Many immigration decisions turn not on what a client believes happened, but on what the government’s records say happened. These two things are often not the same. Clients frequently come to us confident about their immigration history. They remember when they entered, what status they had, who filed for them, and what was approved. Those memories are usually sincere. They are also often incomplete. Immigration records span decades, agencies, and filing systems, and they are not always...

Many lawful permanent residents are surprised when the I-751 stage turns out to be harder than the original green card process. By the time conditional residence expires, couples often assume the government is satisfied. The marriage was approved. The green card was issued. Life moved on. That assumption no longer holds. What we are seeing is that the I-751 stage has become a second, more probing review of the marriage, the relationship history, and the credibility of the record as a whole....

We need to be honest about the current immigration landscape. Many of the problems our clients are experiencing right now are not avoidable . They are the result of an immigration system that is inefficient, inconsistent, and openly hostile to immigrants. Delays, unexplained holds, increased scrutiny, and shifting standards are systemic features, not isolated failures. That reality does not mean clients are powerless. It means the approach to immigration must be deliberate, informed, and...