Immigration Success Stories USA

This Firm has built its reputation on handling difficult and complex cases in the area of immigration law. Our attorneys approach each case in a straightforward and analytical way. We analyze every fact in great detail, and rely on our vast knowledge of federal statutes, regulations, and immigration case law to get the best possible results for our clients. The following is a small sample of the notable immigration cases our attorneys have handled. We have provided these cases on our website so our potential clients can see examples of the immigration cases our firm has handled in the past. The results below demonstrate the level of representation our Firm strives to provide to our clients in a variety of immigration cases. We have provided PDF versions of some decisions. However, we redacted some of them to preserve our clients’ confidentiality when the cases were not a matter of public record.

DISCLAIMER: Please be advised the results achieved in the cases mentioned below depend upon the exact facts and circumstances of that particular case. It is important to keep in mind that since no two cases are exactly the same, The Law Offices of Grinberg & Segal, PLLC cannot guarantee a specific result in any legal matter. Any results included on our website is based upon actual legal matters and represents the results achieved in that particular matter, and does not constitute a guarantee, warranty, or forecast of the outcome of any other legal matters regardless of how similar your situation may appear.

Matter of Z-P

BIA corrected Immigration Judge's actions and Remanded for proper hearing.

Outcome: 
BIA Granted Appeal

Matter of R-K-

BIA confirmed decision of the immigration judge on a specific issue of criminal law.

Outcome: 
BIA Granted Appeal

Political Asylum is Granted to the member of Russian Opposition as well fear of being mobilized into the Army

Respondent is a person who had escape Russia due the threats to his life there on account of his political opinion and also because of the mandatory mobilization to war with Ukraine he wanted to have nothing to do with.

Outcome: 
Court granted his requests for asylum Withholding of Removal.

Matter of A-K-

This is a very interesting case where an extraordinary neurosurgeon as well as business person sought to qualify as possessing extraordinary ability in business while seeking to establish important program here in the USA which is beneficial for the American National Interest as well. The case presented a number of interesting issues including the interplay between extraordinary achievements in medicine as well as in business while relying mostly on the business aspects of the resume.

Outcome: 
I-140 Immigrant Self-Petition is granted.

Matter of A-LLC

Case involves an application by a multinational company for the internal transfer of the executive to work at the company's subsidiary in the USA in order to establish a new office here.

Outcome: 
Nonimmigrant Petition is Granted.

Matter of R-LLC

I-129 petition is granted on behalf of an extraordinary ballet dancer and ballet teacher from Russia to allow her to work in the USA teaching ballet at the well-established chain of ballet dance schools.

Outcome: 
Nonimmigrant Petition Approved.

Matter of R-INC

This is a motion to reconsider made to Administrative Appeals Office and USCIS. The issues in the case involved denial of the I-140 based on inability to pay where the employer was drawing the surplus earnings into his own bonus annually and the surplus exceeded her proposed salary.

Outcome: 
Motion to Reconsider Granted. Denial of the I-140 vacated. I-140 approved.

Matter of S-V-

The case involved an application for asylum by a Baptist from Russia. While the Judge was unhappy with the credibility of the respondent and other issues having to do with his testimony; found that the respondent suffered no past persecution the Judge, nevertheless, concluded that the respondent managed to convince her that he was indeed a Baptist and that Baptists are routinely subjected to persecution in Russia so the Judge granted asylum based on well founded fear of future persecution.

Outcome: 
Asylum is Granted.

Matter of M-M-M

The case presented several questions including issues of Domestic Violence; Care for the Children and long immigration history which could potentially lead to discretionary denial. Case was approved.

Outcome: 
Adjustment of Status is granted.

In the Matter of DZ-

We recently represented an independent Russian journalist who was seeking asylum in removal proceedings. In Russia, he ran a website dedicated to covering official corruption and human rights violations in Russia.  In order to ensure that readers could trust the information, he made his contact information readily available.  Perhaps unsurprisingly, this brought the client to the attention of the very Russian officials whose corruption he was exposing.  He was subjected to several threats in Russia by persons he credibly believed to be acting on behalf of the Russian government, and on one occasion he was violently assaulted at a peaceful meeting wherein he and other participants discussed their reporting.

Outcome: 
Asylum granted

In the Matter of EE-

We recently accepted a client who had a peculiarly perplexing problem. She had been in the United States on O-1B nonimmigrant status as an alien of extraordinary ability in the arts since 2013. In 2018, she had an I-140 approved for preference classification as an EB-1A alien of extraordinary ability in the arts based on the same work that she had been doing as a nonimmigrant.

Outcome: 
Form I-129 petition approved

In The Matter of UK-

A respondent in removal proceedings recently retained our firm to handle his application for asylum. The client, a gay man from India, feared persecution were he to return to India, where he had not been for a decade since he came to the United States as a nonimmigrant student. We can happily report that we were able to assist him in winning asylum in the United States.

Outcome: 
Asylum granted

In The Matter of Y.A.

