Practice Area
Woodside is an immigrant neighborhood, and it has been since long before this firm opened. A quarter of our practice is helping the people who live here stay here.
Immigration matters are unforgiving of paperwork errors and of missed deadlines, and the consequences of getting one wrong are not financial — they are a family separated. There is no part of law where doing it properly the first time matters more.
Aracely Mendez-Rivas leads the practice, appears before the New York Immigration Court at 26 Federal Plaza, and consults in Spanish and English. We will tell you honestly whether you have a case before you pay us to file one.
Free initial consultation.
Thirty minutes with the attorney who would handle the matter — not an intake screener. Call 000-000-000 or send us the details through the contact form.
How we help
Spouse, parent, child and sibling petitions, consular processing and adjustment of status.
N-400 applications, interview preparation, and derivative citizenship questions.
I-90 renewals and I-751 petitions, including where the marriage has ended.
H-1B, L-1, O-1 and PERM labor certification for employers and employees.
Representation in removal proceedings, bond hearings, cancellation of removal and asylum.
I-601 and I-601A waivers, U visas, VAWA self-petitions and TPS.
When to call us
If you are not sure whether your situation belongs on that list, call anyway. Telling you that you do not need a lawyer is free, and we would rather do that than take a matter that should not exist.
Attorneys in this practice
Partner
Aracely built the firm's immigration practice around the neighborhood it sits in. She handles family petitions, naturalization, adjustment of status and removal defense, and appears regularly before the New York Immigration Court.
Questions
It depends on the category and the country of chargeability. An immediate relative of a U.S. citizen — spouse, parent, or unmarried child under 21 — has no visa queue and is generally measured in months. Preference categories can run years, and the Visa Bulletin is the authority. We will look up your specific category at the consultation.
Yes. Removal defense is part of the practice. Bring every document you were given, including the Notice to Appear, and come in as far ahead of the date as you can manage.
Yes. Aracely Mendez-Rivas and Rafael Santos both consult in Spanish, and the firm also has attorneys who speak Portuguese, Korean, Hindi, Tamil, Igbo and Polish.
Tell us what is going on. The first consultation is free, it is with the attorney who would handle your matter, and there is no obligation afterwards.