Louisiana Immigration Lawyers

Navigating You Through the Complex Immigration Process

Immigration law is complex and can be confusing. Immigration laws change regularly. With potential immigration reform taking place soon, you need lawyers you can trust with experience, knowledge, and skill to fight on your behalf.

If you are considering working or living in the United States or obtaining permanent resident status, do not try to handle these matters on your own. Only the attorneys at Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys can help you along the way to protect your rights.

Benefits of working with Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys

• Flexible plans & affordable prices
• Attorneys who have successfully helped our immigration clients
• Up-to-date on immigration law
• Legal counsel in both Spanish & English

Conditions in Detention Centers

ICE either operates facilities independently or, increasingly, contracts local sheriff or police to house detainees. Due to these factors, the physical layout, amenities, crowding and whether detainees are housed alongside state prisoners may vary.

Detainees with medical conditions have the right to treatment at the expense of ICE. For example, if someone has recently had surgery and requires regular mediation, ICE should provide the medication.

Deferred Action (DACA)

If you were in the United States before your sixteenth (16) birthday and before June 2007, the Deferred Action (DACA) policy allows individuals who emigrated to the U.S. to obtain a work permit and avoid deportation.

Petitions for Nonimmigrant and Immigrant Workers

The I-129 petition allows for citizens of other countries to obtain temporary jobs in the United States or extend their stay in the U.S.

Family-Based Immigration

A U.S. law that limits the number of family-based immigrant visas that may be issued to foreign nationals each year is called the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The U.S. Department of State (DOS) allocates the immigrant visas. The Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) also plays a major role in determining eligibility for immigrant visas. You may be able to obtain a visa or green card for a family member if you are a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. The lawyers with Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys can help find out if your family member is eligible and file the appropriate paperwork.

Motions to Reopen and Motions to Reconsider with ASCUS

If you have new evidence or feel your application was unjustly denied, we can help in filing a motion to reopen your application or to have your application reconsidered.

Waiver Applications

If you are found to be inadmissible to the United States, we can assist you in submitting a waiver.

Status Request Adjustments

If you are wanting to change your legal status to permanent residency, we can file the proper paperwork and help you through the process.

Citizenship Through Naturalization

Naturalization is the process by which United States citizenship is granted to a foreign citizen or nationals after fulfilling the requirements established by Congress in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

To qualify for naturalization:

1. Have been a permanent resident for at least 5 years and meet other eligibility requirements
2. Have been a permanent resident for 3 years or more and meet all eligibility requirements to file as a spouse of a U.S. Citizen
3. Qualifying service in the U.S. armed forces and meet all other eligibility requirements.
4. Your child may qualify if you are a U.S. citizen, the child was born outside the United States, the child is currently residing outside of the U.S. and all other eligibility requirements are met.

Asylum Cases

If you are seeking asylum (person that flees their home country seeking international protection in the country they are fleeing to) in the United States, you will need to follow certain procedures. The asylum interview is at an office for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) where the officer decides whether or not to grant your case. Typically, this is a two-week process. If you are not granted asylum, the case is referred to an Immigration Judge. Later you will receive a Notice to Appear in immigration court (an “NTA”). If it reaches this point, it is a much more complicated process. The lawyers with Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys will be able to assist you through the entire process.

Reasons for Deportation

Deportation can occur when a person does not have legal status in the country. Immigrants that are in the United States run the risk of deportation even if they haven’t done anything. This list below is not to be considered exhaustive. Some grounds for deportation are:

• An expired visa
• Staying longer than your visa allows
• Visa application filed incorrectly
• Committing a crime or violating any law
• Falsified immigration documents
• Representing that you are a U.S. citizen when you are not.
• Committing marriage fraud
• Drug use or are a drug addict
• Attempting to or running away from an immigration checkpoint

If a person is about to be deported, they will receive a notice with exact date and time to appear in court. If this applies to you, contact an immigration lawyer and a criminal defense lawyer.

Defenses against deportation

There are some alternatives for deportation:

• Adjustment of Status (AOS)
• Cancellation of Removal (42a or 42b)
• Crime Victims
• Special Immigration Juvenile Status (SIJ)
• Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)
• Voluntary Departure

These alternatives can help a person stay in the United Stated or leave and be able to return. Remember that you have the right to an attorney in case of deportation.

Having a lawyer by your side is the best way to protect yourself if you are worried about deportation

There are some immigrants, especially those who arrive in the United States illegally, who believe that staying in the shadows or running away is the best way to protect themselves from deportation. The problem is that when they are caught, they don’t have a backup plan.

No immigration attorney can guarantee a successful defense. Having an immigration advocate by your side can help improve your chances in court and help make the process more transparent.

Typically, the procedures are complicated and not so easy to access to be able to prepare a defense against deportation. Additionally, there is no constitutional right to a lawyer appointed by the immigration court, which means that you are on your own if you do not hire an attorney.

The immigration lawyers at Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys are here to help you with your fight against deportation.

Nobody wants to be sent to their country of origin against their will, especially if they do not have a place to return. Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys know about the legal and social problems immigrants face and provide compassionate and aggressive representation.