Our firm was retained to represent a client who was seeking to reopen his removal proceedings in order to apply for asylum on the basis of his being a member of the particular social group of male homosexuals in Belarus.

Outcome: 
Motion Granted. Deportation Order Terminated

Persad v. Barr

On March 24, 2020, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit certified its decision in Persad v. Barr, 17-661. Our office represented the petitioner, Mr. Dasrath D. Persad, in his appeal of a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) finding that his unitary sentence based on convictions for four separate offenses by a military court-martial in 1992 was categorically an aggravated felony theft offense under INA 101(a)(43)(G). I (Alexander J. Segal) presented oral arguments on behalf of Mr. Persad before a three-judge panel of the Second Circuit on October 16, 2018.

Outcome: 
Petition for Review Granted

Matter of R-K- Continued

Immigration Judge decision on a case remanded by the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). The decision comes on my request to terminate removal proceedings due to favorable applicable recent circuit court decisions that changed the law as applied to my client.

Outcome: 
Removal Proceedings Terminated

Matter of F-M-B

This case is about the government's failure to sustain their burden of proof on deportability for an individual who had been convicted of a CIMT. The entire question was about whether the government proved with clear and convincing evidence that the respondent indeed committed that crime within five years after his admission.

Outcome: 
Appeal Granted Cases remanded for further proceedings

Matter A-C

This is a successful asylum claim by a Belarus national. It involves interesting issues having to do with the timeliness of the application and the substance of the claim of a Belarus citizen trying to exercise his rights for freedom of speech and assembly. The case is also about brutality of the Belarus government in dealing with peaceful demonstrations.

Outcome: 
Asylum Granted

Matter of R-K- (January-February 2018)

Respondent here complained he had fear of returning to Uzbekistan on account of one of the protected grounds. Judge found against him and erred in allowing the Government not to rebut the presumption of future persecution established by the respondent having been able to establish past persecution. This appeal followed. While the Board agreed with the judge on the decision on CAT claim, more interestingly here, it agreed with the respondent on the presumption rebuttal issue.

Outcome: 
Dismissed in part and remanded in part

Matter of AG- (Newark Immigration Court 6-30-2017)

The Case presents an interesting set of issues having to do with the change country conditions in Iran and the plight of Iranian people in the Islamic Republic.

Outcome: 
Motion to reopen is granted by the court

Matter of F-M- (April 2016)

Material Support to a Terrorist Organization is a serious finding which if made, would render the individual subject to it ineligible for asylum and adjustment of status. There are some exceptions to this rule which were not previously available. This is one of the cases granted under the exception.

Outcome: 
The DHS joined in the request for the proceedings to be reopened so the judge could grant asylum

Matter of K-K-, ID# 15432 (AAO Feb. 9, 2016)

Administrative Appeals Office today overturned the decision by the USCIS District Director and found that the Director made improper assessment of the evidence including giving diminishing wait to the statement by the grandmother of the petitioner as well as looking at each piece of evidence separately as opposed to applying totality of the credible evidence standard.

Outcome: 
Appeal Sustained and District Director Decision Overturned

In the Matter of L.B (8-27-2015)

This is an interesting case. The IJ made several rather arbitrary findings, which the BIA agreed were not supported by the record. In assessing credibility, the IJ relied heavily on his own opinions and not the evidence in the record. Appeal sustained. Congratulations go to our entire team including Wendy R. Barlow who handled the appeal and Alexander J. Segal who handled the trial stage.

Outcome: 
Appeal sustained

Matter of T.K. (2015)

This case involves an asylum applicant from Belarus whom the IJ found lacking credibility based on ostensible discrepancies not supported by the record. The Board of Immigration Appeals disagreed, finding the record not to be developed to support the IJ's negative credibility finding. The BIA also found that the IJ failed to provide an opportunity to the respondent to rebut the ostensible discrepancies; review ample corroborative evidence submitted by the respondent as well as adequately review the pattern and practice theory of persecution.

Outcome: 
Appeal Sustained by the BIA

In Re K,P, BIA, December 2014

An interesting decision we just received from the BIA. The decision addresses legal requirement of filing of an asylum application within the applicant's first year of the last arrival in the USA and also clarifies the extent of mistreatment to constitute persecution. The Board agreed with the applicants' argument that the mistreatment he was subjected to in Belarus did amount to persecution, thus overruling the holding by the Immigration Judge. The BIA disagreed with the applicant that debilitating treatment by the Belarus government of his similarly situated friend, which sparked the applicant's fear of returning to Belarus several years after his arrival in the USA, and the temporary loss of memory by the friend, which resulted directly form that mistreatment, was not sufficient exceptional circumstance to excuse late filing of the asylum application by the applicant. One of the BIA members dissented from the majority opinion and agreed with the applicant that his circumstances did amount to exceptional and warranted waiver of the one-year filing requirement.

