Category: Services

In order to fully exhaust all potential avenues of appeal, our legal team is prepared, and in fact has on several occasions previously, petitioned directly to the U.S. Supreme Court in what is called a Writ of Certiorari. However, the U.S. Supreme Court accepts for review and a further hearing only a very small percentage of cases that are filed before it. In past sessions, the Supreme Court received in excess of 8,000 petitions and on average reviews only around 80 cases. For more information on this and other avenues to immigraiton relief, contact us today.

US citizens with certain criminal convictions. Congress prohibited certain U.S. citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents with criminal convictions from obtaining any family-based immigration benefit. Sections 402(a) and (b) of the Adam Walsh Act amend section 101(a)(15)(K), 204(a)(1)(A) and 204(a)(1)(B)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act to prohibit U.S. citizens and LPRs who have been convicted of any “specified offense against a minor” from filing a family-based visa petition on behalf of any beneficiary, unless the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security determines that the petitioner poses no risk to the beneficiary of the visa petition. This authority has been delegated to USCIS, pursuant to 8 C.F.R. § 103.1. If you fall under the Walsh Act and need assistance demonstrating that you are not a risk to your family-beneficiary, contact us today.

An abused alien spouse of a U.S. Citizen or Green Card holder may file a green card application on his/her own without the consent of the US citizen or legal resident spouse. A self-petitioner must be legally married (in good faith) to the U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident batterer. A self-petition may be filed if the marriage was terminated by the abusive spouse’s death within the two years prior to filing. A self-petition may also be filed if the marriage to the abusive spouse was terminated, within the two years prior to filing, by divorce related to the abuse. Our law office has extensive experience in VAWA applications. If you need help with obtaining permanent residency because of an abusive spouse, please contact our office today for assistance.

Our attorneys have extensive experience in providing the best possible legal representation in the Federal Immigration Courts for someone in a removal or deportation proceeding. We understand that this can be a frightening experience, with serious consequences if the person is ordered removed, foremost separation from their families and friends. Our skilled attorneys will use every available means in order to provide our client with relief from removal.

Our offices have over 22 years experience connecting loved ones together in the United States. Get help with petitions, visas, green cards and permanent resident status. If your fiancé(e) or spouse is not a citizen of the United States and you would like to sponsor him or her to enter the U.S., then you will need help obtaining a K-1 fiancée visa or K-3 or CR-1 Spousal Visa.

Our legal team has experience and knowledge in many areas of the law, including civil and appellate law. We represent clients in various civil venues, as well as local administrative hearings. We often have repeat clients retain us on diverse legal matters. Please contact us today for a consultation.

During the past 20 years, we have developed a reputation for dedication to our clients and for effective representation. Based on this reputation, we are called on to handle immigration matters in multiple states. Although local competent counsel is usually best equipped to deal with local immigration matters, our office will gladly discuss representing you in any U.S. city and before any immigration court so long as our representation is more beneficial to you than local representation. Please contact us today to discuss whether our representation would be beneficial for you.

L-1 visas apply to inter-company transferees who, within the three preceding years, have been employed abroad continuously for one year, and who will be employed by a branch, parent, affiliate, or subsidiary of that same employer in the U.S. in a managerial, executive, or specialized knowledge capacity. If you are in need of an L-1 visa, please contact our offices today.

A J-1 holder who is subject to the foreign two-year residency requirement must obtain a waiver before being allowed to seek an H-1B visa or to adjust his/her status through marriage to a U.S. citizen. Our office has over 20 years of experience in this field of l aw and can assist in filing this type of waiver or appealing a denial of a J-1 waiver application to the Administrative Appeals Office. Please contact us for more information.

For investors looking to develop and direct a business enterprise in the United States or to invest a substantial amount of capital in a new business project, a special E-2 Treaty Investor Visa is available. In order to obtain an investor visa to conduct or invest in business in the United States, several requirements must be met. We encourage you to consult with our office on your particular U.S. investment.

Detention and removal of illegal aliens is a priority of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) is an agency within the Department of Justice (DOJ) that presides over immigration courts.

Immigration Detention Centers

• Aguadilla Service Processing Center
• Aurora Contract Detention Facility
• Aurora Immigration Detention Center
• Broward Transitional Center
• Buffalo Federal Detention Facility
• El Centro Immigration Detention Center
• El Centro Service Processing Center
• El Paso Detention Center
• Elizabeth Contract Detention Facility
• Elizabeth Immigration Detention Center
• Eloy Detention Center
• Eloy Immigration Detention Center
• Federal Immigration Detention Center
• Florence Service Processing Center
• Houston Contract Detention Facility
• ICE Detention Center
• INS Detention Center
• Kern Detention Center
• Krome Immigration Detention Center
• Laredo Contract Detention Facility
• LaSalle Detention Facility
• Lompoc Detention Center
• Mira Loma Immigration Detention Center
• Otay Detention Facility
• Pearsall Immigration Detention Center
• Pinal County Adult Detention Center
• Port Isabel Service Processing Center
• Sacramento Detention Center
• San Pedro Service Processing Center
• Santa Clara Detention Center
• South Texas Detention Facility
• Stewart Detention Center
• Tacoma Contract Detention Facility
• USCIS Detention Center
• Varick Federal Detention Facility
• Willacy Detention Center
• Yuba Detention Center

If your loved one is detained by ICE in a detention center, please contact us immediately at 650-373-1122. We are deportation defense lawyers with over 22 years experience representing detained aliens nationwide.

