US Immigration Newsletter October 2009

Our clients Roger and Emiko celebrating green card success - now their American dream begins

October has been a really exciting month as things are ramping up for Comprehensive Immigration Reform.  Latest word on that front is that the legislation is being worked on and should be out soon. In fact I met personally with an attorney who had just come from a meeting with one of the primary legal team members who was drafting the Bill itself. I guess a little inside information is helpful. What appears to be holding matters up is the current Healthcare Reform Bill. Healthcare reform in America is such a contentious issue nationally that it would be politically unwise for the President to have two major debates: health care and immigration reform raging at the same time.

In terms of  what’s been going on in our legal practice with clients is really interesting. On the one hand we continue to get cases approved, but on the other hand getting cases approved is harder than ever. The evidentiary demands of USCIS is definitely increasing; that is to say they’re requiring  a lot more documents from our clients and more persuasive arguments need to be made to satisfy them.  One school of thought is that this is largely due to the recession and a general desire to keep more aliens out to preserve more jobs for Americans. The irony is that a substantial amount of our clients are coming to invest in businesses and create more jobs, or coming to the US to study and thus bring in monies to the US to feed the economy.  We also have a lot of talented clients coming to work in the entertainment industry which thrives on diversity.  We don’t have any clients looking to take from the US – only to give to the US.

In our continuing efforts to remain at the cutting edge of immigration and out of a desire to connect more with our web visitors we have begun a campaign of filming those clients who happen to be relocating close to where our office is. We’re filming short interviews with clients so they can share their American dream story directly with you.

I hope that their videos will shed light on how they achieved their American dream and hopefully they will inspire you to take the plunge.  We are scheduling further interviews with our clients on the west coast that we’ll be posting as soon as possible. I’m immensely grateful for their support and time in making these videos possible. I’m sure at some point I’ll be making the trip East to film more of our clients who have relocated there. Now that would be a lot of fun.

Student Visas are increasingly popular these days as many of our clients are deciding to work their way up the immigration ladder from the ground up. These clients have decided to start with a student visa in order to buy sufficient time in the US to qualify for a work permit. Then having obtained a work permit they’re able to look for work and then at the opportune moment switch from being a student to becoming a full-time employee.  Finally from employee to obtaining a green card, so they can pretty much do what they want.  This is a great way to go and I admire those clients who are committed to going the distance.

Another great reward of the job is getting phone calls and emails from clients thanking us for helping them to get their visas. Some of the emails I get can be quite moving and these letters help keep my team and I motivated, especially when some cases do not turn out as you’d like or when you realize you cannot keep 100% of your clients happy 100% of the time no matter how hard you try. It’s a sad reality I guess, but know that our heart is to do the very best we can to make sure that every client has that opportunity to realize their American dream.  My personal mission is to help as many people as possible, what ever it takes. Here’s a sample of a satisfied client’s email: –

“At 10.40am this morning we emerged from the US Embassy in London’s Grovesnor Square with the knowledge that we had been accepted for the issue of Green Cards for entry into the dear old US of A. We are feeling pretty proud and happy at the moment and wanted to share this with you. We couldn’t have done this without your eloquent and vigorous presentation of [our] case, your tenacity and relentlessly positive presence. We are so grateful to you and your team, especially Kim, for the help you have given us and providing the unique service that you do and hope that, in the not too distant future, we will get to meet and maybe “talk a little music”. When I was considering how to apply for a visa, just 18 months ago, how lucky I was to have found out about The Law Offices of Chris Ingram!”

I hope you’re inspired by this month’s issue and I look forward to working with more of you in the near future.

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
520 Broadway, Suite 350,
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.

General Location:  Santa Monica , Santa Clarita, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Serving all 50 States
Copyright 2010

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