Client: Family
Client’s Country of Origin: Ukraine
Case Type: Asylum and Immigrant Visa consular processing
Date of Application: March 2013
Date of Approval: May 2019
Our clients, a married couple, retained Herman Legal Group because they were facing removal proceedings. Our clients were also beneficiaries of an approved Alien Relative Petition (Form I-130) which priority date was not current at the time.
Due to the fact that this was not an immediate relative petition and the clients had lapsed out of visa status, the clients had to leave the US for consular processing in order to benefit from the approved I-130 Petition.
Consular processing is the procedure of applying for an immigrant visa through a US Embassy or consulate in a foreign country. However, in order to leave the US to get visa approval abroad and come back lawfully, the immigrants must keep a presence in the country authorized by the government to maintain lawful status.
While our clients had a pending petition during the matter, for unknown reasons, they had it withdrawn prior to contacting us. That had rendered them with months of unlawful presence, which would have prohibited them from obtaining an immigrant visa and returning to the U.S.
Once under the counsel of Herman Legal Group, expert immigration lawyer Vania Stefanova filed a motion to reinstate the asylum application back to the time it was initially filed. The motion was approved, and the family regained lawful status. Furthermore, our clients were able to proceed with leaving the U.S., obtaining immigrant visas at a consulate abroad and return to the U.S. as happy lawful permanent residents.
