I had an individual (we will call him Alberto) whom was detained in Eloy, Arizona, at a very large private detention center. Alberto was from Central California, and he was detained in Fresno but ended up in Eloy Arizona way out in the Desert far from major cities. Alberto was a Legal Permanent Resident (LPR). It was a challenge getting documentation to support his case with his family living in the rural part of Central California as it made it difficult to get the documentation for the case.

I had a 2013 Client (we will call him Luis, a Landscape worker) who was detained in Los Angeles by I.C.E. (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) after he was released from County Jail for a Significant Misdemeanor but this crime was not the client’s biggest problem. Luis’s biggest problem was that he was detained and that the Immigration Judge found Luis to be subject to Mandatory Detention, this meant he would not be released on Bond, he had to fight his removal case while detained. Luis had a 2006 Possession of Methamphetamine unCA Health and Safety Code 11377(a) which makes an undocumented individual ineligible for becoming a Legal Permanent Resident (“LPR) and his only way out of I.C.E. detention was deportation or for me as his attorney finding a way for him to get his Green Card despite the Methamphetamine conviction.

Suzy was from Korea and had entered the USA on a Visitor’s Visa often called a B-1 Visa which allows for foreign visitors to visit for short terms such as six months. While in the USA she married Fred, a US Citizen. Because Suzy entered the USA legally, she was able to adjust status to Legal Permanent Resident (LPR) if she married a US Citizen which she did. Because the Marriage lasted less than two years, she only got a temporary legal status subject to a Conditional Residence which had to be removed jointly by both spouses. But the marriage fell apart soon, and Suzy’s case was denied by U.S.C.I.S. and she was put into Removal Proceedings.