PRACTICE AREAS:

The Law Office of Simon Weldehaimanot focuses on U.S. immigration law while also following treatment of refugees and/or asylees in other countries.

U.S. immigration law is not an easy area of law even for practitioners, let alone for busy lay people. “To the contrary, U.S. immigration law is notorious for its complexity. Only the much maligned Internal Revenue Code rivals the intricate, lengthy, and frequently obtuse Immigration & Nationality Act of 1952, which is the centerpiece of American immigration law.” (Kevin R. Johnson et al, Understanding Immigration Law, iii, 2009). U.S. immigration law is not a by and large settled common law. It is subject to ebb and flow of policy-driven statutory and executive regulations. It is always challenging even for long-time experts who have to constantly educate themselves of new regulations while keeping abreast of surviving ones.

Asylum and refugee law, on which our Law Office focuses, is even more challenging. Indeed, “In the past decade, there has been no area of immigration law that has generated more controversy, resulted in more litigation, and caused more confusion than the law relating to persons coming to the U.S. after fleeing persecution in their homeland. The law … now involves international as well as domestic law – and the application of numerous complex statutes and regulations concerning not only asylees and refugees, but parolees, persons seeking withholding of removal, persons making claims under the Convention Against Torture, and temporary protected status.” [Iran J. Kurzban, Kurzban’s Immigration Law Sourcebook, 459 (12th eds., 2010/11)]. Remedies and defenses are many and varied.

Among other things, our Law Office can help you with the following:

Seeking asylum and/or contesting proceedings for your removal

Our Law Office can help you apply for asylum. If you have applied affirmatively after you are admitted to the U.S., we help you prepare the application form and, importantly, your supplementary statement. Our Law Office is well-versed with the political and socio-cultural situation in countries such as Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan and the Sudan. Our expertise helps you in backing your claims with documented evidence. We attend your interview with immigration officers. If your case goes to Immigration Court, our Law Office prepares you for trials and represents you in all proceedings. Should it be necessary, we appeal decisions we think are erroneous to the Board of Immigration Appeals and to federal courts. We also help you seek available executive remedies.

Maintaining your lawful status and progressing towards citizenship

There are requirements refugees, asylees, lawful permanent residents or others who are under any other status have to meet in order to maintain and advance their status to a higher ones (permanent residency and/or citizenship). In this regard, you are welcome to call our Law Office to know what you should do, where, when and how. Our Law Office can help you with the immigration forms you need to file. You should not engage in certain conduct that could jeopardize progression to permanent residency or citizenship. If you do, contact our Law Office.

Brining relatives and your fiancé(e)

Our Law Office handles all types of family immigration as the office has extensive knowledge of immigration law. If you are a citizen of the U.S., you can bring your spouse, widow or unmarried child or children under the age or 21 and also your parents, provided you are an adult. While there are fewer restrictions for these relatives, for others (such as your unmarried children over the age of 21, your married children and your siblings), or if you intend to bring your fiancé/e to the U.S. for the purpose of consummating marriage, you really need advice from immigration attorneys. The same is true if you are a lawful permanent resident who intends to bring your spouse and your unmarried children or children under the age of 21. Our Law Office would be glad to help you.

Eritrean/Ethiopia Laws in Foreign Courts

Attorney Simon Weldehaimanot hails from Eritrea and he has extensively published on the legal system and rule of law in Eritrea and Ethiopia. He has served as a reviewer for manuscripts in these areas contributed to the Journal of African Law in addition to occasionally reviewing manuscripts of other journals. Attorney Simon possesses the entire corpus of Eritrea’s statutes and subsidiary legislation and also centuries old customary laws. In the context of Eritreans immigrating to different parts of the world, attorney Simon is routinely consulted to provide opinion on how a particular issue would be resolved under Eritrean laws. He has been asked to write opinions on establishing filiation; on procedures and on validity of marriage and divorce; on acquisition or alienation of property; on succession and forms and validity of wills. Attorney Simon has been also asked to appraise litigation before the Eritrean judiciary. If determination of a certain matter under Eritrean laws is vital to your case, please contact our Law Office.