Immigration
✔Removal Defense
Berke Law Offices, Inc. is perhaps best known for its success in removal defense, and we pride ourselves on winning cases that other attorney have called impossible. Our attorneys have authored numerous articles and briefs regarding aliens charged with an aggravated felony and have successfully represented aliens accused of drug trafficking crimes, kidnapping for ransom, domestic violence, sexual abuse of a minor, money laundering, counterfeiting, firearms offenses, arson, attempted murder, manslaughter, major fraud, theft, and battery.
We also have succeeded in defending cases involving illegal re-entry after a prior deportation, marriage fraud, document fraud, and prior executed and unexecuted deportation orders.
The attorneys at Berke Law Offices, Inc. pride themselves on finding procedural solutions to otherwise insurmountable problems by the effective use of motions and appeals. We have an amazing track record at the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) and in circuit courts nationwide. We have attorneys admitted to practice before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th, 6th, 9th, 10th and 11th Circuits and have had decisions from the BIA and 9th Circuit published in the official reports of those courts.
Attorneys from Berke Law Offices, Inc. appear in immigration courts nearly everyday and have the resources to guide our clients’ cases to successful resolutions.
At our criminal immigration resource pages you can find indexed information regarding the law, strategies, and arguments useful in the defense of criminal immigration cases in the Immigration Courts. We also have a book “Understanding Removal Proceedings in the Immigration Court” available for free upon e-mail request by sending a request to info@berkelawoffices.com with the word “book” in the subject line to receive the pdf file.
✔Family Immigration
U.S. citizens and Legal Permanent Residents can apply for their close family members to become legal residents of the United States either through a consulate abroad or, in some cases, right here in the United States.
Citizens and residents can file petitions for spouses, parents, and children. Citizens, but not residents can also petition for brothers and sisters. A child cannot petition for a parent unless the child is over the age of 21 years. Spouses of United States citizens and parents of United States citizens over the age of 21 are considered “immediate relatives” and have immediate access to an immigrant visa. All other relations are subject to numerical visa caps and have to wait for a visa to become available. Some countries have unusually long waits, specifically India, Mexico, China, and the Philippines. The wait for a visa can range from a year or two to over twenty years. Intending immigrants can check their place in line (called a priority date) using the Visa Bulletin published monthly by the U.S. Department of State (https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/law-and-policy/bulletin.html).
When the immigrant visa petition is approved, the alien relative must apply for either admission to the United States or adjustment of status if he or she is already in the United States. Aliens who are in the United States without permission cannot adjust their statuses inside the United States unless they have had either a family petition or labor certification on file before April 30, 2001. Spouses of U.S. citizens who entered the country legally may adjust their status in the United States even if they overstayed their lawful admission. Aliens who have been in the United States without permission must apply for a special waiver before leaving the United States, or they may find themselves barred from reentering the United States for 10 years, and in some cases, permanently.
Family immigration should be a straightforward process, but it is a process that is riddled with hidden dangers. It is always worthwhile to hire competent counsel to assist you in immigrating family members. At Berke Law Offices, Inc., we have immigrated thousands of family members over the last 27 years.
We have successfully immigrated family members with criminal convictions, prior deportations, prior immigration violations, and cases in which the petitioning relative has died or a marriage has ended due to domestic abuse.
Berke Law Offices, Inc. also has a track record of success in appealing denials of unsuccessful family immigration cases.
✔Business Immigration
The United States has numerous programs designed to encourage business and investment in the United States. Some of the most popular programs include the following:
- The EB-5 investor visa: This is an immigrant visa, which means that it results in the applicant obtaining a green card. Through an investment of $500,000 (USD) made in a designated area, an alien can obtain legal permanent residency for him or herself and immediate family members.
- The E-2 treaty investor program is a non-immigrant visa that can be renewed indefinitely. Though this visa does not result in permanent residency, it does permit the investor to reside in the United States for as long as the investment enterprise is operating. This visa can be obtained with a much smaller investment than required by the EB-5, but is only available to citizens of countries that have a specific type of treaty with the United States.
In addition, the United States has specific programs available for moving executives and key personnel into jobs in the United States (L-visas), for hiring foreign workers (Labor Certification), and for hiring contract employees (H-visas).
There are also programs available for aliens of extraordinary abilities in the arts and sciences, members of performing groups, religious workers, and journalists.
Berke Law Offices, Inc. has obtained visas or residency based on investments in restaurants, production companies, real estate, and many other industries.
✔Criminal Immigration
We are perhaps best known for our work with aliens who have suffered criminal convictions in both the affirmative relief and defensive contexts. We have numerous published decisions on issues relating to immigration and crimes and have won hundreds of cases where there were criminal issues. We have authored guides on this topic for Avvo (click here) and you can find a larger collection of articles we have authored here.
✔Appeals
We have won many appeals before both the Board of Immigration Appeals and the U.S. Court of Appeals. We have successfully prosecuted appeals from adverse discretionary decisions, on eligibility determinations, and on asylum and torture convention cases. We are frequently hired to appeal cases tried by other counsel with excellent results.
✔Visas
We process all types of immigrant and non-immigrant visas including E-1 and E-2 visas, L visas, and U visas. We have even been successful in having previously denied B1/B2 visas granted. We are knowledgeable about the 212(d)(3) non-immigrant visa waiver which can be used to waive almost all grounds of inadmissibility, including prior deportations and crimes.
✔Detention Challenges
When an Immigration Judge denies a bond, we employ extraordinary strategies to secure releases from immigration detention. Taking advantage of District and Circuit cases, we can often secure a rehearing. We also have experience in habeas corpus and exceptional writ cases.