Our client was a nice, humble man who seemingly had no hope for his immigration situation. He desperately wanted to bring a family member of his from Guatemala but he did not himself have any legal standing to do so. So he lived his life quietly, stayed away from trouble and attended church frequently. One day, as he was picking up a friend, someone tried to carjack him. This terrifying moment lasted only a few seconds. The man reached into the car with a small knife and tried to pull our client out of the car. Our client resisted, got a small cut on his hand, and sped off.

He reported the incident to the police. Later, he came to our office having heard immigration attorney Scott McVarish speak at his local church as part of this office’s community service. He could not quite believe that that quick incident– that lasted less than 30 seconds– could help solve all of his immigration problems. He told us on four separate occasions that the police did not catch the man who did this to him and so there was no prosecution. We patiently explained to him that that was not required for the U visa. We applied for him, despite his doubts, and four months later it was approved. He was still at a loss for words as he stared in disbelief at his work authorization and we explained to him – – multiple times – – that in a few years we can apply for his green card and he could bring his family member at last.

We look forward to applying for his citizenship one day.