John Goodman

Dedicated immigration attorney with four years of experience specializing in litigation and handling complex cases under the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Administrative Procedure Act, and writs of mandamus. Proven track record of successfully representing clients in custody orders for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status cases and appeals before the Board of Immigration Appeals. Skilled in advising on and implementing legal strategies, drafting complaints, motions for summary judgment, and appellate briefs, and handling hearings in Virginia Circuit Courts and Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Courts. Committed to achieving favorable outcomes for clients in high-stakes immigration matters.

• Supreme Court of Virginia.
• United States Court of Appeals for the Second, Fourth, Ninth, and Eleventh Circuits.
• United States District Court for the Districts of Columbia, Maryland, Colorado, the Eastern and Western District of Virginia, Northern District of Illinois, Southern District of Texas, and Northern District of New York.
  

Notable cases:

• Successfully argued and won a motion to dismiss, where the court ruled that the plaintiff retained lawful permanent resident status as a derivative asylee, despite divorcing before I-730 petition approval, as the marriage was valid at the time of filing.
• Successfully defended two motions to dismiss, in which the Court found that USCIS had a duty to adjudicate I-601A waivers within a reasonable time.
• Argued and won a motion for summary judgment, where the court remanded the plaintiff's naturalization application to USCIS and found that the agency could apply a TRIG waiver to her prior I-485 application nunc pro tunc and, if approved, grant her application for naturalization.
• Successfully defended a motion to dismiss in a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, where the court found that it had jurisdiction to determine whether the petitioner had acquired citizenship through his mother by operation of law.
• Negotiated a settlement in a case brought under 8 U.S.C. § 1421(c), after USCIS denied the plaintiff’s naturalization application based on a Virginia conviction for trafficking in a controlled substance. Following the filing of the opening brief, the government agreed to naturalize the applicant as part of the settlement.

Speaking engagements:

• Addressing Delay the Procedural Way: Compelling Government Action Through the Administrative Procedure Act and Mandamus, AILA D.C. Chapter Fall Conference, November 9, 2022.
• EAD Delay Litigation Roundtable, Panelist, AILA D.C. Chapter webinar series, May 2022.