Press Releases

Bretz & Coven Legal Team Wins a Second Circuit Precedent to Revive Asylum Case for Chinese Dissident

In a landmark case before U.S. Court of Appeals, New York immigration law firm secures new opportunity at asylum for Chinese political activist seeking to avoid return to China

New York (Lexis Nexis) December 18, 2009 -- In a landmark case involving important legal issues that could affect political asylum cases nationwide, a legal team from the New York immigration law firm Bretz & Coven prevailed recently in a case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

The case, Shi Jie Ge v. Holder, --- F.3d ----, 2009 WL 4281472 (2d Cir. 2009), involved a Chinese asylum applicant who claimed future persecution based on his political activities in the United States as a member of the China Democratic Party (CDP). The CDP, which has members worldwide and advocates for democracy, has been critical of human rights abuse by the Chinese government through various political activities.

The asylum applicant, Mr. Shi Jie Ge, had been told by the Immigration Judge and the Board of Immigration Appeals that the mere possibility that Chinese authorities would learn of his work for an outlawed political party if he was forced to return to China was not enough to grant him relief. But earlier this month, the Second Circuit held that the Immigration Judge and the Board of Immigration Appeals applied the wrong standard and ordered the Board to remand the case to the Immigration Judge and allow Mr. Ge to submit any additional evidence on the possibility of the Chinese government's discovery of his political activity upon return to China and reconsider whether Mr. Ge has made a substantial showing of a well-founded fear of future persecution.

"This is a landmark asylum case because it clarified important legal issues such as statutory definition of exception to the one-year filing deadline for asylum and the meaning of future persecution, that could affect asylum cases nationwide," said David K.S. Kim, a senior associate at Bretz & Coven, a leading immigration law firm that handles a wide range of cases, who litigated the case on behalf of Bretz & Coven. "We are gratified by the Second Circuit's decision and look forward to pursuing this matter with the Immigration Judge upon remand by the Board so that Mr. Ge can submit additional evidence in his request for asylum and have his case reconsidered."

Bretz & Coven is a full-service immigration law firm based in New York City. The firm's attorneys serve immigrants who seek the privileges and benefits of U.S. visitation and lawful permanent residence, and also defends immigrants who are in removal and deportation proceedings. The firm has a long and well documented history of making difficult challenges on behalf of immigrants in federal courts and changing, often for the better, the way immigration law is interpreted. "Individuals, families, and corporations turn to us when no one else will take the case," said Kerry William Bretz, a partner at Bretz & Coven. "Our staff speaks over 20 languages and our attorneys are admitted to practice law in New York State, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, the federal district courts of those states, as well as many U.S. Courts of Appeals throughout the country, and the U.S. Supreme Court."

For more information about Bretz & Coven, please go to www.bretzlaw.com or call 212.267.2555.

New York City Immigration Lawyers Bretz & Coven, LLP Prevent Deportation of South Korean Nurse

Bretz & Coven, LLP have successfully blocked the removal proceedings against a Registered Nurse from South Korea, a Queens resident whose student visa had expired.

(Lexis Nexis) September 29, 2009 -- Manhattan Immigration Law Firm Bretz & Coven, LLP successfully represented a foreign registered nurse who was placed in removal proceedings. The Suffolk County resident is a South Korean woman in her thirties who entered the United States in 2002 on a student visa. Her multiple applications for lawful permanent resident (LPR) status before the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) were denied. With the help of Bretz & Coven, she received LPR status in Matter of Kyungsook Bu, A-095-866-292, before the Immigration Court in New York City, believed to be the first successful case of its kind in New York and possibly in the country.

Bretz & Coven explained that under U.S. immigration law, foreign nurses must obtain visa screen certificates to become lawful permanent residents. Many fail on their first try, and their Adjustment of Status (I-485) applications are denied by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). These nurses often go on to achieve their visa screen certificates, only to be denied their re-application for adjustment of status based on an unfavorable interpretation of section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA § 245), according to Bretz & Coven.

"There is a shortage of nurses in the United States," law firm partner Kerry Bretz said. "The Government rules make it difficult for many nurses to get a green card and become a permanent resident. Cases like this are important to me because I grew up in the Bronx among a diverse population of immigrants, and I feel that their contributions to the United States are the foundations of our society." The nurse's case was litigated by senior associate David K. S. Kim of Bretz & Coven, and supervised by partners Kerry William Bretz and Jules Coven. David is a naturalized United States citizen who was born in Seoul, South Korea, and has business-level fluency in Korean.

After more than a year of litigation by the Bretz & Coven law team, Immigration Judge Videla granted the nurse's application and she became a lawful permanent resident. She had received several denials of her applications since 2002, and had tried three different immigration attorneys. Bretz & Coven, LLP is currently representing several other registered nurses in similar situations, and expects to have successful outcomes on their cases as well.

About the Firm
Bretz & Coven, LLP is an immigration law firm in New York City. Their attorneys serve arriving and established immigrants who seek the privileges and benefits of U.S. visitation, lawful permanent residence, deportation defense and immigration service waivers. They speak over 20 languages, and many of their attorneys and staff have been through the federal immigration process before they worked at Bretz & Coven.