success story: Gabriela
By Keith on Mar 30, 2017
Gabriela came to the United States as a young child with her parents who hoped to create a better life for their family. As a DREAMer, Gabriela’s path to this better life is complicated. Thankfully, when she was a teenager, Gabriela was granted DACA status. She came to Southam Law just before her DACA was about to expire and just after she married a US citizen. Despite the current attitude of the president toward immigrants, Southam Law recommended that she renew her DACA and that her husband petition for an immigrant visa for Gabriela. The reason: to minimize or eliminate any period of unlawful presence for Gabriela, allowing Gabriela to stay in the US while immigration officials make a decision on the visa petition, and avoiding the need for an unlawful presence waiver. The strategy is working. Gabriela’s DACA was renewed in only 4 weeks, and now she can safely wait for immigration to make a decision on her visa petition.
(Name changed for privacy reasons)