Christmas is the time for giving and in these hard times the most important gift we can give ourselves and our families is the gift of hope.  Although there are many reasons to be down this Holiday Season, Reeves & Associates invites you to take a moment to reflect on the positive aspects of the past year, and look forward to a 2009 full of hope and success.

Indeed, the gift of hope is a gift that will remain long after you take down the Christmas decorations and will last the whole year long.      

On January 20, 2009, America will witness the arrival of a new administration – and with it, a new commitment to comprehensive immigration reform.  Although President-elect Obama will first need to address our country's economic problems, he has made a commitment to "pursue genuine solutions day-in and day-out [including] immigration reform that will secure our borders, and punish employers who exploit immigrant labor; reform that finally brings the 12 million people who are here illegally out of the shadows by requiring them to take steps to become legal citizens."  This commitment to genuine immigration solutions is a commitment to hope for a better future for all immigrants and their families.

Furthermore, President-elect Obama's pick to head the Department of Homeland Security, Governor Janet Napolitano, has stated that "[i]t is fundamentally unfair and unrealistic to suggest that our system remain as it is and ignore the 12 million who ran the gantlet at the border and managed to find work in our country. It is not 'amnesty' to require these individuals to earn the privilege of citizenship, as have the millions of immigrants who came before them.  We need comprehensive reform, and we need it this year." Statements like these from the new administration certainly are a gift of hope this Holiday Season.  

Reeves & Associates is also committed to pursuing real immigration solutions; a gift of hope to all immigrants and their families.  Throughout the year, Reeves & Associates has successfully helped countless immigrants change their status to lawful permanent residents, become United States citizens and be reunited with their families and loved ones.  Moreover, Reeves & Associates' attorneys have consistently been successful in some of the nation's more complex immigration cases.

For example, Reeves & Associates' attorneys obtained lawful permanent resident status for the "child" of a fiancée, despite her being over twenty one years old; won countless number of waivers in immigration court and subsequently obtained United States citizenship for immigrants who originally entered the United States through fraud; and secured the release from immigration detention of a wrongfully detained individuals. In short, Reeves & Associates gift of hope extends to even the most difficult cases.  

Finally, last year saw Reeves & Associates emerge as a leader in litigating the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service's ("USCIS") misapplication of the Child Status Protection Act ("CSPA").  This litigation provides hope for thousands of families who have suffered from wrongful separation from their families.

Specifically, Reeves & Associates has filed a class action lawsuit to compel the USCIS to recognize the automatic conversion and retention of the original priority date of the original visa petition under Section 203(h)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. ("INA".)  Although that case is currently pending before a federal judge, Reeves & Associates has been granted special appearance before the Board of Immigration Appeals ("BIA") to submit briefs on two pending cases that have been certified by the immigration service to the BIA.  Over the past year, Reeves & Associates has been successful on a number of CSPA cases, including obtaining the original priority date on a number of petitions under INA § 203(h)(3).   

Christmas is a time of giving.  Hopefully you are with your family as you buy gifts, listen to Christmas music, decorate your Christmas tree and prepare for the Christmas dinner. We all know that the most important part of Christmas is being with your families – and we hope you are able to celebrate with yours.  Our firm is committed to family reunification, and we will not give up hope, even with the most difficult cases. 

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

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Author's Note: The analysis and suggestions offered in this column do not create a lawyer-client relationship and are not a substitute for the individual legal research and personalized representation that is essential to every case.

Thank you and more power!

Sheila Casal

Reeves & Associates, a PLC

Unit 507 Tower One Ayala Triangle

6767 Ayala Ave., Makati City, Philippines 1226

Phone: (632) 759-6777

Facsimile: (632) 759-7888

scasal@rreeves.com

Pasadena, CA Phone: (626) 795-6777

San Francisco, CA Phone: (415) 568-3777

Las Vegas, NV: (702) 227-9888