Removal/Deportations
One of the most frightening and confusing experiences that a non-citizen can face is the prospect of being detained and deported/removed from the United States by Immigration & Customs Enforcement. Non-citizens can be placed in "removal proceedings" before the Immigration Court for a variety of reasons:

• overstaying a visa


• violating the terms of a visa


• unlawful entry


• or being convicted of a crime.

Relief from Removal
A person in removal proceedings can seek termination, waivers, a green-card (adjustment of status), asylum, prosecutorial discretion, and a variety of other forms of "relief" from removal. Defending against deportation/removal requires experience in providing a strategic and zealous defense, and knowing the intricacies of immigration court litigation. We have successfully assisted our clients in cases involving deportation, removal, exclusion, bond hearings, withholding of removal, protection under the Convention Against Torture, applications for adjustment of status, and waivers of grounds of "inadmissibility".

Immigration Appeal

Michael H. Markovitch represents individuals and organizations before immigration tribunals, including the USCIS Administrative Appeals Office (AAO), Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), and the Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA).

Visa Waiver Applications

Generally, waivers are available for certain grounds of inadmissibility, including criminal convictions, medical conditions, visa fraud, and the J1 two-year foreign residence requirement.

Naturalization / Citizenship

Generally, to be eligible for naturalization, the applicant must have held lawful permanent resident status ( Green Card ) for at least five years. For spouses of US citizens, the required period of permanent residence is reduced to three years. Applicants must also generally meet requirements for physical presence in the US, good moral character, basic English language skills, and knowledge of US history and government to qualify for citizenship.

Authentication of Documents for Use Abroad

Documents issued in one country, which need to be used in another country, must be "authenticated" or "legalized" before they can be recognized as valid in the foreign country.   Such documents range from powers of attorney, affidavits, birth, death and marriage records, corporate papers, deeds, patent applications and other legal papers.    A legalization procedure requires obtaining a special "apostille" certificate attached to a document if it is intended for use in a country which is a party to a treaty called the Hague Convention.   If the country where the documents will be used is a not a party to the Convention, a time-consuming process of obtaining series of certifications known as "chain authentication method" should apply.   We provide document authentication and legalization services for any country in the world.   We specialize in providing sets of documents required by the governments of the Russian Federation, Ukraine and other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (former USSR), including certified English translation, to be used for establishing business entities in these countries.