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Written by: Geoffrey Willmoth

16 February 2011

In response to a recent Ninth Circuit case, Kazarian v. USCIS, 596 F.3d 1115 (9^th Cir. 2010) , the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is adjusting its procedures with regard to processing I-140 petitions for aliens applying under the following categories: Aliens of Extraordinary Ability (EB-1); Outstanding Professors or Researchers (EB-1); and Aliens of Exceptional Ability (EB-2). You can find the memo here. An alien applying for an immigrant visa under one of these three categories is required to submit evidence establishing that the applicant has sufficient renown to be eligible for the visa. There are several categories of evidence, and each visa classification has a different minimum number of categories that must be met. For more details or questions on these requirements, please contact us at: 816-753-7382.

Read more: Changes in the evaluation of I-140 Petitions for Aliens of Extraordinary Ability, Outstanding...

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Written by: Geoffrey Willmoth

28 January 2011

Recently, the federal government has changed the emphasis of its approach to immigration enforcement in the area of employment. The prior emphasis taken by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) unit of the Department of Homeland Security was on raids on businesses to find and arrest undocumented workers, and place them in removal proceedings. Now ICE is focusing on examining the documentation for workers and using fines against businesses as the key to its enforcement.

Read more: I-9 Audits on the Rise

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Written by: Jonathan Willmoth

13 January 2011

Lawful Permanent Residence (LPR), often referred to as a green card, is a visa status that allows someone in the United States to remain permanently, without the need to continue or alter their visa status regularly. However, such status can be revoked in several ways, including as a result of criminal activity. Many permanent residents who face removal proceedings will be eligible for cancellation of removal, but will also be detained throughout the process, while the required paperwork is filed, the individual is fingerprinted, and the court schedules the final hearing.

Cancellation of Removal for Certain Lawful Permanent Residents is authorized by the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) § 240A(a). The Act provides that anyone with a green card who is placed in deportation proceedings due to criminal activity, can have their removal (deportation) cancelled if they have been in the United States for five years as a green card holder, and seven years in any legal status before they committed the crime in question, and if the crime is not an Aggravated Felony (this includes all sorts of serious offenses, including drug trafficking crimes, but not minor possession crimes). Also, the alien must demonstrate that they warrant such a grant of relief in the discretion of the attorney general.  Generally, this requires showing some rehabilitation.

Read more: Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) Cancellation and Mandatory Detention

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Written by: Jonathan Willmoth

06 December 2010

Geoffrey has a unique background in both law and science, making him preeminently qualified to represent University Professors, Scientists, and Researchers seeking either non-immigrant or immigrant visas.

Most attorneys either rely solely on the scientists themselves to provide them with the necessary expertise, or else spend substantial hours attempting to decipher the nature of the work being performed. That is, a large part of what we do in Outstanding Researcher, National Interest Waiver, or Alien of Extraordinary Ability cases is to break down the technical language of the work being done, and turn it in to language someone with no scientific background can easily understand. You see, the CIS needs to know that the work being done is important, and that the contribution of the alien in question is outstanding or of significant importance.

With Geoffrey’s background, he has the necessary knowledge to turn complex scientific articles and accomplishments into easy-to-understand descriptions that US CIS adjudicators should be able to use with ease.

Geoffrey’s scientific background includes a Bachelor of Science degree in Nuclear Engineering, with minors in Mathematics and Political Science. He was a visiting student at Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Center for Nonlinear Studies for one and a half years.

Geoffrey has more than five years experience as an attorney in a diverse array of disciplines, including three years researching and writing legal opinions for judges at the Missouri Court of Appeals.

This background in both science and legal writing makes Geoffrey precisely the right person to expand our practice into the areas of representing Universities and scientific researchers and professors. We offer nation-wide representation of individuals, at Mid-West pricing. Why pay double or triple for the same work, solely because your attorney is on the East or West coast?