After much digging up Luis’s past immigration history, I was able to find that he had a good solution available to him. It turned out Luis had a Labor Based Petition which was approvable when filed but was never concluded because the Petitioning Employer was unable to complete the transaction. I was able to use the Priority date (the date the paper is filed) of his Labor Certification which was filed before April 30, 2001, together with a Family Petition filed by a Spouse. 

The Immigration Judge denied the Adjustment of Status case though I knew the Judge had erred in its decision. I appealed the decision to the B.I.A. (Board of Immigration Appeals) where I successfully argued and won the appeal based on a very important case Lujan Armendariz. The I.C.E. Attorney was arguing that under Nunez-Reyes v. Holder, 646 F.3d 684, 2011, a person will no longer be able to adjust status to LPR and this is true, but only for cases after the Nunez-Reyes July 14, 2011. In reading the case carefully and taken in conjunction with the earlier case Lujan Armendariz, it turned out that Luis was Grandfathered into the older case law under Lujan Armendariz. Under this case, an individual may still be able to gain Legal Permanent Residence if his criminal case fell under the Federal First Offender Act. This means that if the case is expunged or dismissed after completing a sentence (deferred entry of Judgement or Terminal Disposition), then the conviction will not bar Luis from adjusting status to LPR and this is what we were able to accomplish. 

Luis was fortunate in that his Methamphetamine case was dismissed Under CA Penal Code 1000 back in 2006 (known as PC 1000) when the Case law was in his favor under Lujan Armendariz. In the end, the Controlled Substance conviction was not a Bar to his gaining LPR Status.

Luis was released and he got his LPR status. The family was very happy as they thought Luis was sure to be deported.