Santa Clara Immigration Attorneys

Helping You Navigate the Immigration Process

Immigration is a complex process, and every journey is unique. Whether you’re deciding what visa option to use or appealing a denial, the right path forward depends on your personal goals and background. As part of Silicon Valley, Santa Clara attracts skilled workers and students from across the globe. Its vibrant immigrant community also means that many people coming to the area are trying to reunite with their families and establish permanent residence in the United States.

While the opportunities afforded by immigration are many, it can also be a confusing process that involves strict eligibility requirements, stacks of paperwork, and patience with the often-long review times at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office. When you need assistance understanding immigration law or dealing with a specific challenge, the Law Offices of Daniel Shanfield Immigration Defense P.C. can help. Our experienced Santa Clara immigration attorneys can make this process more manageable by proactively discussing eligibility requirements and handling challenges quickly as they arise.

Call us at 408-359-4388 to case strategy meetings today.

What Are the Options for Immigration?

The United States offers dozens of pathways for immigration. While having multiple options can be helpful in some cases, it can also feel overwhelming if you qualify under several categories and aren’t sure which to choose. Having a basic understanding of the primary visa categories in the United States is the first step.

Family-Based Immigration

Family-based immigration visas are sponsored by a family member who is already in the United States. This can be either a U.S. citizen or a lawful permanent resident, depending on the type of visa and the qualifying family relationship. Family-based immigration options are divided into main categories: immediate relatives and family preference.

Immediate relative visas are available to a U.S. citizen’s immediate family members, including their spouse, children, and parents. One benefit of the immediate relative visa is that there is no cap on the number of these visas issued each year. This means that a visa is already available to you once you apply and meet the requirements, which can speed up the process quite a bit.

Family preference visas are for more distant family members of U.S. citizens, such as siblings, or for a spouse or unmarried child of a lawful permanent resident. The number of family preference visas is capped for each fiscal year, which can lead to extended backlogs and waiting times if more people apply than the number of visas available for that year.

Keep in mind that the person sponsoring a family-based immigration visa generally needs to prove that they can provide financial support for the sponsee until they are legally able to work.

Employment-Based Immigration

Employment-based immigration visas are generally tied directly to job offers. Most visas in this category require the employer to sponsor you, and you may also need to show proof of special skills. Employment-based visas are limited to approximately 140,000 per fiscal year, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office, and they are divided into the following categories:

• E1 visas for priority workers and persons of extraordinary ability.
• E2 visas for professionals holding advanced degrees and persons of exceptional ability.
• E3 visas for skilled workers, professionals, and unskilled workers.

In Santa Clara and the rest of Silicon Valley, many employment-based visas involve highly skilled professionals, multinational managers, and executives. Depending on the job you’re coming to do, the employer may have to go through the labor certification process first, which can extend the timeline for approval. However, employment-based visa options often allow the person to bring their immediate family members, such as a spouse and unmarried children, with them on derivative visas, which can be a significant perk.

Student Visas

These visa options, an F visa or an M visa, allow students to come to the United States temporarily for education or training purposes. The F visa is for those in language training programs and academic institutions, and the M visa is for vocational and other recognized nonacademic institutions. The school also needs to be approved by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program to qualify. An interview is generally required as part of the initial application process, and these visas may be extendable if the student needs to remain in the United States to continue their studies.

Humanitarian Options

Humanitarian visas and status options are for those who are unable to continue residing in or return to their home countries. Depending on the visa, you may already have to be within the United States when applying. For example, the T visa for victims of human trafficking and asylum status both require that the person already be in the United States or at a port of entry to apply.

Other humanitarian immigration options include:

• Self-petitions under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)
• U visa for crime victims
• Special immigrant juvenile status for children in the United States who have been abused, neglected, or abandoned.
• Refugee status for those who are currently located outside of the United States but meet the requirements based on persecution or fear of persecution of a protected class

Humanitarian immigration options can offer a literal lifeline to those in need, but they often come with increased documentation requirements and eligibility criteria. Our firm can help you understand your options and navigate this process as efficiently as possible.

How Do You Decide What Type of Visa to Apply For?

Deciding what type of visa to apply for starts by determining which categories you are eligible under. This will depend on your personal background, such as your education and skills, whether you have a qualifying family relationship, and your goals. For example, the potential options to consider changing if you want to focus on establishing permanent residency instead of just a temporary stay.

