Karina has been the Administrative Assistant with our team for the past year. Karina is responsible for processing our mail, scheduling consults, receiving payments, and greeting prospective and current clients. If you contact our office, you will most likely interact with Karina who is friendly, funny, and kind-hearted. In fact, our Karina is the most un-Karen “Karen” out there. Originally from #Mexico, Karina is fluent in Spanish. When not at the office Karina enjoys spending time with her husband and her fur-baby – a pug named Chato. Thank you, Karina, for being you. We are so fortunate to have you as part of our team! […]
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Our Team, Paralegal Florencia “Flor” Ibarra
Flor has been a paralegal with our office for almost a year and has 5 years of experience as an immigration paralegal. Flor is known for her professionalism, thoughtfulness, and outgoing personality. She especially enjoys working on challenging cases and has extensive experience preparing family petitions, fiancé visas, and all types of waiver requests. Originally from Argentina, Flor has lived in the U.S. since the age of 7 and is fluent in Spanish. When not at the office Flor enjoys spending time with her family, pets, and travelling. […]
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Nuestro Equipo, Crisceidi “Cris” Diaz
Cris es asistente legal de nuestra oficina y es conocida por su compasión, amabilidad y conocimiento tecnológico. Cris ha estado con la firma por 4 años. Ella es una pro con la preparación de U-visas, VAWA auto-peticiones, peticiones I-751, peticiones familiares, #fiancevisas, # casos de naturalización y más. Originaria de Cuba, Cris emigró a los EE. UU. A los 14 años. Cris es una supermamá de tres chicos guapos, y con una reserva de paciencia aparentemente interminable, hace que el equilibrio entre el trabajo y la vida de la madre parezca fácil. Cris habla español con fluidez. […]
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Our Team, Paralegal Crisceidi “Cris” Diaz
Cris is a paralegal with our office who is known for her compassion, kindness, and tech savvy. Cris has been with the firm for 4 years. She is a pro with preparing U-visas, VAWA self-petitions, I-751 petitions, family petitions, fiance visas, naturalization cases and more. Originally from Cuba, Cris immigrated to the U.S. at age 14. Cris is a supermom to three handsome boys, and with a seemingly endless reserve of patience, she makes balancing work/mom life look easy. Cris is fluent in Spanish. […]
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Our Team, Paralegal Elizabeth “Liz” Batista
Liz is a senior paralegal with the Law Office of Karen Winston who brings smarts, passion, and excellence to everything she does. Liz has been a part of our team for 5 years and is highly experienced in #waiver cases, family petitions, #adjustment of status, consular processing, removal of conditions, naturalization, DACA, and humanitarian forms of relief. Originally from Mexico, Liz has lived in the U.S. for over 14 years. Liz is a new mom, a loving wife, and an awesome cook. She is fluent in Spanish. […]
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How can the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) help an abused spouse obtain lawful permanent residence (green card)?
Under VAWA, noncitizen victims of domestic violence may “self-petition” for U.S. residence without the cooperation of an abusive spouse. Victims may also self-petition if they are divorced as long as the marriage to the abusive spouse was terminated within two years of filing the petition. An approved VAWA self-petition provides the applicant with work authorization, […]
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5 Common Myths about the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) self-petitions
The abuse must be physical. One requirement to qualify under VAWA is that the petitioner has been subjected to battery or extreme cruelty. Domestic violence may be physical, but verbal abuse or emotional abuse are also forms of domestic violence and depending on the specific circumstances, may amount to extreme cruelty. Only women qualify for […]
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