Immigration Services

The Ahluwalia Firm is a boutique law firm that handles matters related to immigration and nationality law for families, corporations, and businesses. We help clients from all over the world, each of whom has different reasons for immigrating or traveling to the United States. Whether you need a green card attorney or advice on seeking a temporary visa, or you are concerned about possible deportation, our experienced San Jose immigration lawyers are ready to assist you. We represent clients throughout Silicon Valley, and we also maintain a Fresno office from which we serve Central Valley. Please note that our services are not limited to the practice areas described below but extend across the full spectrum of immigration law.

Numerous nonimmigrant visas exist for people who wish to enter the United States on a temporary basis. These visas are available if you would like to enter the country for business, tourism, visiting, pleasure, or education. Temporary work visas such as the H1-B visa, for example, are used by foreign nationals who need to enter the country to work in a specialty occupation that requires a higher education degree or the equivalent for a fixed period of time. Their prospective employer must first file a petition with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Pursuing a green card is the process by which you may become a lawful permanent resident of the United States. This status allows you to live and work in the United States permanently. Foreign nationals may acquire permanent residency through their employment, their family, investment, asylum, adoption, or self-sponsorship. For example, many people pursue a green card through a family member because they are an immediate relative of a United States citizen, a family member of a citizen who fits into a preference category, a family member of a green card holder, or a member of a special category.

We also handle PERM Labor Certifications. A United States employer must obtain a certified labor certification application from the Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration before petitioning USCIS for a foreign national to work as an immigrant in the United States. The Department of Labor will need to certify to USCIS that there are not enough workers within the country who are available, qualified, willing, and able to accept the job opportunity that the employer is offering. Moreover, the employment of the foreign national must not adversely affect wages and working conditions for similarly employed United States workers.

We handle adjustment of status for individuals changing their immigration status while in the United States from nonimmigrant (temporary) to immigrant (permanent). The foreign national must qualify for a green card in a specific category. The adjustment process allows you to get a green card without having to go back to your home country in order to complete the processing of the new visa.

We can help immigrants apply for citizenship. Naturalization is the process by which you may obtain United States citizenship after you fulfill requirements established under the Immigration and Nationality Act. There are several paths to naturalization. For example, if you have been a permanent resident for a minimum of five years and are otherwise eligible, you may apply for citizenship. Similarly, if you have been a permanent resident for a minimum of three years and are otherwise eligible to file as a spouse of a United States citizen, you may apply for citizenship.

We may be able to help foreign nationals who are ineligible to gain admission to the country or adjust their status in the United States obtain a waiver of certain grounds of inadmissibility. Some applicants for immigrant or nonimmigrant visas, or people trying to adjust their status, may be able to obtain a waiver of grounds of inadmissibility related to health, certain criminal grounds, immigration fraud and misrepresentation, immigrant membership in a totalitarian party, alien smuggling, or being subject to a civil penalty or a three- or 10-year bar due to a prior unlawful presence in the country. To file a waiver for being present in the country unlawfully, you will need to have a qualifying relative who is a citizen, or you must have a spouse, child, or parent who is a permanent resident.

These proceedings occur if the Department of Homeland Security believes that a foreign national is inadmissible or deportable. The Immigration and Nationality Act sets forth numerous grounds for removing a non-citizen from the country back to his or her country of origin. For example, you may be removed from the United States if you commit a crime or violate immigration laws. You may also be removed for committing marriage fraud. Removal proceedings are complex, and the consequences are often serious. It is important to retain an experienced attorney if you are threatened with deportation and want or need to stay.

Undocumented immigrants who came to the United States before turning 16 may be eligible to obtain status through Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). DACA temporarily protects an eligible undocumented immigrant from deportation, provides work authorization, and allows the undocumented immigrant to apply for a Social Security Number. People who are approved for DACA may be able to obtain advance parole, which is a special authority that allows the recipient to travel internationally on a conditional and temporary basis and allows them to re-enter the United States.

If you are dealing with any matter that affects your immigration status, the San Jose immigration attorneys at the Ahluwalia Firm have the experience to provide knowledgeable and diligent legal representation. We can assist clients in San Francisco, Oakland, Fremont, Daly City, Redwood City, Santa Clara, Cupertino, Clovis, and other communities throughout Alameda, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Fresno Counties. Contact us online or call us at 408.981.7696 (Silicon Valley) to set up an appointment with a visa lawyer or seek guidance in another immigration matter.