Articles Posted in Immigrant Success Stories

A question frequently asked to Fong & Aquino’s Palm Springs immigration lawyers is whether an old deportation case can be reopened.

During the previous presidential administration, the answer was no.  Thus, many people living under the storm cloud of a deportation order were unable to seek the government’s consent to file a joint motion to reopen to an Immigration Judge.  Now, under a revised memorandum (known as the “Doyle memo”), an avenue to petition the government has been restored.

I had previously written about motions to reopen here.

Today, we are going to talk about a new comedy on NBC called “Sunnyside”!  It stars Kal Penn (the tall guy from the Harold and Kumar movies) as Garrett Modi, a down-on-his-luck former city council member who is booted out of office.  Somehow, he is hired by a motley crew of immigrants to be their “citizenship test tutor.”

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Before we go any further, I know that some of you might be wondering about my qualifications to critique a show about immigrants in Sunnyside, Queens.  Well, I have watched “Coming to America” at least twenty times and 90% of that movie happens in Queens.  (Fun factoid:  Not only is Queens the largest of the five boroughs, it is also the most ethnically diverse.)  Also, when I first moved to New York City, I lived in Woodside, which is two stops away on the illustrious 7 line from Sunnyside.  (I lived near the 61st Street stop, which is an express station.  When I first moved in, I thought “This is great!  I will be in Manhattan in ten minutes!”  Then, during my first week of work, I learned that the express train was very full by the time it reached Woodside.  Which then forced me to discover the benefits of the local.  Like how my commute to work would take an extra 30 minutes.) 

ABOUT THAT CITIZENSHIP TEST

Nobel PRize 2

The US political dialog is ugly and divisive this year.  It is also full of misinformation.  One  political party would want you to believe that immigrants are bad for our nation, that they make no contribution to our nation.  Whether they come to the US on a  B-visa, C-visa, extraordinary worker visa, or EWI, immigrants make our nation vibrant, diverse, and accomplished!

Don’t believe me?  Note that this year, six Americans won Nobel prizes for their work in the sciences.  All of these Nobel prize winners are American immigrants! 

Take that, Donald Trump!  –jcf

 

Romben Aquino & J Fong - 1994

In my sophomore year at UCLA, one of my professors Stewart Kwoh assigned us a social services research project. I came to him with some vague ideas and he suggested that I go see his good friend J Craig Fong (Retired from the practice of law) to develop them into something more concrete.

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Immigration Client Success Story - Coke brings a smile

Not too long ago, I was sitting in jail with my client the night before his first hearing. I told him that once I got him out of custody, I would buy him a beer. He says “But Mr. Aquino, I don’t drink.” “Well,” I asked him, “what would you like to toast with instead?”
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John Lennon - Not The Only DREAMer
John Lennon’s US immigration case was not won without challenges

The possibility of executive action on immigration (and deferred action for parents of DREAMERs) was in the news recently. Unfortunately, not for the reason that many immigrants had been hoping for.
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Adri-Anne Ralph, Singer-Songwriter Meet Adri-Anne Ralph

This week, I continue my quest to answer the big important questions in life, starting with “I’d like to refer more clients to you . . . What does an immigrant look like?” Some of you may recall that I took my first foray into this journey by introducing Continue reading

Meet Federico GuinartMeet Federico Guinart

A little while ago, I was having a chat with a friend of mine about my law practice. She asked me about the kinds of cases that I handle and the types of people who might be interested in speaking with me. Towards the end of our chat, she says “Great! I’ll be on the look out for clients for you. What does an immigrant look like?”
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