New Immigration Law Department at Kraft & Associates

Kraft & Associates is proud to announce that our firm now has an Immigration Law department, staffed by experienced and competent people. We will be glad to visit with you about any immigration law question, and if you mention this newsletter we will waive our normal consultation fee.

Mr. Angel Cruz is our bilingual (Spanish) attorney. Mr. Cruz has handled hundreds of immigration matters and would like to help you with your immigration questions and issues.

Ms. Nora Ramos is our bilingual (Spanish) lead Immigration Legal Assistant. Ms. Ramos has several years' experience in the immigration field, and will be able to assist with many legal questions that you may have.

Ms. Sara Johnson is our trilingual (Spanish and Russian) Immigration Legal Assistant. Ms. Johnson recently attended the four-day conference of the Association of Immigration Lawyers of America, along with Mr. Kraft and Mr. Cruz. There, she received the most up-to-date information on Immigration Laws and Reforms.

We believe there is a growing need for legal help in the immigration field. The federal government has just released a new report showing that about 11 million foreign nationals without valid documentation were living in the United States at the start of 2006, up from about 8.5 million at the start of the year 2000.

Mexico is the largest contributing country of undocumented immigrants, with nearly 6 million in the United States in 2005. El Salvador, Guatemala, India, and China followed with a combined contribution of about 1.4 million unauthorized immigrants.

California had the largest undocumented immigrant population, with 2.8 million in January 2005, followed by Texas with 1.4 million, and Florida with 850,000.

We care about those people, but just as importantly, we want to help those foreign nationals who are in the United States legally, and who need to adjust their visa status, or want to become nationalized.

Our firm handles both family-based and employment-based immigration matters. Most of our clients seem to be more interested in the family-based immigration procedures.

Here are a couple of the most common questions we get:


Who Qualifies for a Family-Based Visa?

• Immediate relatives (husband, wife, unmarried children under 21, and parents) of United States citizens,

• Unmarried sons and daughters of lawful permanent residents,

• Married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens, and

• Brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens.


Who is a Lawful Permanent Resident?

A lawful permanent resident is someone who has a "green card." As a lawful permanent resident you have several important rights, including the right to:

• Live and work permanently in the United States,

• Travel in and out of the U.S.,

• Help other family members (spouse and unmarried sons and daughters) immigrate to the U.S., and

• Apply for U.S. citizenship, after waiting several years.


At Kraft & Associates, we would like to assist you with immigration questions or problems right from the beginning, so we can properly advise you and help to protect your rights through the entire process. We can assist you in the initial filing of your visa petition, help with renewals and submissions of additional evidence, and can represent you in hearings or interviews before an Immigration Officer or Judge if and when that becomes necessary.

At the law firm of Kraft & Associates, we will be pleased to assist you with any questions you have regarding any aspect of Immigration law.