How We Help
Noha Immigration Law Areas of Practice —
Immigration Attorney for Hawaii and Worldwide
Family-Based Immigration
Green cards based on marriage or other family relationship, consular processing for family-based immigrant visas, K-1 fiancé(e) visas
Our services include all types of family-based immigration, including permanent residency (“green card”) applications based on marriage; parent-child relationships; and siblings. We can also help you obtain a K-1 visa for your fiancé (or fiancée) who lives abroad.
Sherry is a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) co-liaison for the Hawaii Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. USCIS is the benefits-granting agency within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the office that adjudicates applications for green cards, work authorization, travel documents, citizenship certificates, and more. Her 18 years of experience with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE") (which included several years of working alongside the Fraud Detection and National Security Unit of USCIS in San Francisco and Honolulu), have given her an “insider’s perspective” on the types of factors the U.S. government considers when deciding various benefits applications. If your case has potential issues, we try to identify them early in the process and work with you to minimize them as best as possible. We strive to take the worry and guesswork out of the process for you and your loved ones. The process is not always a quick one, given current government processing times, but you and your family will have a trusted guide and resource in your back pocket when you work with us.
Citizenship & Naturalization
U.S. citizenship legal analyses and Applications for Naturalization
Sherry is passionate about U.S. citizenship! It is the pinnacle of immigration status in any country, and Sherry wishes it for all of her clients, should they want it. Sherry was a subject matter expert with ICE on U.S. citizenship, and provided annual trainings to ICE’s attorneys and operational components on the automatic acquisition and derivation of U.S. citizenship. We are skilled in all phases in the journey to U.S. citizenship–from the N-400, Application for Naturalization through the interview and tests, and culminating in your oath of citizenship. Some people might actually be U.S. citizens already and just don’t know it! We can explore your familial and birth history to see if this might be the case for you.
I-9 Compliance
I-9 training packages (with “Mini Audits”) for Hawaii-based employers and defense against Notices of Intent to Fine
U.S. employers are required to complete a Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification form within three (3) days of the date of hire of each employee. The purpose of the I-9 is to verify the identity and employment authorization of the employee. Failure to properly complete it can lead to significant fines for the employer—some fines can lead to financially devastating outcomes for businesses both small and large. Sherry was the Team Leader for the Worksite Enforcement Teams in both the San Francisco and Honolulu field offices of Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”, the investigative arm of ICE). In this capacity, she trained HSI Special Agents and Auditors how to conduct legally sound audits, and Sherry personally reviewed and approved hundreds of Notices of Intent to Fine (“NIF”). She negotiated fines with employers who were served NIFs, and she successfully litigated one of the largest published cases of its time against an events-planning company in the San Francisco Bay Area, United States v. Hartmann Studios, Inc., 11 OCAHO no. 1255 (July 15, 2015).
The I-9 was revised in August 2023. If you are an employer interested in proactively ensuring the compliance of your I-9 hiring practices—whether you operate a “mom and pop shop” or employ a large number of employees—please contact us. If you have already been audited or issued a NIF, and are seeking legal representation, we can help.
Removal (fka “Deportation”) Defense
Representation before the Immigration Court and Board of Immigration Appeals, “crimmigration” consultation services
Having a loved one placed in removal proceedings before an Immigration Court can be one of the most stressful experiences for a family. By their very nature, removal proceedings bring uncertainty for the family. There are procedural rules to follow, and the process can move quite quickly. With 18 years of experience as a prosecutor with ICE, Sherry has litigated thousands of removal proceedings, many of which were in a fast-paced detained setting. Sherry can help to alleviate the worry for you and your family. She will examine the charges of removability (or inadmissibility) with you, evaluate the forms of relief that your family member may be eligible, and assess the likelihood of a successful outcome. You don’t have to go through this alone.
Immigrant Visas & Consular Processing
Visas for visitors, students, and professionals
When family members are outside of the United States and you want them to live permanently in the U.S., the first half of the process will be handled by USCIS, and the second half by the U.S. Department of State. If you are seeking a non-immigrant visa, that is, one which will allow you to travel to the United States under the condition that you promise to return to your native country, the process may involve a petition before USCIS but it may also solely be before the State Department. Please contact us with your long and short term goals, so that we may help you evaluate your best options.
Waivers
Vaccination waiver, waivers for crimes and fraud, unlawful presence waiver
If you are applying for a green card or non-immigrant visa, you need to demonstrate that you are “admissible” to the United States. There are a lot of things that can make you inadmissible to the United States. Some of them are obvious, for example, if you have a serious conviction, this may give rise to a ground of inadmissibility. But sometimes people aren’t aware that they have done (or failed to do) something that makes them inadmissible to the United States unless and until they apply for an immigration benefit and/or speak with an experienced immigration attorney. If you are inadmissible to the United States, you will need to consider whether you qualify for a “waiver” of the ground of inadmissibility that applies to you. There are different waivers for different grounds of inadmissibility, and the factors you must prove will vary too. Waivers are not easy to do on your own. We have experience in successful waiver work, and we encourage you to schedule a consultation with us so that we can explore any possible ground of inadmissibility that might apply to you as well as the requirements of a waiver application.