), ensuring compliance with the U.S. and the child’s country of residence laws, safeguarding the interests of the child, and ensuring a lawful and smooth transition into the adoptive parents’ custody and country.

International Adoption

Humanitarian Parole

Humanitarian Parole allows individuals otherwise inadmissible to enter the U.S. temporarily due to a significant public interest or extreme emergency. Crafting a successful application necessitates a robust case for the urgency and significance of the parole request, ensuring all stipulations are met and that the individual’s presence will not be detrimental to the U.S.

Humanitarian Parole

Why Choose Salmón & Haas Immigration Attorneys?

At Salmón & Haas Immigration Attorneys, your dreams, safety, and stability in the United States take center stage. Our seasoned team possesses a depth of knowledge, experience, and empathy that sets us apart in the complex landscape of immigration law.

  • Unwavering Dedication: We are staunch advocates for our clients, committed to illuminating pathways through the often daunting corridors of immigration processes. We believe every individual has a unique story and we are dedicated to hearing yours, crafting bespoke strategies that align with your aspirations and needs.

  • Comprehensive Expertise: With an expansive understanding of the various facets of immigration law, from employment-based petitions and family reunifications to humanitarian protections and defenses against removal, we navigate each case with precision, ensuring every available legal avenue is explored and leveraged.

  • Client-Centric Approach: Your journey becomes our journey. We believe in forging genuine connections with our clients, ensuring you always have a trusted ally in your corner. Through transparent communication, collaborative planning, and attentive support, your concerns are always addressed, and your questions never go unanswered.

  • Ethical & Honest Representation: At our firm, we uphold the highest standards of integrity and professionalism. We provide transparent, honest, and realistic counsel, ensuring you are always informed and never misguided. Your trust is paramount, and we honor it with straightforward and ethical legal service.

  • Result-Oriented Strategies: Our solutions are meticulously tailored, result-oriented, and backed by a robust history of facilitating successful immigration outcomes. Whether it’s seeking a visa, obtaining permanent residence, or protecting your right to remain in the U.S., our strategies are always optimized for success, ensuring your efforts and investments bear fruitful results.

Let Us Help You Win Your Case Today

Immigration law can be complex, but we always stay on top of the latest developments. If you have questions about immigration law or your immigration case, contact us today to set up a free initial consultation.

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