Asian Journal- The Filipino-American Community Newspaper

WHEN purchasing a car or seeing a doctor about what ails you, often times people obtain a second opinion from friends, family or other professionals. But when seeking an attorney for immigration needs, many take the word of the first immigration attorney that tells them "I can get you your green card" or they immediately believe the attorney who says "There’s nothing that can be done." By nature people shy away at asking attorneys questions like how can you get me my green card, what will you do to make sure my case is approved, and what will I have to go through during this process of legalizing my status? Just because an attorney has a flashy advertisement or may have obtained your favorite celebrity their green card, doesn’t make them infallible. You are paying that attorney good money, they should at least be able to give you an answer to your question.

The principle of asking questions and getting second opinions is a good one to live by. I recently accompanied a client of our firm to his adjustment of status interview. He was anxious about this day as he and his mother have waited several years for this moment. While sitting with him and his parents in the waiting room at USCIS, he told me about all of the times when other attorneys have tried but failed to succeed to resolve his immigration issues. He told me that he was turned away at least two immigration attorneys who advertised to be reputable in the industry.

This client had a unique story. He was first petitioned by his mother in 1990 as an unmarried son over the age of 21 of a Lawful Permanent Resident. During the time that our client waited for his priority date to become current, his mother naturalized and he got married. Although his priority date became current, he was misinformed that because he got married, he had already lost his chances of obtaining permanent residency. This was not true. But our client gave up on his dream to immigrate to the United States

It was not until three of years ago when his father became ill and his mother suffered a permanent disability that he sought to find out if he could still use the petition that his mother filed for him. He went through several immigration law firms. He became used to unfulfilled promises after two failed attempts at obtaining his green card. He also became accustomed to hearing an immigration attorney say "there’s nothing we can do" only after a cursory look at his documents.

What those attorneys failed to tell him is that there is a provision in the law that allowed for automatic conversion of preference classifications. According to the regulations, automatic conversion of preference classifications can take place by change in the beneficiary’s marital status, by beneficiary’s attainment of the age of 21, and by petitioner’s naturalization. In our client’s case, it was the change in his marital status.

I was disheartened to learn that his previous attorney even went as far as telling him that the only way he can reclaim his mother’s petition is if he were to get divorced. This was obvious that the previous attorney had no knowledge of the conversion that takes place when his mother naturalized and then he married. No one ever told him that he could be classified as a married son of a US Citizen. After he terminated his marriage because of the advice of his previous attorney, no immigration attorney wanted to spend time researching the conversion issues of his case. Our firm did. We informed him that there was a section of the law that allowed for his classification to be converted upon the legal termination of his marriage. Because of his divorce, his classification could be changed to first preference under family based immigration and he retained the priority date of his petition.