Greg McLawsen

“Tech Set-Up” for law firms – Seattle U. School of Law

Thanks to everyone who attended today's talk at Seattle University School of Law on legal technology for law firms. Thanks also to the Access to Justice Institute, Diana Singleton and the Washington Bar Association's Low Bono for hosting the event…

Client Choice Award - Immigration Lawyer

Gustavo Cueva wins Client Choice Award

Associate attorney Gustavo Cueva has received the a 2016 Client Choice Award from Avvo in the field of immigration - a result of the very high ratings given to him by former clients. I'm very proud of the excellent work…

Video: Adjustment of Status from ESTA/Visa Waiver Program

This post provides a basic overview for assisting clients who enter the United States on the Visa Waiver Program and wish to seek adjustment of status. The post provided as the written materials that accompany today's webinar on the topic…

Video: Agile project management for any lawyer

Busyness is the plague of Lawyerdom. Yet while lawyers claim busyness as a merit badge, our clients don't care if we're busy - only if we're productive. Fortunately there is an entire professional discipline devoted to the art and science…

Darwin Talk: KPIs for the New Legal Consumer – Sachin Bhatia, Chief Product Officer, Avvo

Sachin Bhatia, Chief Product Officer for Avvo, speaks on how law firms can use Key Performance Indicators to develop better client service. This talk was hosted on April 21, 2016 by Evolve Law in Seattle, WA.

Tech set-up CLE (1.5 credit), June 1, 2016 – Seattle

Greg McLawsen will be speaking at Seattle University's Access to Justice Institute on June 1, 2016 (noon) about setting up technology for law practice. 1.5 CLE credits are pending approval for Washington State attorneys. Attendance is free. Learn more here.

Video: Family-Based Immigration Consultations 101

Today we broadcast a webinar on the topic of how to conduct initial consultations with family-based immigration clients. The event was hosted by the New Members Division of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (Washington Chapter). The speaker is John Wheaton,…

How do I file an I-751 waiver?

If your U.S. citizen/resident spouse will not cooperate with your I-751 petition, you need to seek a waiver of the joint-filing requirement. There are three waiver possible strategies available. You are allowed to pursue one or more than of these…

How can I report marriage immigration fraud?

There are two main ways to file a report of marriage immigration fraud: Homeland Security Investigations (HIS) office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). ICE is the enforcement arm of the immigration agencies - think of them as the immigration…

Sound Immigration featured as example of innovative law firm

Thanks to the publishing team over at Avvo! They recently featured Sound Immigration as an example of a law firm using creativity to deliver services to the New Legal Consumer. We were interviewed for a white paper, Sink or swim:…

CLE materials – American Immigration Lawyers Association, New England Chapter (Oct. 25, 2024)
Below are written materials for my presentation on October 25, 2024 (six articles total).
What are the consequences of signing the Form I-864?
The I-864 is a binding legal contract between you and the United States government. Too often, people sign the Form I-864 without understanding the serious consequences of doing so. This post offers a detailed explanation of the legal ramifications of signing a Form I-864. Note that this discussion applies to you regardless of whether you…
5 reasons to sue an I-864 sponsor who “doesn’t have any money”
Today, I wanted to talk about something that comes up pretty often in my consultations: what should you do if your Affidavit of Support sponsor/defendant doesn’t have any money? Should you still start a lawsuit against them to try and recover financial support? Affidavit of Support lawsuits are fundamentally about one thing, recovering money from…
What goes into an I-864 Affidavit of Support lawsuit complaint?
I’ve been representing clients in lawsuits to enforce the USCIS Form I-864, Affidavit of Support for about a decade at this point. Over that time, I’ve made a lot of changes to the template that we use for federal lawsuit complaints. (A complaint is the initial case document that sets forth the plaintiff’s legal claim…
No, Uniting for Ukraine sponsors cannot be sued under the I-134 Affidavit of Support
Under the recently-announced Uniting for Ukraine program, U.S.-based individuals and businesses can sponsor Ukrainian refugees by filing a USCIS Form I-134, Affidavit of Support. (Yes, I know they are technically not refugees under U.S. or international law for this program, but that is beside the point). People are understandably concerned about their financial and legal…
What is a joint sponsor’s liability under the Form I-864, Affidavit of Support?
A joint sponsor (also called co-sponsor) has the same liability under an Affidavit of Support as the primary sponsor. By signing the USCIS Form I-864, the joint sponsor agrees to “joint and several” liability on the contract. The sponsored immigrant can sue the joint sponsor for financial support in state or federal court. A joint…
Can you enforce the Form I-864 Affidavit of Support in a divorce case?
Yes – in most states the USCIS Form I-864, Affidavit of Support can be enforced in a divorce case. A family law court has the authority to enforce the I-864 either (1) as a breach of contract claim or (2) through spousal maintenance (also called alimony). But as discussed below, divorce court is not necessarily…
USCIS Form I-864 enforcement in divorce court – another cautionary tale (Marriage of Bychina)
It is a theme that I have written about many times on this blog and elsewhere. Yes, the Affidavit of Support can theoretically be enforced in family law proceedings. But in practice, beneficiaries frequently encounter problems in that forum. Here is another example. Marriage of Bychina was a family law case in Illinois. See No.…
How do you calculate damages under the I-864, Affidavit of Support
In an important ruling for one of our I-864 enforcement clients, a Court ruled today that damages under the USCIS Form I-864, Affidavit of Support are determined based on taxable income. In Flores v. Flores, the Western District of Washington ruled that the term “income” is governed by the definition contained at 8 C.F.R. §…
How do you settle a claim under the USCIS Form I-864, Affidavit of Support?
As I explain elsewhere on this blog, almost all claims under the USCIS Form I-864, Affidavit of Support result in settlement. To get an idea of how long that process takes, read this post. Having settled many of these claims, here is an overview of how we generally approach settlement. What goes into an Affidavit…