Over the years, I have had the privilege to help many clients resolve their immigration status, from helping individuals obtain their Permanent Legal Residency, (Green Card), preventing Deportation, to arguing successfully in Immigration Courts, BIA, and before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

As our law firm has grown over the years, it makes me proud to see how we have assisted thousands of clients legalize their status and become productive US citizens.

Our legal team has extensive experience in arguing immigration matters before the federal Circuit Courts, especially in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. We are skilled in framing the legal arguments before the federal appellate courts so that our clients have the best opportunity available to have their claims heard and decided upon. For more information on our federal appellate experience, please contact us today.

For employers seeking to hire foreign workers in specialized fields requiring a bachelor’s degree or higher, such as scientists, engineers, or computer programmers, the H-1B visa program can be confusing and complex. At the Law Offices of Haitham Edward Ballout, we focus on providing your business with a range of services, from employment counseling to filling out the necessary paperwork for the H-1B visa, or assisting you in the transfer of an existing H-1B employee’s work authorization.

Need help getting a green card? Our immigration lawyers have been helping clients in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond apply for green cards for over 20 years.

Immigration support and advice for gay and lesbian immigrants in the South Bay and throughout the nation.

Immigration laws are continually changing and constantly challenging immigrants hoping to obtain legal permanent status in the United States. For gay and lesbian immigrants, not only do they face challenges because of their legal status in the U.S. but also because they are gay.

The Law Offices of H. Edward Ballout & Associates are gay-friendly and are committed to helping gay immigrants obtain green cards, visas, and to defending appeals in immigration courts.

If you’re looking for immigration support for gay, lesbian and transgender immigrants please contact our immigration office today. We have over 20 years experience in successfully defending immigrants of all identities and backgrounds in California and throughout the nation.

If you currently hold a non-immigrant status and seek to extend or change your immigration status, then you are required to file an I-539 application to change your status. We have a friendly staff that will help you achieve your goal of staying in the United States.

Immigrants wishing to enter the United States based on prospective employment must obtain an approved employment visa from the USCIS. Our experienced and professional legal staff has over 20 years of experience helping our clients obtain employment visas permitting them to live and work in the United States.

Our office has successfully assisted many immigrants in obtaining their visas through U.S. State Department consular processing. Any intending immigrant living outside of the U.S. must obtain their visa through consular processing. This process can be challenging, time consuming, and frustrating if you fail to timely file the proper document. Once you have obtained the approval of your visa petition and a visa is available for you, your application must be processed through the National Visa Center. Our skilled professional staff can assist you in navigating your visa application through this bureaucratic maze and ensure that you receive a timely consulate interview on your petition so that you may join your family in the United States.

The basic requirements for U.S. citizenship are that the applicant hold a legal status as a full-time resident for a minimum period of time and that the applicant promise to obey and uphold the country’s laws, to which an oath or pledge of allegiance is sometimes added. Becoming a U.S. citizen provides you with new rights and privileges; including the right to vote, run for federal office, and eligibility for grants and scholarships.

Certain aliens who have resided illegally but continuously in the U.S. for over 10 years and have a qualifying U.S. citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident spouse, child or parent may qualify for cancellation of removal (which leads to a green card) if they can show extraordinary hardship to any one of the qualifying relatives. Certain abused spouses may also qualify for cancellation of removal even if they have not resided in the U.S. for 10 years or more. Our law office focuses on cancellation of removal and deportation defense and has 20 years of experience in obtaining successful results in this area. Please contact us for a consultation on this very important form of relief.

Asylum is a form of protection granted to individuals in the United States who have been persecuted or fear they will be persecuted on account of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. Individuals who meet this definition of a refugee and who are already in the United States or who are seeking entry into the United States at a port of entry may qualify for a grant of asylum and be permitted to remain in the United States as long as they are not barred from either applying for or being granted asylum. Individuals who are granted asylum are eligible to apply to adjust their status to that of a lawful permanent resident. For more information about whether you are eligible for asylum, please contact our offices.

Our legal team has years of experience practicing before the Board in numerous types of cases and we possess the necessary skill and knowledge to aggressively advocate for our clients in their cases on appeal. It is essential that any appeal brought before the BIA be exhaustive and complete, as any argument that may later be brought to the federal Circuit Courts on a Petition for Review is limited by the record and issues initially presented to the Board. Our legal team knows and understands the complexity of the legal arguments that may be raised and we fully brief and provide the necessary record on which to present the arguments. For more information on our practice, please call us today.

Typically, this appeal must be submitted on a form I-290B along with supporting documents. Our immigration attorneys have the necessary experience, skill, and knowledge to submit a compelling appeal in your case. For example, our office has taken the appeal on an initial denial of a J-1 waiver application of the two-year foreign residency requirement to the AAO and successfully obtained such a waiver for two medical doctors and physicians. For more information on our practice, please call us today.

Individuals holding an advanced degree or aliens of exceptional ability may be eligible for a First Employment-Based Preference (EB1-EA or EB1A) petition without an employer’s sponsorship. These petitions provide the freedom of changing jobs without going through the normal immigration process and could be a much better and quicker way to obtain your U.S. Green Card to enter the United States. If you need assistance with this petition, please contact our immigration lawyers today.