Our firm handles a wide range of matters, including family-based petitions, green card applications, waivers, DACA, humanitarian visas such as T visas and U visas, and naturalization applications. We also represent children and young adults in Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) cases. Services depend on eligibility, which we’ll evaluate during your initial consultation.
DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) is a federal program providing temporary protection from deportation and work authorization to undocumented individuals who were brought to the United States as children. As of late 2025, while the program’s future remains legally complex, USCIS continues to accept and process renewal requests for current DACA recipients. Attorney Vianey K. Hurtado and her legal team provide extensive assistance with DACA and travel-related documents. Vianey K. Hurtado helps ‘Dreamers’ maintain their DACA protection and work authorization in the U.S. by:
Advance Parole allows DACA recipients to travel abroad and re-enter the U.S. without abandoning their status. Vianey K. Hurtado assists with:
Yes, the firm assists U.S. citizens and green card holders with sponsoring eligible family members, including spouses, children, parents, and siblings, through family-based petitions and related green card applications.
While specific requirements vary by eligibility category (e.g., family-based vs. employment-based), standard documents typically include:
Documents for U.S. Citizenship (Form N-400)
To apply for naturalization, you generally need to provide:
Whether you can travel while your case is pending depends on your current status and whether you have obtained specific travel authorization.
For Green Card (Adjustment of Status) Applicants
If you have a pending Form I-485 to adjust status, leaving the U.S. without proper authorization is generally considered an abandonment of your application, which can lead to immediate denial.
For Citizenship (Naturalization) Applicants
Applicants with a pending Form N-400 can generally travel internationally as long as they have a valid Permanent Resident Card (Green Card). However, key risks include:
Critical Warnings for Individuals with Criminal or Immigration Issues
Attorney Vianey K. Hurtado cautions that international travel may carry significant immigration consequences for individuals with unlawful presence, prior immigration violations, arrests, criminal charges, or criminal convictions.
Because Advance Parole does not guarantee that travel is safe or that a person will be permitted to return in every circumstance, it is always advisable to have your individual immigration and criminal history reviewed before traveling internationally.
Form I-601 is used to ask USCIS to waive certain grounds of inadmissibility so a person can still receive a visa or green card. It is most often used when someone is inadmissible because of:
In many I-601 cases, the person must show extreme hardship to a qualifying U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident family member.
Form I-212, on the other hand, is used to request permission to apply to re-enter the United States after a prior removal, deportation, or certain types of departure that require “consent to reapply.” These applications are usually decided using a balancing test that looks at factors such as:
Unlike many I-601 waivers, I-212 requests typically do not use a formal extreme hardship standard. Some people need only an I-601, others need only an I-212, and some may need both applications, depending on the specific grounds of inadmissibility and their immigration history. The fact that one waiver or permission is approved does not necessarily resolve every immigration issue in the case.
Yes. Vianey K. Hurtado’s legal practice actively handles family-based petitions, including K-1 (Fiancé) visas. Her team guides U.S. citizen petitioners through the entire process, including filing Form I-129F, gathering required evidence of a "bona fide" relationship, and navigating the consular interview. She assists in proving that both partners have met in person within the last two years and are legally free to marry. After a fiancé enters the U.S., her firm helps with the Adjustment of Status process (applying for a Green Card) following the marriage, which must occur within 90 days.
Yes, Vianey K. Hurtado assists families with the Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA) process. This document serves as official proof of U.S. citizenship for children born outside the United States to U.S. citizen parents. Her legal team provides the following support for CRBA matters:
Our firm handles misdemeanors and felonies, including drug crimes, domestic violence, theft, DUIs and other criminal charges.
A criminal record can seriously affect your immigration status. Depending on the type of offense, it may lead to detention, deportation, or make it much harder to obtain or keep lawful status. For people who are still facing criminal charges, working toward an “immigration-safe” plea can sometimes reduce these risks by avoiding charges that trigger the most serious immigration consequences.
Because the immigration impact of a criminal case depends on the exact statute, the plea, the sentence, and your immigration history, it is important to have your case reviewed before you plead guilty, accept a diversion program, or go to trial.
