Office Location is Irving, Texas and Albuquerque, New Mexico
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Office Location is Irving, Texas and Albuquerque, New Mexico
Immigration hearings generally arrive fast, leaving attorneys and clients as little as 10 days to prepare, in the case of EOIR Master Calendar Hearings. We also provide coverage for all USCIS interviews. In the case of USCIS naturalization, this could be one of the client’s last chances to become a full U.S. citizen.
U.S. immigration court officials at EOIR and related entities expect these hearings to be conducted as efficiently as possible. Clients lacking adequate representation before the Immigration Court or USCIS interview appearance.
If your law firm or legal practice is struggling to keep up with these hearing dates, as many understandably are, know that help is out there.
John W. Lawit, LLC can provide you with an appearance attorney for EOIR master calendar hearings and all USCIS hearings in Dallas, TX, and Albuquerque, New Mexico. Our firm is highly experienced and prepared to leverage the full extent of our knowledge on behalf of your clients.
Find out how we can assist firms and legal organizations like yours on a professional (paid, non-volunteer) basis. Call our offices at (214) 609-2242 or contact us online to discuss your needs, and we will be happy to propose arrangements that work best for all parties involved.
Immigrants in the United States who are considered candidates for deportation are sent a Notice to Appear (NTA). This document details the facts of the case, as the Department of Homeland Security understands it, and the charges they face.
The recipient of the NTA then has as few as 10 days to prepare for their Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) Master Calendar hearing.
It is highly recommended for clients to secure representation from an experienced immigration attorney for hearings in Dallas and to prepare for these meetings.
EOIR master calendar hearings are used to set the schedule for further proceedings in a Removal (deportation) case. Clients wishing to avoid removal can submit a request for asylum or, in some cases, Adjustment of Status (AOS).
As part of the immigration court hearing’s agenda, respondents (i.e., clients) and their representing master calendar hearing lawyers must be prepared to quickly do the following:
A lawyer representing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or the larger Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will be present at these hearings. They will present their own evidence and statements of fact, including whether they feel the respondent is ineligible for relief.
They will also file documents supporting the charges and factual allegations made on the NTA, serving a copy to the respondent.
EOIR master calendar hearings are supposed to move fast. Immigration judges will generally try to handle between 20–30 cases during a single two-hour period.
That’s just 4–6 minutes per case!
An EOIR master calendar hearing lawyer in Texas is generally expected to keep up with this cadence. The DHS/ICE attorney and immigration judge present will usually be accustomed to handling cases at this pace, and they may express impatience or urge attendees to request a rescheduling of their hearing if they feel that matters are being unnecessarily delayed.
The immigration appearance attorney assisting their client should be prepared to face this pressure. They must be readily equipped with the facts of the case, and they must not hesitate to assert their client’s right to receive due process.
Accordingly, experienced parties tend to perform best in this intensive environment.
In the past, clients who attended their hearings reduced the risk of their removal by actively submitting applications for relief before the Immigration Court. However, changes in policy have led to the increased risk of deportation at the EOIR master calendar hearing.
Representatives of the Department of Homeland Security have, in some cases, begun asking judges for summary dismissal of removal cases. If this dismissal is granted, ICE agents may arrest the respondent on the spot and process them into a detention camp.
The detainee may then be considered as a candidate for expedited removal.
Accordingly, clients and attorneys attending an EOIR master calendar hearing in Dallas should come equipped with knowledge of their rights, methods to respond to aggressive removal tactics, and a contingency plan in case the worst outcomes arise.
If you are a law firm or other organization representing a valued client, then the last thing you would want is to miss their master calendar hearing or to arrive without the full extent of recommended preparations.
Entrusting John W. Lawit, LLC to help you cover these appearances can provide you and your clients with the following benefits:
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) handles applications for naturalization and citizenship (Form N-400). When these applications are denied, the applicant can request a hearing to reconsider their eligibility.
If their application is denied again during this hearing, their only remaining option is to request a judicial review.
Accordingly, having a USCIS naturalization interview attorney present in Dallas for this hearing can be crucial for the client’s chances of remaining in the U.S., permanently and legally.
An applicant wishing to receive citizenship or an adjustment of status (or AOS, which usually results in the issuance of a Green Card and permanent resident status) can request a USCIS hearing if their application is denied. This request must be filed within 30 days of receiving their notice of denial.
