Law Offices of Chris M. Ingram

The 2021 U.S. Immigration Boom is Coming

2021 is going to be a huge year for U.S. Immigration. America is once again open for business. Right now is the time to activate your plans. Contact us today by completing our online inquiry form so we can quickly evaluate your case. Attorney Chris M. Ingram will personally review your inquiry and respond accordingly.

By Chris M. Ingram, LL.M., ESQ

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Well, it’s great to be able to bring this newsletter to you. In fact, I’ve been meaning to get a newsletter out for weeks. We have been incredibly busy with cases and our ramp up, which has been awesome. For those who missed my last newsletter here is the link. Now let me give you an update on where we are as a firm.

So, in March of this year we hit the first wave of COVID and overnight the California Governor mandated a shelter-in-place order requiring most businesses and offices to close to the public unless they were essential. The next day, our office had to literally relocate nearly all of our staff to a work- from-home structure. Talk about a lot of disruption – but we handled it and kept moving forward. The following month I was diagnosed with Lymphoma (cancer of the lymph nodes), and whilst typically, if you get the mild kind, non-life-threatening, it is so serious you do have to go through six months of chemotherapy and tons of on-going medical procedures, tests and scans to monitor your progress throughout. I actually got through this; I’m cancer-free, and by October 1st, 2020, I was ready to return to work full-time.

Finally, I can get my expansion plans underway. I can’t wait to get started.

When I got back to work, I came back with a completely new and inspired outlook, and I even adopted President-elect Joe Biden’s motto – “Build Back Better”. The question I had to ask myself was, ‘now that you have been given your life back, what do you want to do with it?’ Well, I absolutely love the work that I do in the field of U.S. Immigration, helping people achieve their American Dream to live in the best country in the world, where there is no limit to what you can achieve if you put your mind to it and the chips can fall in your favor. So, I took a good look at our already highly innovative law firm and I said, ‘we can take this to another level’. 

Over the last few months, we significantly increased the size of our legal team, and we’ve developed our online case management platform. Unlike most law firms, we actually have a full-time team of four software developers whose primary focus has been to develop the best online case management platform, so that our staff and clients can work seamlessly together around the world. In fact, we’ve had our full-time staff for three years now, and our first online case management system was launched in 2006. So, we’ve been quite cutting edge for years which partially explains why we have been so successful.

Building Back Better Together

Now that I have a much larger team, I’m focused on re-establishing a renewed commitment to public service: service to our clients. What I mean by this is that 2020 has battered us all. We’ve all been radically impacted by COVID-19, some of us, me included, have lost friends and family to this virus. If you have or anyone you know has lost anyone to COVID-19, you have my deepest sympathies. COVID-19 has impacted every aspect of our daily lives. 

Whether you’re a client or an employee, 2020 has definitely not been a smooth ride. Some of our clients found themselves out of work or faced the threat of losing their jobs and have been totally stressed not only about the loss of their income, but even their ability to remain in the U.S. without having first secured their green card. Indeed, our office has been inundated with clients who have these very real concerns.

Our core values are centered around delivering excellence in customer service

Meanwhile, many of our staff had gotten sick, again, me included; we’re all human, and this created additional communication challenges. However, through it all, we have been fighting with all we have to do our very best for our clients. To be honest, 2020 has been our most successful year in the last 17 years of practice, but it has also been the most challenging year in the last 17 years of practice. 

With the vaccine now rolling out and with the hope of us finally getting a handle on COVID-19, I am renewing my dedication and that of my staff to place a very high emphasis on customer service. Over the last few months, we have been putting in a series of client-focused service protocols that will ensure all clients feel like VIPs every day, and that they constantly feel assured as to where we are with their case, how things are going, and when we hope to complete and file their cases. I guess we’re getting back to basics: we’re building back better and I’m enjoying every minute of the process. It’s tough, but it feels good to be doing something I’m very passionate about and rewarding when we keep getting those Approval Notices coming in as we win yet another case.

The 2021 Immigration Gold Rush

President-elect Biden’s appointment of Alejandro Mayorkas, a Cuban Immigrant, to head up the Department of Homeland Security which includes USCIS, should ensure to fulfill Biden’s promise that within his first 100 days in office he would have not only repealed every one of the current President’s hideous anti-Muslim, anti-immigration Executive Orders, but he hopes to have a new Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill ready to be enacted.

