success story: Sana and Jamal
By Keith on Oct 29, 2018
Jamal moved to the United States with his family several years ago. In 2016, Jamal and Sana married, and they began the process of helping Sana move to the US to be with Jamal. At that time, Jamal was a US permanent resident, so it meant that Sana had to spend time on a waiting list before she could move permanently to the US. Sana was still a student in her home country during this time, but she had traveled to the US for a temporary visit to see Jamal and to take an examination in connection with her studies. Then circumstances changed. The waiting list surged forward and Sana had the unexpected opportunity to stay permanently in the US.
That is when Jamal and Sana turned to Keith at Southam Law. They wanted to file the green card application for Sana but they wanted to avoid any red flags with immigration. Their fear was that it would look like Sana had misled officials by entering on a tourist visa and then filing a green card application quickly after that. Keith helped Sana and Jamal put together an application that included an explanation for the application and evidence that described the unexpected opportunity to stay. The application process was slower than anyone wanted: Sana didn’t receive permission to work for nearly 10 months; Jamal became a US citizen while waiting. But finally, after repeated inquiries to immigration officials and after getting a Senator’s office involved, the final interview for Sana’s case was set. Keith helped Jamal and Sana prepare for the interview, reviewing documents and going through a mock interview.
The efforts were worth it. The interview was easy, and Sana’s green card was approved right after the interview. Sana now has her green card, and the couple can live permanently together in the United States!
(Names changed for privacy purposes.)