We recently had a case which illustrates the rather obscure
way an immigration attorney can be of help. 
We received a young lady who had been to many attorneys asking the same
questions.  She had entered the country
illegally when she was a very young girl. 
Now, nineteen years later, with a husband (a United States Citizen) and their
young child (also a U.S. Citizen), she was being told repeatedly that she had
no recourse.  Conventional wisdom from
the sources she was consulting was that once section 245(i) of the Immigration
and Nationality Act expired on April 30, 2001, she was out of luck.  Immediately upon telling these people that
she had entered illegally, she was essentially ushered out the door; no visa,
no hope.

The Long Hand of the Grandfathering Law

But our heroine had one more stop to make.  As she entered our offices, she was understandably
crestfallen, and, to be fair, we initially felt her case was not eligible for
adjustment.  Her entry had been illegal
(what is called Entered Without Inspection—or EWI) and the law that allowed an
illegal entrant to adjust had ended.  It
is then that we asked a routine question regarding the procedural history of
her case:

“Has anyone in your family, other than your husband, ever file
a petition on your behalf?”

Her answer was as nonchalant as it was staggeringly
important:

“Sure.  My mom, but
that was a very long time ago, that doesn’t count anymore.”

And yet it did. 
According to USCIS policy documents, upon expiration of the LIFE Act enacted
at the end of 2000, any person who had a pending immigrant petition or labor
certification would be able to use the part of the law that allowed illegal entrants
to adjust their status–even after it was gone.  In short, that
petition filed by her mother many, many years ago proved to be the link that
would allow her to be grandfathered and use INA 245(i) to legalize her status.

Although skeptical at first, we convinced her that she
needed only to file an Adjustment Application with the special evidence
required by the LIFE Act and she would be adjusted.  After several months of administrative
processing, she received her Green Card two weeks before the New Year.  She also received her Social Security card
and put a down payment on a home.  With
her new credentials, she is now in school and studying while working—the promise
of the American Dream written on her smile.

What We Learned

No matter what people tell you, make sure you always seek
the advice of competent counsel, and DON’T be afraid to ask for a second
opinion; or a third, or a twenty-third. 
Although this person’s case had many unique elements, only a thorough,
honest and exacting history of your case can ensure that your lawyer has the
best chance to pull a residence out of a hat.