Each visa category has its own set of requirements and limitations, and it’s helpful to discuss your options with an immigration attorney before you start the application process. This can help you better understand your likelihood of being approved under that category and what other immigration benefits it may offer. Working with an attorney can help you avoid delays and denials based on ineligibility and ensure you have the documentation you need for the strongest application packet possible. If you qualify for multiple options, an attorney can also help you determine which option may offer faster processing or provide a path to getting a Green Card if that’s one of your goals.

What Are Some of the Common Challenges in the Immigration Process?

Many immigration cases move through the process smoothly. However, it’s not uncommon for there to be challenges to overcome, such as criminal immigration concerns, determining if a criminal conviction affects your admissibility, or obtaining official documents that prove a qualifying family relationship. At the Law Offices of Daniel Shanfield Immigration Defense P.C., we’ve helped our clients successfully address these common issues.

Determining Eligibility

Before you can apply for immigration, you first have to determine whether you’re eligible and under what categories, and this can be more difficult than it first seems. U.S. immigration laws are complex and may change depending on what’s happening in the world and the current administration.

Misunderstandings about these requirements, such as whether a sponsor can be a lawful permanent resident or needs to be a U.S. citizen, can lead to denials and having to start over again. Working with an attorney means you’ll have someone on your side who understands these laws and can help you determine your eligibility before starting the application process.

Gathering Documents

Many immigration categories require you to have original documents that prove your current citizenship, qualifying family relationships, or academic credentials. For example, if you are applying for a family preference visa and a sibling is sponsoring you, you will likely need birth certificates and other records that establish this relationship. If those documents are in a different language, you will also need to include certified English translations.

Visa options where you have to prove certain circumstances, such as being a victim of a crime or abuse, may require medical records, police reports, or personal statements. An immigration attorney can help you determine what documents are required and what could potentially strengthen your application and ensure that you have the proper copies and translations to avoid delays.

Addressing Requests for Evidence (RFEs)

If your immigration application is missing required evidence or the reviewing officer believes they need more information to be able to decide in your case, you may receive a Request for Evidence. RFEs can also happen if the evidence you submitted with your application is no longer valid, such as if a document has expired.

Many people worry that receiving a Request for Evidence from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office means that their application is going to be denied, but this isn’t always true. A Request for Evidence is a common occurrence, and as long as you respond promptly and can show the additional evidence the reviewer is looking for, there’s no reason to see it as a negative. Failing to respond by the deadline, however, can result in your application being denied, so it’s important to talk with an attorney as soon as possible after you receive an RFE to discuss next steps.

What Can You Do If Your Immigration Application Was Denied?

It can be incredibly disheartening to get a notice of denial after waiting months or even years for a decision in your immigration case. However, a denial doesn’t always mean the end of the process. Depending on the reason for denial, you may be able to appeal the decision, reapply with more documentation, or apply under a different visa category.

The first step is to determine why your application was denied, and this should be included in your notice. In some cases, it’s a matter of missing documentation, such as not including a certified English translation of a foreign document, or a clerical error, such as a missing signature. In other cases, you may have missed a deadline or been ineligible for a certain visa due to something in your background, such as a criminal conviction. Knowing why you were denied helps you identify the potential paths forward.

Our experienced immigration attorneys in Santa Clara can help you understand what happens after an immigration application is denied. In some cases, this could start to trigger removal proceedings, and an attorney can start to discuss deportation defense options. If you’re planning on appealing the decision or asking for a case review, your attorney can help you make this request. The most important thing is to ensure that you understand how the denial affects your current status if you are already in the country and what options you have to continue your journey.

How Does Working With a Santa Clara Immigration Lawyer Help Your Case?

One of the main benefits of working with an immigration attorney is that they can help you streamline the process, ensuring you’re only applying for an immigration category where you meet the eligibility requirements and helping you present the strongest possible application. Our Santa Clara immigration attorneys also stay up to date with laws and policies as they change, which means you’re getting the most current information possible. Whether you’re applying for an adjustment of status or you’re coming to the United States for a job, having an experienced legal team on your side can help you navigate the system and minimize unnecessary delays.

Contact the Law Offices of Daniel Shanfield Immigration Defense P.C. at 408-359-4388 to discuss your case.