Outcome: 
Appeal Sustained

Matter of O.M., AAO (2013)

The waiver application and application for permission to reapply for admission were both denied by the Field Office Director, Moscow, Russia, and ended on Appeal before the Administrative Appeals Office at the DHS. The appeal will be sustained and waiver granted with instructions to the post to adjudicate immigrant visa application

Outcome: 
Appeal sustained, waiver granted by the AAO

Matter of D.R., AAO (2013)

The Field Office Director, New Delhi, India, denied the waiver application. The applicant, through counsel, appealed the Field Office Director's decision, and the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) dismissed the appeal. On May 6, 2013, the applicant filed a motion to reopen and reconsider the AAO's decision in accordance with 8 c.F.R. § 103.5. The motion is granted, the prior AAO decision is withdrawn and the underlying appeal is sustained.

Outcome: 
Appeal Sustained, Waiver Granted by AAO

Matter of B.R., AAO (2013)

The Field Office Director, Bangkok, Thailand, denied the waiver application. The applicant, through counsel, appealed the Field Office Director's decision, and the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) dismissed the appeal. On May 6, 2013, the applicant filed a motion to reopen and reconsider the AAO's decision in accordance with 8 C.F.R. § 103.5. The motion is granted, the prior AAO decision is withdrawn and the underlying appeal is sustained.

Outcome: 
Appeal Sustained, Waiver Granted

In Re VK (BIA Nov.13, 2013)

This case involved an Immigration Judge who found that the applicant for asylum was not credible because he failed to provide corroborative evidence of his account of the events. On appeal, the Board of Immigration Appeals disagreed, concluding that the Immigration Judge failed to ground her findings in the record and that the record supported quite an opposing finding.

Outcome: 
Remanded to the Immigration Judge for additional action consistent with the BIA decision

Boika v. Holder, 727 F.3d 735 (7th Cir. 2013)

An interesting case that concerns the issue of whether an individual against whom an immigration judge issued a negative credibility finding is precluded from making a successful argument of material change in country conditions, which would justify a second look at the existence of a well-founded fear of persecution on account of political activities that took place in the period after the immigration judge order as well on the fact of significantly increased persecution of the similarly situated individuals in the country of origin, in this case Belarus.

Outcome: 
Remanded back to the BIA

Elbahja v. Keisler, 06-2671.(2nd Cir 2010). Precedent Decision

Represented the Petitioner only before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Petitioner appealed to the Court the BIA affirmance without opinion of the denial by an immigration judge of his request to continue removal proceedings. Petitioner needed more time to allow the US Department of Labor to adjudicate his previously filed labor certification application. The Court held that it did not constitute an abuse of discretion for an IJ to decline to grant multiple continuances in order to permit adjudication of a removable alien's pending labor certification. The Court was particularly swayed by the fact that the IJ had previously granted the petitioner many continuances in the past as well as the need to move the case along. The court found no merits in the Petitioner’s argument that, he, the petitioner, did not control the Labor Department’s adjudication process and timeline and could not predict when the petition would be adjudicated. The Court held that labor certification was just a beginning in a long process of legalization so that the Court could not find fault with the IJ who refused to give the Petitioner more time. It is interesting that in a similar case some time later in 2010, the Second Circuit reversed its course and remanded the case when the IJ denied continuance. It seems as if the Court was struggling to set boundaries of when IJ's refusal to continue removal hearing would interfere with the noncitizen's rights to a fair hearing in removal proceedings or otherwise constitute arbitrary and capricious act on the part of an IJ.

Outcome: 
Petition for Review dismissed

Litvinova v. Mukasey, (2nd Cir. 2008)

Reversal of the BIA decision in part where the Board agreed with the IJ's finding that the mistreatment the petitioner complained about did not constitute persecution. Sustaining the BIA decision in part where the Board reversed the original negative creditability finding by an Immigration Judge on the grounds that it did not rely on a specific and cogent reason needed to sustain negative credibility determination.

Outcome: 
Reversal by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals of the USDOJ's denial of asylum. Case remanded for a new hearing

Gritsenko v. Ashcroft (2nd Cir 2007)

The case addressed the issue of “on account of” in the context of an application for asylum. The issue was whether the original analysis by the IJ complied with that spelled out by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in the holding of Yeuging Zhang v. Gonzales, 426 F. 3d 540 (2nd Cir 2005) in making a determination of whether the harm of which the applicant for asylum complained, had been on account of one of the protected grounds under the Immigration and Nationality Act (The INA).

Outcome: 
BIA decision is vacated on Stipulation. Remanded back to the IJ for a new hearing

Maximov v. Gonzales, (2nd Cir 2003)

The case revisited Child Status Protection Act (CSPA) and the extended definition of a child, it presented. The case addressed the contention by the DHS that an individual who was originally included in the parents asylum application as a child as thus qualified for an extended definition of a child under the CSPA, lost such protection once he was married and did not regain it once he was divorced. The DHS contended that the protection could not be regained after the divorce even if both the marriage and the divorce happened prior to the individual parents' being granted asylum. American Immigration Law Foundation filed an amicus brief in this case. See ALIF's annual report for 2005, page 9.

Outcome: 
Remanded to the BIA and eventually to the Immigration Judge. Full reversal of the original DHS's position