These requests may also be filed if the applicant failed a portion of their USCIS citizenship exam or responded in a way that caused them to fail their USCIS naturalization interview.
A USCIS officer other than the one who reviewed and denied the application (or the one who conducted the examination) will conduct this hearing. Prior to the hearing, the USCIS officer may review the application again, in part or in full.
The officer may also consider other information and evidence, including other aspects of the naturalization application, and any other records, files, or reports submitted.
The applicant and their attorney for USCIS naturalization hearings in Albuquerque or Dallas can present new evidence and submit other testimony in relation to the applicant’s eligibility. They may, for example, submit that an error was made or that decisions were rendered contrary to a stated USCIS policy.
The officer may also reconduct portions of the naturalization interview or English and civics tests that the applicant had failed.
At the conclusion of the hearing, the presiding USCIS officer can once more deny the application or reverse the denial and approve it. If the application is once more denied, then the applicant has only one recourse: a judicial review of their case in the United States District Court that has appropriate jurisdiction.
Your client deserves the full extent of legal protections available to them. Having an immigration hearing attendance attorney available increases the chances that they will be prepared with all the available evidence.
Their attorney can also review their application to determine if the original denial was made in error or in contradiction to the stated policies of the USCIS.
During the hearing or interview for naturalization/adjustment of status, the attorney can ensure that the client only answers questions compliant with current laws and policies. They can also help the applicant present evidence as clearly and compellingly as possible, protecting their chances of having their application approved.
While having a coverage attorney available for immigration law proceedings does not guarantee a positive outcome, it does significantly reduce major risks by ensuring that:
A USCIS interview for naturalization or adjustment of status can happen for both good and bad reasons.
If the USCIS feels that an applicant is ineligible for consideration, for example, they may waive the interview only to then deny the application summarily. They may also waive an interview for a person who is unable to appear, such as an incarcerated U.S. citizen who is the applicant’s spouse.
In the latter example, the inability of the spouse to appear could lead to an unfavorable outcome, especially if the applicant is not fully prepared to respond to questions on their own.
A Dallas immigration attorney for USCIS AOS and Naturalization interviews can review the record and discuss the matter with the adjudicator during the interview.
Yes. Some USCIS interviews seek to discredit the legitimacy of a marriage. Having an attorney present will allow your clients to understand when a question is raised.
An attorney present at any USCIS interview can respond to USCIS and the client about their rights, legal obligations, and the types of questions that cannot be asked (or that should not be asked in a pointed or leading way).
The following questions often arise when we engage with clients and firms as attorneys for USCIS naturalization or master calendar hearings in Dallas and Albuquerque.
Immigration hearings and other proceedings are considered a matter of course. Officials will try their best to expedite the proceedings, which can mean that an outcome or conclusion is reached before the client even knows it.
Having an experienced coverage attorney for immigration court hearings in Texas is vital for being prepared for this fast-paced environment. The attorney can prepare the case and the client for a likely outcome, which can involve adversarial allegations that are raised by the USCIS officer, a DHS lawyer, or other parties.
If you are unable to attend a hearing or cover the full range of court appearance dates on behalf of your clients, we at John W. Lawit, LLC, urge you to look at our services. We can help you augment your capabilities and represent your clients’ best interests through every step of the immigration process.
This is an ongoing and rapidly developing area of the law, so any specific answers could be out-of-date by the time you read this.
Accordingly, we recommend that you refer to the guidance of an experienced immigration law firm in Texas for support, especially if you don’t have the capacity to attend hearings yourself.
In general, the following protocols can help in such a situation:
Your clients deserve to have someone at their side who they can trust and who is looking out for their rights. In today’s volatile and ever-changing immigration policy climate, clients need someone to support them through every step of the asylum, naturalization, or adjustment of status process.
With an AV Preeminent rating maintained for over 30 years, John W. Lawit, LLC brings the highest level of legal expertise and professionalism to every EOIR and USCIS hearing.
Get the support your firm needs and your client deserves when you reach out to our Irving, TX, and Albuquerque, NM-based firm for court and hearing appearances. Call (214) 609-2242 or (505)545-6785 to contact us and discuss our services and discover how we can be there when you and your clients need us most.
