July was an impressive month for us with several extensively litigated cases resolving in favor of our clients.

Two cases were real standouts though.  The first involved an alien who failed to disclose a very serious offense (for which he had served 21 months in Federal prison) on his naturalization application.  He came to us after he was served with a de-naturalization proceeding.  We argued before the District Court and before the U.S. Court of Appeals that the crime, as serious as it was, did not constitute a ground of either deportability or inadmissibility and thus its omission was immaterial to the naturalization application. Without ruling on the issue of whether the offense constituted a ground of either admissibility or deportability,  both of these courts ruled against our client finding the omission to be material as it may have effected discretion.  After he was de-naturalized, our client was taken into Immigration custody for Removal proceedings based on his offense.  We were able to quickly secure a bond based on the fact that he had been released from criminal custody before October 8, 1998 (a magic date in the bond-hearing context).   In the Removal proceedings before the service alleged that our client's crime rendered him deportable as an alien convicted of an aggravated felony and we denied that charge.  The Immigration Judge agreed with us and ordered the case terminated.  The government filed an appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals.  In a lengthy, unpublished decision, the Board reluctantly agreed with our reasoning and upheld the Immigration Judge's decision, thus concluding nearly ten years of litigation and restoring our client to Legal Permanent Resident status and clearing the path for him to renaturalize.

In the other matter, the government agreed to the remand of a case which was pending in the Circuit Court after reading our brief on the matter.  It is always nice to "win" a case before ever having to stand in front of a judge, especially when the case involves a decade old deportation order and multiple Lozada motions.  In this matter, prior counsel for our client wrote an extremely confusing brief to the Board of Immigration Appeals alleging that the attorney before her had represented the client incompetently.  The brief was confusing because it could not be easily determined whether it was supposed to be a brief in support of the appeal of the first attorney's motion to reopen or whether it was a new motion to reopen based on the first attorney's alleged incompetence.  It was fairly obvious that the attorney calling the first attorney incompetent was herself incompetent.  The Board treated the brief as a brief on appeal only and rejected all of the evidence of the first attorney's ineffective assistance.  The Office of Immigration, by agreeing to the remand, acknowledged that the Board of Immigration Appeals erred in simply ignoring the fact that there was evidence that the brief was intended to be a motion to reopen.  The Board will now have to issue a new decision adjudicating all of the issues before it.

We had our usual share of naturalization, adjustment and visa grants including the adjustment of one fellow who had been repeatedly told by other lawyers that he was ineligible to adjust his status.  His nephew recommended that he consult with our offices before giving up hope.  Even though he had missed the 245(i) sunset date, he had entered the U.S. legally on a tourist visa, which he overstayed by many years and subsequently married a U.S. Citizen.  This set of facts exempted him from requiring the benefit of 245(i) to adjust his status in the United States.  After having been turned away by other lawyers who said there was nothing he could do, this man is today a proud legal permanent resident of the United States.

Berke Law Offices is a legal team with a creative and diverse staff.  We pride ourselves on our strategic thinking and collaborative process.   Our effectiveness is evident from our excellent track record.  Even if you've been told your case impossible, let us give you a second opinion.