We need someone heading U.S. Immigration who at their core understanding know what it is to be an immigrant to the U.S. and what valuable contribution immigrants can make to the U.S. Alejandro only has to look in the mirror every day to be reminded of this.

President-elect Biden’s 180-degree whiplash change in direction is going to create a U.S. Immigration Gold Rush because America will once again be open for business to new highly-qualified immigrants, whose cases will not be blighted by an anti-immigrant tone from the top, but will be replaced by a pro-immigrant tone with an immigrant at the helm.

Whilst President-elect Biden can indeed reverse every one of President Trump’s Executive Orders, which will be highly significant, the President alone cannot change Immigration law. Just as it has been for the current President, only Congress can pass actual legislation, which can then be signed into law or vetoed by the President.

We are a law firm of U.S. Immigrants, serving our future Immigrant clients – we are a family.

After the November 3rd U.S. election, the House of Representatives is controlled by the Democrats, but the Senate is currently undecided because there are two Senate seats in the state of Georgia that are going to have run-off elections January 5th, 2021. If the Democrats win both of these Senate seats, then the Senate will be split 50:50 with Vice-President Kamala Harris holding the deciding vote. However, if the Republicans win even one of the two seats then the split will be 51:49 and thus the Republicans will retain control of the Senate by one vote (possibly two).

Yes – Republican President Ronald Reagan was a champion for undocumented aliens. He wanted everyone of them to be given their shot at the American Dream.

The Republican party has changed a lot since Ronald Reagan who was so pro-immigration that he signed into law the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 on November 6th, 1986, which granted amnesty to about three million illegal immigrants in the United States – to today, where we have Republican officials locking alien kids in cages and separating them from their parents, building a few miles of “The Wall”, and signing other Executive Orders designed to stem even legal immigration. So, if the Republican party controls the Senate, and cannot be persuaded to reach sensible compromises with a Democratic House of Representatives, then we’ll have legislative gridlock and no new laws will be passed. 

America can do better. We can all Build Back Better together.

It is quite possible that in a spirit of compromise deals can be done. Democratic leadership could offer something that the Republican party really desires in exchange for the adoption of some pro-immigration policies. We’ll see.

What I do know is that President-elect Biden has the power to reverse every anti-immigrant Executive Order and this alone will start the Immigration Gold Rush, and it will only get better from there.

If 2020 was the year of misery, let’s plan to make 2021 the year of total celebration

Preparing for 2021

I’m encouraging all of our current and future clients to not delay in getting their cases started. We can get a lot done in the final weeks of 2020 that will help us get your case filed in early 2021. Please do not delay until 2021 as this only puts you further towards the back of the line. First come is first served.

I don’t know about you, but I’m beyond excited as to the future of U.S. Immigration. Every day, I’m putting in place all the tools to handle as many cases as we can and do so in the most professional way possible. It’s going to be awesome. Come and join us. Complete our inquiry form today so that we can evaluate your case. We are particularly looking for STEM professionals currently in EB-2 status who we can bump up to EB-1 status and so fast-track their green cards. We are also looking for other STEM professionals currently working outside of the U.S. who would like to apply for a self-sponsored EB-1 green card. Finally, if you are looking to transfer to the U.S. or buy/start a business in the U.S., then we definitely want to hear from you as these are the areas of law we commonly practice. Even so, no matter what your immigration need, let us know. If we cannot personally help you, we will certainly refer you to other lawyers directly.

All the very best for 2021, and always be safe to avoid COVID-19. Please remember to wash your hands regularly, wear a mask, maintain social distance…[hands/face/space].

 

Immigration Law Offices of Chris M. Ingram

Immigration Law Offices of Chris M. Ingram

US Immigration Law Offices of Chris M. Ingram
Chris M. Ingram LL.M., ESQ – Immigration Attorney
Admitted in New York.
Practice Specializing in US Immigration Law
401 Wilshire Boulevard, 12th Floor,
[Cross Streets 4th and Wilshire]
Santa Monica,
California 90401
Tel: 310 496 4292

Everyday the Law Offices of Chris M. Ingram provides a comprehensive range of US Immigration expertise. We also provide a free consultation for our prospective clients.

Please note that nothing contained in this website or link therefrom shall be regarded as providing legal advice. Please contact us directly for legal advice specific to your situation. Thank you.

Specializing in the E2 Visa, EB1 Green Card, L-1A Visa and O1 Visa and K1 Visa Marriage-Based Immigration. Attorney Chris M. Ingram is dedicated to providing the very best in US Immigration legal representation. Enjoy our website.

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