Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Oak Lawn Immigration Attorney | Cook County may not report Immigrants to the Feds!

The Chicago Tribune has reported that the Cook County Board of Commissioners have recently passed an ordinance that would allow illegal immigrants in jail on misdemeanor charges to be released despite federal requests to have them detained for deportation. A recent federal ruling in determined Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainers are voluntary requests, not mandatory. It applies to anyone arrested on misdemeanor charges who normally would be released from custody.

This is not a free pass for immigrants to commit misdemeanors, but merely one step for immigrants who would like to remain with their families. It is important for any immigrant, who has been arrested, to contact both a Criminal Law Attorney and an Immigration Law Attorney. Both attorneys are needed because there will be potential issues in both fields from an incident of illegal activity. If you would like immigration advice from an attorney, contact:

The Law Office of Jonathan W. Cole
5013 W. 95th St.
Oak Lawn, IL 60453
(708) 529-7794

Monday, August 22, 2011

Monday, August 8, 2011

Oak Lawn Immigration Attorney | Petitioning For A Family Member

This is going to be a quick post, but it is based on the frustration that I am finding with the job other attorneys have done with them. I have had a number of clients come into my office, asking about their petition for alien relative. It is mostly brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens who come to me and ask about the status of their I-130. I let them know that the priority date is what is crucial for these petitions. When they look through their paperwork for the priority date, I notice that they did not file a I-485 Application for Permanent Resident Status. I ask them how they applied, and the response was always: WITH AN ATTORNEY! I could not believe it. It is crucial that you speak to an attorney who handles immigration law. In most cases, you should file both your alien relative petition and your permanent resident card at the same time. This will expedite your permanent resident card approval and the time needed to become a full U.S. citizen. Speak to a qualified attorney by calling the Law Office of Jonathan W. Cole at (708) 529-7794.

Law Office of Jonathan W. Cole
5013 W. 95th St.
Oak Lawn, IL 60453
(708) 529-7794

Monday, July 11, 2011

Chicago Immigration Attorney | You Don't Have to Leave Because your Spouse Died!

The Problem: You Marry a U.S. Citizen and are living in the U.S. but your spouse dies in an accident. Your Spouse has not filed a qualifying family member I-130 petition.

The Old Result: TOO BAD. You do not Qualify for a self petition or adjustment of status.

New Laws Result: You Can Self Petition!


This is extremely exciting news for many widows and widowers throughout the  U.S. The reason is that many spouses who would otherwise receive their Permanent Resident Status if their spouse was still alive were being deported. Under the new law, if you Timely file your application for a "green card", you can ride on the application, or potential application, of your deceased spouse.

This will allow many families to continue their dream to live in America, even in the event of an untimely death of their U.S. family "anchor". Section 204(l) of the Immigration and Nationality Act now allows Immediate Family Members and Derivative Family Members the importunity to petition for permanent resident status.

The Caveat: You must be a resident in the U.S.

The residency requirement means that you must have established yourself inside of the U.S. before your spouse passes. In order to establish residency, things such as a home purchase, school registration or a job help show that you intended to remain inside the U.S.

What should you take from this law?

You can stay inside the U.S., even if your citizen spouse passes away. BUT You must act quickly to ensure that your time to petition does not expire. You should call an immigration attorney who can help you with your petition for lawful permanent residence status. If you are in the Chicago-land area call:


Law Office of Jonathan W. Cole
5013 W. 95th St. 
Oak Lawn, IL 60453
(708) 529-7794

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Illinois Immigration Law | Employment-Based Permanent Resident Petitions

Careful compliance with the alien work authorization rules have never been more complicated. One type of petition is called a Schedule A Petition which is authorized by the Department of Labor. The Department of Labor has determined that there are not enough U.S. citizens available to fulfill the needs of the current work force. The Department of Labor processes forms ETA9089, which is titled Application for Permanent Employment Certification. The process for filing can be found at O*NET ode Connector at www.onetcodeconnector.org.