No matter how minor you may believe the criminal charge is, if you are not a U.S. citizen, you should consult with an immigration attorney before making any decision in the criminal case. Ideally, that means working with a criminal defense attorney and an immigration attorney who can coordinate strategy—or with a firm like ours that handles both criminal defense and immigration matters.
An immigration-safe plea is a way of resolving a criminal case while trying to avoid or reduce immigration consequences, such as deportation, loss of lawful status, or problems applying for future immigration benefits like a green card or citizenship. Because criminal and immigration law often overlap, non-U.S. citizens should work with an attorney who understands both areas before accepting any plea agreement.
In immigration law, inadmissibility refers to legal grounds that disqualify a person from entering the United States, obtaining a visa, or adjusting their status to become a lawful permanent resident (Green Card holder). Common grounds of inadmissibility include criminal history, unlawful presence, fraud, health-related grounds, or public charge.
Yes. In some cases, we may be able to challenge whether the ground of inadmissibility applies at all. In other cases, a person may need to request a waiver, such as Form I-601 or I-601A, if a waiver is legally available.Waivers generally require the applicant to meet specific legal requirements, which may include showing “extreme hardship” to a qualifying U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident family member. The correct strategy depends on the specific ground of inadmissibility, the person’s immigration history, and the relief they are seeking.
A non-U.S. citizen facing criminal charges in Arizona should take immediate steps to protect their future. Because even seemingly minor crimes can trigger serious immigration consequences, including deportation or problems obtaining or keeping lawful status or future immigration benefits, her office recommends the following actions:
If you have been arrested, you have the right to remain silent and to request an attorney. It is highly recommended to speak with a lawyer before signing documents or answering questions from authorities.
Yes, certain convictions (such as aggravated felonies or crimes involving moral turpitude) can have severe, and sometimes permanent immigration consequences, including deportation or inadmissibility.
The list, defined in Section 101(a)(43) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, includes more than 30 types of offenses. Some depend on the specific sentence length or financial loss involved:
Severe Immigration Consequences
A conviction for an aggravated felony is often considered a "death sentence" for immigration status because it triggers the following:
In Arizona, a criminal conviction cannot be fully "erased" for immigration purposes through standard record-clearing processes like a "set aside" (A.R.S. § 13-905) or the newer "expungement" (A.R.S. § 13-911). A successful Motion to Set Aside does not remove the conviction from your record, but it updates it to show a "dismissal" and releases you from most state-level penalties. For a conviction to be completely ignored by immigration authorities, it must be vacated based on a legal defect.
Yes. Undocumented immigrants generally have the right to pursue personal injury claims when they are injured because of someone else’s negligence. A person’s immigration status does not, by itself, prevent them from seeking compensation for their injuries.
Undocumented individuals may be able to seek compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and property damage. Claims involving lost wages or future earning capacity can sometimes involve additional legal issues, so each case should be evaluated individually. Arizona recognizes past and future lost wages as recoverable damages generally, although the amount must be supported by the evidence.
Insurance companies may try to use a person’s immigration concerns or lack of familiarity with the legal system to pressure them into accepting less than their claim is worth. Having an attorney who understands both personal injury and immigration law can help protect your rights and evaluate whether any immigration-related issues could affect your case.
In Arizona, the time you have to file a personal injury claim depends on who caused the injury. Vianey K. Hurtado’s firm emphasizes acting quickly to ensure all legal deadlines are met.
In a personal injury claim, Vianey K. Hurtado’s office seeks various types of financial compensation to help you recover what you have lost after an accident. These damages are generally categorized into economic, non-economic, and occasionally punitive damages.
Economic Damages (Tangible Losses)
These are quantifiable financial costs resulting from the injury and are supported by bills and receipts:
Non-Economic Damages (Intangible Impacts)
These address the subjective effects of an injury that do not have a fixed dollar amount:
Punitive Damages
In rare instances where a defendant’s behavior involved gross negligence or intentional harm, punitive damages may be awarded. These are not intended to compensate the victim but rather to punish the defendant and deter others from similar conduct.
Vianey K. Hurtado’s firm operates on a contingency fee basis for personal injury cases, meaning there are no upfront costs. You only pay if we win your case.
