Slatton & Hass Immigration Advocates, LLC

09/02/2026

You may have seen something scary about the public charge rule changing on September 18. Here is the calmer, more accurate version.

First, check whether it applies to you at all. If you have asylum or refugee status, a U visa or T visa, a VAWA case, or you are applying for citizenship, this does not apply to you. Those protections are written into the law and they did not change.

If you are applying for a green card, officers will be allowed to look at more kinds of government help than they can today. Allowed, not required. There is no cutoff, no formula, and no benefit that automatically disqualifies anyone.

Help you already used is still looked at the old way. Food stamps, regular Medicaid, and CHIP used before September 18 do not count, and that does not change later.

Your children's benefits are not counted against you.

Please do not cancel anything before you talk to a lawyer. Giving up coverage your kids have a right to can hurt your family and may do nothing for your case. That reaction, not the rule itself, is where most of the damage usually happens.

We wrote a plain explanation, linked below. If you want to talk about your own situation, you can book a consultation with us any time.

08/29/2026

I want to introduce someone I am genuinely thrilled to have on our team.

Anjohely Bastidas is a friend of mine and one of the most talented people I have ever worked with. She has joined us as our Manager of Admin Operations. One of the greatest compliments in this work is when someone that talented wants to come work for you, and I do not take it lightly.

Here is what that means for you as a client. Anjohely oversees quality control and client communications, so she is the person making sure your case is handled correctly and that you actually hear back about it. She watches both the work and the follow-up.

She also speaks Spanish and English. If Spanish is your language, you can ask about your case and get an answer directly from the person coordinating it, without waiting on a translation.

Anjohely is originally from Venezuela, where she studied law before coming to the United States. Like many of our clients, she had to start over here. She worked in several different fields before an opportunity at a law firm changed the direction of her career, and she built her way up from Operations Assistant to Executive Assistant to Legal Operations Coordinator.

She knows what this process feels like from the inside. That is exactly why she does this work, and it is why our clients are in good hands with her.

Welcome, Anjohely.

Learn more about our team at https://slattonhasslaw.com/about

08/26/2026

Finding an immigration attorney is hard right now. A lot of you have heard the stories about attorneys being investigated for filing fraudulent or frivolous claims, and those stories are frightening for good reason. When an attorney is investigated, their clients are the ones left holding the bag.

So here are red flags to watch for before you sign anything:

🚩 They guarantee you an outcome. Nobody can do that.
🚩 They never ask enough about your story to screen you for every kind of relief you might qualify for.
🚩 No reviews, no online presence, no bar record you can look up. Every state posts this, and it is always worth checking.
🚩 They pressure you to pay before you have had time to read the contract and ask questions.
🚩 They cannot tell you how long it usually takes to hear back from someone.
🚩 A price or timeline that sounds too good to be true. There are no shortcuts in immigration.

One more thing, because I think it matters. A lot of what is out there right now wants immigrants to believe the whole system is hopeless. It is not. We are still getting people out of detention. We are still getting expedites approved. We are still winning. Harder is not the same as impossible.

And please remember: you always have access to your file and the right to information about your case. It is your file. It is your case.

Full post here 👉

Immigration attorneys are under investigation for fraudulent and frivolous filings, and that puts everyone's case at risk. Here are six red flags to watch for before you hire, from guarantees and manufactured urgency to an attorney who never screens you for relief.

08/26/2026

We have someone new to introduce. Marium Choudhry has joined our team as a Law Clerk.

If you call our office in the coming months, there is a good chance Marium is the one working on your case file. She helps with asylum, removal defense, humanitarian relief, business immigration, and cases that go to federal court.

Here is the part we are most excited about for our clients: Marium speaks Urdu, Hindi, and Punjabi. If those are your languages, you can sit down and explain what happened to you in your own words, to the person actually working on your case, without an interpreter in the middle. That is not a small thing. The details that get lost in translation are often the ones that matter most.

Marium went to law school at George Washington University, where she worked in the Immigration Clinic representing real clients. She helped write a habeas corpus petition that was filed in federal court, and she went with clients to their ICE check-ins so they would not have to walk in alone. Before that she studied International Affairs at the University of Georgia and graduated summa cm laude.

She is a first-generation American, and she came to this work because she understands what is at stake for the families sitting across from her.

Welcome, Marium. We are glad you are here.

