Immigration Law
Immigration is federal law. Unlike almost everything else on this site, the answer does not change when you cross a state line — a green card application works the same way in Yuma as it does in Fresno. These pages cover it once, plainly, for all three states we are licensed in.
Applications, status and benefits
The same federal law in every state.
Family-Based Green Cards
Helping families build a life together in the United States is at the heart of what we do. We guide families through the green-card process with honest, careful advice. Se habla espanol.
Read more →Marriage-Based Green Cards & Adjustment of Status
A marriage-based green card is one of the most common paths to permanent residence — and one where preparation matters. We help couples put together a strong, well-documented case.
Read more →Citizenship & Naturalization
Becoming a U.S. citizen is a milestone. We help lawful permanent residents move through the naturalization process with confidence, from the application to the interview.
Read more →DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals)
DACA has allowed many people who came to the U.S. as children to live and work here. Because the program’s rules can shift, current guidance matters.
Read more →Asylum & Humanitarian Protection
If you fear serious harm or persecution in your home country, you may qualify for asylum or other humanitarian protection. These cases are sensitive and time-sensitive.
Read more →U-Visa & VAWA: Protection for Crime & Abuse Victims
Immigration law offers protection to certain victims of crime and survivors of abuse — through the U-visa and through VAWA self-petitions. These are confidential, and you do not need your abuser’s cooperation.
Read more →Employment-Based Immigration
Employment-based immigration helps workers and employers navigate work visas and green cards. The categories are detailed, and getting the strategy right early saves time and cost.
Read more →Waivers & Consular Processing
Some applicants face a bar to a green card or visa — but a waiver may make it possible. And when a case is processed at a consulate abroad, preparation is everything.
Read more →Adjustment of Status (Green Card From Inside the U.S.)
Adjustment of status lets some people already in the United States apply for a green card without traveling abroad. Whether it is the right path depends on how you entered and your history, so it helps to map it out early.
Read more →Green Card Renewal & Replacement (Form I-90)
A permanent resident card generally needs to be renewed periodically or replaced if it is lost, stolen, or has an error. The filing itself is routine for many people — but complications in your history can surface, and it is better to know about them first.
Read more →Work Permits (Employment Authorization / EAD)
Many people with a pending immigration case can apply for a work permit, or Employment Authorization Document (EAD). Eligibility depends on the category your case falls under, and timing matters because renewals can take a while.
Read more →Fiancé(e) Visas (K-1)
The K-1 fiancé(e) visa lets the fiancé(e) of a U.S. citizen come to the United States to marry within 90 days and then apply for a green card. The steps are specific, and getting them in the right order matters.
Read more →T-Visa: Protection for Trafficking Survivors
The T-visa offers protection and a path to stability for certain survivors of human trafficking who are in the United States as a result. These cases are handled with confidentiality and care.
Read more →Temporary Protected Status (TPS)
Temporary Protected Status (TPS) can allow people from certain designated countries to stay and work in the United States for a limited time. Because designations and deadlines change frequently, current information is essential.
Read more →Cancellation of Removal
Cancellation of removal is a defense in immigration court that, for those who qualify, can stop a deportation and even lead to a green card. It has demanding requirements, and it is only available in removal proceedings.
Read more →Where your state does change the answer
Five of these genuinely differ. Two because state law supplies part of the answer — a juvenile court order, or a state consumer statute. Three because where you are decides which court hears your case, how detention works, and how far local police cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. Those are published per state.
Deportation & Removal Defense
Being placed in removal proceedings is frightening — but you are not without options, and acting quickly matters. Defenses may be available depending on your situation.
By state →Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS)
Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) can offer a path to a green card for certain young people who cannot safely reunify with a parent because of abuse, abandonment, or neglect. It involves both a state court and immigration steps.
By state →Immigration Bond & Detention
Having a loved one detained by immigration authorities is frightening, and the first questions are usually the same: where are they, and can they be released? A bond hearing may allow someone to be released while their case moves forward.
By state →Know Your Rights: ICE Encounters & Family Preparedness
Everyone in the United States has certain rights, regardless of immigration status. Knowing them ahead of time — and having a simple family plan — can make a real difference in a stressful moment. This is general information, not legal advice.
By state →Avoiding Notario Fraud: Choosing Real Legal Help
In many countries a “notario público” is a trained legal professional, but in the United States a notary public is not a lawyer and cannot give legal advice. Notario fraud has cost immigrant families their money, their cases, and sometimes their ability to stay — and it is preventable.
By state →If someone has been detained
Finding them — including without an A-number — what happens in the first days, and how bond, sponsors and refunds actually work. The process, in order.
Free checklists
Practical steps, in order, for the situations people most often face. Process rather than policy — which is the part that does not change every year.
How to Make a Family Preparedness Plan
This is not a plan for something going wrong. It is the same kind of arrangement any family makes for an emergency, and the value of it is that it removes decisions from the worst possible moment. Most of it takes an afternoon.
7 steps →What to Do if a Loved One Is Detained
The first days are disproportionately important, and they are also when families are least able to think clearly. Work through this in order. Detained cases move faster than most people expect, which is the reason for the urgency.
6 steps →What to Bring to an Immigration Consultation
Bring what you have. The most common reason people delay a consultation is that they are waiting to assemble a complete file, and that delay costs more than the missing paperwork does. This is a list to work from, not a set of requirements.
6 steps →How to Keep Your Own Immigration File
Almost everyone who has been through this discovers the same thing: the government copy of your history is harder to obtain than you would expect, and the copy you kept yourself is the one that gets used. This takes an hour to set up and then almost no effort.
6 steps →How to Prepare for an Immigration Interview
An interview is mostly a verification exercise: an officer checking that what is in the file is true and that you can speak to it. Preparation is not rehearsal. It is making sure you know your own file and can answer plainly.
6 steps →Questions people ask
Several hundred immigration questions, grouped by topic and answered in plain language — see the FAQ hub.
Pick your state
For the offices and courts that handle your case, how detention works where you are, and the state-law questions above.
General information, not legal advice. Immigration law and policy change frequently — confirm your options in a consultation before acting on anything here.