India Widow and Son Overstayed B2s; Starting Her Own Cleaning Business Was the Right Choice; Years Later in 2021 They Won Their Green Cards

| Apr 14, 2022 | Firm News, Success Stories

[Please note: The Client’s name and case key details may have been altered to preserve the identity of the client. This Success Story is not intended to be an offer of service or case plan. Every case is unique. The Success Story is presented for information purposes only.]

In 1999 a widow named Falguni came to New York from India accompanied by her one-year-old son, Chatura, on a B2 visa which they overstayed.

Falguni was a very bright and well-educated person which enabled her to accept a job with a company owned by an elderly immigrant from India, now a United States citizen, who offered to sponsor Falguni for legal permanent residency through the employer-based green card process. To be sure, a labor certification was filed but nothing further was done due to her employer’s sudden death.

Not to be deterred, Falguni analyzed her situation and concluded that she should start her own home cleaning business; a decision that yielded very lucrative results over the years. Hiring mostly immigrants from India and/or their children, Falguni developed an excellent reputation and became quite a businessperson, so much so that she could afford to send Chatura to private schools and later to an excellent trade school.

Certainly, Chatura considered applying for DACA but he chose not to because he didn’t want to do anything that might endanger his mom.

In 2018, years after her arrival, however, the elders at Falguni’s temple called a meeting in which they told her that the matter of her undocumented status must be addressed because they did not want Falguni and Chatura to be deported due to the policies of then-President Donald Trump.

Accordingly, one of the elders accompanied Falguni to the New York office of Margaret W. Wong & Associates, LLC. Wong for an interview regarding her situation.

Upon hearing Falguni’s history, our team knew that she would be a prime candidate for adjustment of status under Section 245 (i) of the INA revised by the LIFE Act of 2000 because she met the requirements of being in the United States on December 21st, 2000 and she had a labor certification registered on her behalf before April 30, 2001. What’s more, Chatura also qualified for relief as a “derivative beneficiary” of his mother.

So, our team got to work and filed the appropriate petitions for Falguni and Chatura by June of that year because Falguni, forever efficient and organized, was very prompt in obtaining for us all the documentation that was required.

To no surprise, certain factors like the Covid-19 pandemic prevented Falguni from getting an USCIS interview right away but one was finally granted in the Fall of 2020 which Falguni and Chatura whizzed through answering all the questions articulately and correctly.

By the first month of 2021, both mother and son were legal permanent residents of the United States and a virtual celebration was organized by those at her temple in which at least 200 people took part from their living rooms.