Bay Ridge Immigration Lawyers

Bay Ridge Immigration Lawyers

Thanks for visiting Spodek Law Group – a second-generation law firm managed by Todd Spodek. We have over 50 years of combined experience representing immigrants throughout Brooklyn. If you’re here, it’s because you’re dealing with family petition backlogs, asylum applications, marriage green cards, or deportation proceedings.

Bay Ridge has New York City’s largest Arab community – Palestinian, Yemeni, Egyptian families. They call it “Little Palestine” and “Little Yemen.” Along Fifth Avenue you’ll see Arabic signs, halal restaurants, Middle Eastern groceries. The community also includes significant Chinese and Latino populations, making Bay Ridge one of Brooklyn’s most diverse neighborhoods.

Family Immigration from the Middle East

Arab American families in Bay Ridge petition relatives constantly – spouses from Palestine, parents from Yemen, siblings from Egypt. Family reunification drives everything here. Extended families live close together, support each other, build businesses together.

U.S. citizens can petition immediate relatives with no numerical caps, but processing stretches nearly two years. I-130 petition approval: 12-18 months, then consular processing in the Middle East adds another 6-12 months. For many Bay Ridge families, that means consular interviews in Jordan (for Palestinians), Egypt, or Yemen.

Consular processing in the Middle East creates unique challenges. Palestinian families often can’t get visas processed in Palestinian territories – they go to Jordan. Yemeni families face consular closures and security delays. Name transliterations vary across Arabic documents – Mohammed spelled five different ways.

Marriage Green Cards

Marriage petitions for spouses from the Middle East face intense scrutiny. USCIS and consular officers look for fraud – arranged marriages, quick courtships, age gaps. Many Bay Ridge couples met through family connections or during visits back home, married quickly by American standards. That’s normal culturally but raises red flags for immigration officers.

At consular interviews overseas, officers ask aggressive questions. How did you meet? How many times did you see each other before marriage? What does your spouse do for work? For couples who met briefly and married fast, these questions create problems even when the marriage is genuine.

We prepare families for consular interviews. We gather evidence proving genuine relationships – wedding photos and communication records, plus evidence showing the relationship developed despite distance.

Asylum from Middle East Conflicts

Bay Ridge sees asylum cases from across the Middle East – Palestinians fleeing Israeli occupation, Yemenis fleeing civil war, Syrians fleeing Assad’s regime, Egyptians fleeing political persecution.

Palestinian asylum cases involve persecution by Israeli forces, political activism, family members detained or killed, inability to return to Gaza or the West Bank. These cases require extensive country conditions evidence documenting the human rights situation in occupied territories and psychological evaluations showing trauma.

Yemeni asylum involves civil war violence, Houthi persecution, fear of forced recruitment. The ongoing conflict creates strong asylum claims, but you need to show individualized targeting beyond general violence.

Syrian cases often involve past persecution – torture, detention, family members killed by the regime. With the conflict ongoing, fear of return is well-founded.

The asylum denial rate hit 76% in early 2025. Winning requires exceptional preparation – detailed personal declarations and country conditions evidence, plus expert witnesses who understand Middle East conflicts.

Chinese Family Immigration in Bay Ridge

Bay Ridge’s Chinese community faces the same immigration challenges as other NYC Chinese populations – crushing family immigration backlogs due to the 7% per-country cap. F4 sibling petitions: 15-20 year waits. People who filed in 2005 are just now getting current.

Marriage green cards for Chinese spouses face fraud scrutiny. USCIS questions arranged marriages and quick courtships. We prepare couples for interviews at 26 Federal Plaza with the same strategies – evidence of genuine relationships despite cultural differences.

Deportation Defense and MDC Brooklyn

MDC Brooklyn – the Metropolitan Detention Center in Sunset Park – holds over 100 immigration detainees. Many have no criminal records. If ICE detained you, you’re probably there.

We file bond motions immediately. In removal proceedings, common relief includes cancellation of removal if you’ve been here 10+ years with U.S. citizen or LPR family members, adjustment of status if you have an approved petition, or asylum if you fled persecution.

For asylum cases referred to immigration court after USCIS denials, we present full trials with witnesses and evidence. For overstays with U.S. citizen children, we build hardship cases for cancellation of removal.

Why We Handle These Cases

Todd Spodek is a second-generation attorney – his father practiced law before him. After graduating from Pace Law School, Todd started appearing in courts throughout New York daily. He’s represented clients in high-profile cases including Anna Delvey – the case that became a Netflix series. Our firm has been featured in The New York Times, Newsweek, Bloomberg.

We understand what Bay Ridge’s Arab American community faces – consular processing delays in the Middle East, asylum cases from ongoing conflicts, family separation from immigration backlogs. Whether you need family petitions, asylum applications, marriage green cards, or deportation defense – call us. We’re available 24/7.