Our client, “Claudia” contacted our office for a marriage petition case. She is from Colombia and entered with a visitor visa, but stayed in the US beyond the permitted time on her I-94. Claudia married a US citizen and thought that she would need to return to her country in order to apply for the marriage petition. Boston Immigration Attorney Desmond P. Fitzgerald [1] informed her that she could apply inside the US because she was inspected and admitted to the US. We worked with our client to get all the information required to prepare the marriage petition, and prepared Claudia and her husband for the interview. Claudia’s residency based on her marriage was approved and afterwards we helped her remove the conditions of her conditional residency and she obtained legal permanent residency. She will be able to apply for citizenship in 2013.
Unfortunately, her only son, “Julián”was over 21 and could not be included in her applications. Mr. FitzGerald reviewed the case and advised our client that her son could apply for a cancellation of deportation [2] case based on the extreme hardship that his mother would suffer if he got sent back to Colombia. (Claudia suffered from anxiety and a delicate health condition). During the course of the case, Attorney FitzGerald found out that Julián was receiving special education which normally is a disadvantage in cancellation cases. However, attorney FitzGerald was able to prove that Julián’s condition could not be properly cared for in his home country, and that his departure would severely affect the psychological and physical health of his mother. The case was granted and Julián is a permanent resident of the US.