You can read more about Marium and the rest of our team at https://slattonhasslaw.com/about

08/14/2026

Three former USCIS officers pull back the curtain on how the agency actually decides cases — across the full range of what it handles, from family-based and marriage petitions to employment-based cases, naturalization, and asylum. If your case runs through USCIS, this is about understanding the people and process on the other side of the desk.

Unlike immigration court or an ICE interview, USCIS is designed to be non-adversarial: officers are trained to develop the record, review evidence, and assess credibility rather than to cross-examine you. We’ll talk about what that means in practice — how officer training, agency culture, internal processes, and workload shape outcomes — and how any applicant, petitioner, or advocate can use the human element of USCIS in their favor through organization, consistency, and clear preparation. We’ll close with a live Q&A, taking questions submitted in advance and from the livestream audience.

08/11/2026

Just a few days away.

This Friday, August 14 at 2:30 PM ET, I'm joining a panel of immigration attorneys for "Inside USCIS: How Non-Adversarial Adjudication, Officer Training, and Agency Culture Shape Case Outcomes."

We're going beyond the headlines to talk about how USCIS actually works from the inside, and why the way cases are adjudicated matters so much for asylum seekers and immigrants navigating the system right now.

I'll be joined by Jason D. Marks and Marta Nickols, and we'll be taking your questions live.

If you work in immigration, have a case in progress, or just want to understand what is really happening at USCIS, this one is worth your time.

Registering is optional but recommended, and you can also join us live on Friday. Details and sign-up here: https://slattonhasslaw.com/uscis-panel/

See you Friday.

A free virtual panel with three former USCIS officers — Victoria Slatton, Esq., Jason D. Marks, and Marta Nickols — on how USCIS actually decides cases, from family-based and employment-based petitions to naturalization and asylum, and how to use the human element of USCIS in your favor. Friday,...

08/06/2026

Proud to see my law partner, Ashley Hass, featured by the University of Baltimore.

Ashley, a 2023 graduate of UBalt Law, returned to campus as a panelist for the school's High School Summer Pre-Law Academy, a free five-day program that introduces Baltimore City high school students to legal education and career paths. She was one of five alumni who came back to mentor students through mock trials, college planning, campus tours, and panel discussions.

Asked about the role of AI in legal practice, Ashley put it plainly: "You still need to know how to do the job to be able to check for accuracy." That is exactly the mindset we bring to our clients every day. Technology can support good lawyering, but it does not replace the preparation and judgment that people count on when their futures are on the line.

Programs like this one open doors for students who may never have pictured themselves in law school. Grateful to UBalt Law for investing in the next generation, and lucky to have Ashley as a partner.

Side note: I have never worked with a UBALT student I didn't love.

Read the article:

The University of Baltimore School of Law welcomed five accomplished alumni back to the John and Frances Angelos Law Center this summer to share their experiences with participants in the High School Summer Pre-Law Academy

08/05/2026

Reminder: join us for a free virtual panel next Friday.

Inside USCIS: How Non-Adversarial Adjudication, Officer Training, and Agency Culture Shape Case Outcomes
Friday, August 14, 2026 at 2:30 PM ET, streaming live.

Three former USCIS officers pull back the curtain on how the agency actually decides cases, across family-based and marriage petitions, employment-based cases, naturalization, and asylum. Unlike immigration court or an ICE interview, USCIS is designed to be non-adversarial. We will talk about what that means in practice, and how any applicant, petitioner, or advocate can use it in their favor through organization, consistency, and clear preparation.

Your panelists:
Victoria Slatton, Esq., Founder and Managing Attorney of Slatton & Hass Immigration Advocates and former DHS Asylum Officer
Jason D. Marks, former USCIS Asylum Training Officer and Supervisory Refugee Officer
Marta Nickols, former USCIS Field Office Director

We will close with a live Q&A. Streaming on Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and TikTok. No ticket required.

Register and add a question for the panel: slattonhasslaw.com/uscis-panel

07/21/2026

If your DACA renewal has been sitting at USCIS for months with no answer, there is one option most people don't know about.

A writ of mandamus is a lawsuit asking a federal court to compel USCIS to decide your case. It does not ask a judge to approve you. It forces the agency to answer. We've started filing them, and for a stretch they were the only cases we had that moved at all.

New post: what it is, what it costs you, how long it really takes, and when it's too early to file.

Not legal advice. Every case is different.

https://slattonhasslaw.com/blog/your-daca-renewal-is-stuck-lets-talk-about-mandamus/

07/20/2026

Nail your asylum interview! Short answers, long stories—let's break it down!