During the trial for the Green Card, Client admitted to smoking marijuana on a few occasions. Although he never had any arrests or convictions for marijuana, the judge determined that he admitted to committing two or more Marijuana offenses and she denied his application for the green card.
We then filed an appeal of her decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). The BIA is located in Virginia and it is a group of judges who decide if the judge that handled the case made any mistakes. The BIA agreed with DiMaria’s argument that the Judge made a mistake in the case and the BIA sent the case back to the Judge. In the meantime while this was all taking place, Client was transferred from Essex County New Jersey to Louisiana then to Alabama.
Once the BIA sent the case back to the Judge, the Judge granted the case and gave Client a Green Card. Client was released from custody and is now home and starting his life over as a permanent resident of the United States.