A small side note to your employer is that they can have only one ETA9089 pending for a particular beneficiary in a job opportunity. To find out moreinformation about getting a permanent resident petitions based on employment contact The Law Office of Jonathan W. Cole or call (708) 529-7794.

Illinois Immigration Attorney | Family Sponsored Immigration Continued

As I discussed in the post yesterday on Family-Sponsored Immigration, citizens and lawful permanent residents can file for immigration benefits for certain immediate related relatives. I would like to explain in some greater detail who can apply for whom.
 Lawful Permanent Residents can only petition for spouses and unmarried children. Citizens can only petition for Spouses, Unmarried Children, Married Children, and Brothers and Sisters. There is no other familial relationship that is allowed as a basis for immigrating to the U.S.

Before Preparing your Form I-130 you should gather the following documents:

1. A copy of the Citizens or LPR's birth certificate
2. If not a Natural Born U.S. Citizen, a certificate of naturalization
3. If an LPR, a copy of your permanent residency card
4. A copy of your civil marriage certificate
5. Copies of all divorce decrees, death certificates, or annulment decrees
6. On color passport style photo of the U.S. citizen or LPR
7. Form G-325A, Biographic Information

If the relative who is moving to the U.S. is a spouse and is already currently in the U.S. through lawful admission, you can file a "one stop" adjustment packet. The process is similar for all of the other approved family. Some of the documents that you need to gather may be a little different, but the process is the same. Look at your individual needs for the category of family you want to bring to the U.S. on form I-130.

As always, I would recommend you speak with a qualified immigration law attorney. You can contact me by clicking my link Law Office of Jonathan W. Cole.

Illinois Immigration Law | Family Sponsored Immigration

You would like to bring your family to live with you in Illinois. This post will help you figure out if you can do that. As always, I would recommend that you call me, Jonathan W. Cole, at (708)529-7794 to get personalized legal help. I have always said that when an issue is as important as family, you should always consult an attorney. You don't want to take any chances when you don't have to. In order to to be eligible to petition for for an immediate relative, the sponsoring family member must be able to provide evidence of citizenship or lawful permanent resident status, as well as evidence that he or she can financially support the immediate relative. The  sponsoring family member must be able to complete Form I-864. The department of State charges a fee of $70.00 when the affidavit of support is reviewed domestically. If the affidavit is filed abroad, there is no fee for this forms review.

Spouses - If you are attempting to bring a spouse to Illinois, you must first have form I-130 Petition for Alien Relative completed. This form helps the reviewers confirm that the marriage is bona fide, that property is jointly owned, and documentation of finacial comingling.

Children - All eligible children must also have a form I-130 filled out on their behalf. The filing fee for this form is $355.00.

Parents and Siblings - As above, Parents must have a I-130 form filled out on their behalf, filled out by a son or daughter. When the parents are not in the U.S., one the form is approved, the parent will be advised to go tothe U.S. consulate to complete processing for an immigrant visa.

In order to not give you information overload, I will cut this post off here. Look for more information in upcoming posts. I understand that the immigration process can be imtimidating and frustrating. Take your time and be thourough. It is better to make sure your application is perfect the first time than rush your application and make a mistake that will deny your request. If you would like to know more about immigration law. Contact me at:

Law Office of Jonathan W. Cole
5013 W. 95th St.
Oak Lawn, IL 60463
(708) 529-7794

Friday, April 1, 2011

Welcome to the Illinois Immigration Law Blog

This Blog will be here to inform you about options that you have as an immigrant to the United States. I am an attorney in Illinois who is currently practicing Immingration law. If you would like to speak to me about your immigtation status of have another legal issue, please find me at jwcolelaw.com. This blog will talk about issues such as visa's, green cards, and citizenship. Good luck with your immigration issues and I hope this blog provides some helpful information to you.