Des Plaines Immigration Lawyer

Are you looking for an immigration lawyer in Des Plaines, IL?

At Dworsky Law Firm, we provide immigration representation grounded in more than 25 years of work on behalf of clients in Des Plaines.

If you are trying to secure a visa, a green card, or citizenship while living in Des Plaines, the process can feel like a maze of forms, fees, and shifting deadlines. One incomplete answer on one form can stall a case for months. Our Des Plaines, IL immigration lawyer has spent more than 25 years guiding families, workers, and employers through the federal immigration system. Founder Ashley Dworsky went through that system himself as an immigrant, and the experience shaped how our firm prepares every filing. Reach out today to schedule a consultation.

Immigration Lawyer Des Plaines, IL

An immigration attorney represents individuals, families, and employers in matters governed by federal immigration law. The work includes preparing visa petitions, assembling supporting evidence, responding to Requests for Evidence, getting clients ready for interviews, and defending people in removal proceedings. Immigration is federal law, but where you live still influences your case. Your address determines your field office, biometrics location, and which court would hear your matter.

Around one in three Des Plaines residents was born outside the United States, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. In a city of about 59,000 people, that means thousands of local households deal with green card renewals, work visas, and naturalization applications every year.

Types of Immigration Cases We Handle in Des Plaines

Dworsky Law Firm handles nearly every category of immigration matter, with particular depth in business and family immigration. Some clients need a single application filed correctly. Others need years of strategy across multiple petitions, agencies, and family members.

Green cards. We prepare new applications, renewals, and replacements, and we step in when an application has been denied or hit with a Request for Evidence. Getting the record right the first time prevents expensive delays.
Adjustment of status. Many of our clients apply for permanent residence from inside the United States after marrying a U.S. citizen. We build the evidence file, prepare both spouses for the interview, and respond to any follow-up requests from the government.
Citizenship. We guide green card holders through naturalization, from Form N-400 through the civics exam and the oath ceremony. Every file gets screened for potential problems before anything is submitted.
Fiancé visas. K-1 petitions bring a fiancé(e) to the United States for marriage, and K-2 and K-4 visas cover their children. Timing between petition approval and the wedding matters here, and we plan for it.
Family-based immigration. We file petitions for immediate relatives and extended family members, including K-3 spouse visas, and track priority dates so families know what to expect and when.
Business visas. Our firm represents employers sponsoring specialty workers, intercompany transfers, investors, and religious workers, from H-1B filings through PERM labor certification. We also advise businesses on I-9 compliance.
O-1 visas. Individuals with extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, business, or athletics need their evidence presented in a very particular way. Ashley Dworsky earned his own green card in an extraordinary ability category.
Asylum. We prepare Form I-589 filings and related humanitarian applications, including TPS, DACA, VAWA petitions, work authorization, and refugee travel documents.
U visas. Victims of certain crimes who assist law enforcement may qualify for status. These cases demand careful certification and documentation.
Deportation defense. When the government begins removal proceedings, we respond quickly, examine every available form of relief, and represent clients before the immigration court.

Why Choose Dworsky Law Firm as my Immigration Lawyer in Des Plaines, IL?

An Attorney Who Has Lived the Process

Ashley Dworsky is not just an immigration attorney, as he is an immigrant himself. He earned his own extraordinary ability green card, so he understands the weight of waiting on a government decision because he has carried it. He received his law degrees from the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg and has been admitted to the State Bars of Illinois and New York, the Northern District of Illinois, the Seventh and Ninth Circuit Courts of Appeals, the South African Bar, and the United States Supreme Court. He has also been selected to Super Lawyers every year from 2019 through 2026.

More Than 25 Years of Immigration Practice

Our firm has spent over two and a half decades preparing filings across every major immigration category, from single green card renewals to multi-year employment cases for growing businesses. We have helped individuals, families, and employers across a wide range of situations work toward status, and that history shows in the reviews our office receives, which consistently describe clear communication and thorough preparation.

Experience does not change how USCIS applies the law. It changes how well your file anticipates the questions an officer will ask, and it influences what happens when something goes wrong midway through a case.

Understanding Immigration Cases

Visa Categories and Eligibility Requirements

Federal law organizes immigration benefits into a handful of broad paths, and each carries its own eligibility rules and evidence standards. Choosing the wrong category wastes filing fees and, in some situations, creates a record that complicates later applications down the road.

Family-based petitions for spouses, children, parents, and siblings of U.S. citizens and permanent residents
Employment-based visas and green card eligibility categories for workers, investors, and individuals with extraordinary ability
Humanitarian protections, including asylum, TPS, and relief for crime victims
Naturalization for permanent residents, generally after five years with a green card, or three years when married to a U.S. citizen, filed on Form N-400

Financial screening applies to many applicants as well, and current public charge standards shape what evidence a strong green card file should include.

What Are Important Aspects of an Immigration Case?

Consistency wins immigration cases. Every date, address, and employment entry across years of filings has to line up, because officers compare them. An old tourist visa application from a decade ago can contradict a green card petition filed today, and the government will notice. Before we submit anything, we review what has already been said to the government on your behalf.

Complete, accurate forms with no unexplained gaps
Strong documentary evidence, not just written declarations
Prompt, thorough responses to Requests for Evidence
Honest disclosure of any arrests, overstays, or prior denials

Marriage-based green cards draw especially close review of the relationship record. A skilled immigration lawyer identifies the inconsistencies before an officer does.

What Is The Immigration Case Timeline?

No two cases proceed on the same timeframe, and USCIS processing shifts from year to year. A straightforward naturalization might resolve in under a year. An employment-based green card with labor certification can take several. Most benefit applications still follow a similar sequence.

Consultation and strategy, including which category actually fits your facts
Petition preparation, evidence gathering, and filing
Biometrics appointment at a local application support center
Interview, where one is required for the benefit sought
Decision, followed by appeals or motions if needed

Some deadlines are unforgiving. Under USCIS asylum guidance, most applicants must file Form I-589 within one year of their last arrival in the United States. Cases in immigration court move on a different track entirely, and removal defense work follows the judge’s calendar rather than yours.

What Should You Bring to Your Immigration Consultation?

Bring what you have, even if it feels incomplete. We can work with partial records and help you rebuild the rest.

Passport, visa stamps, and your I-94 arrival record
Every prior filing, receipt notice, and government decision
Marriage, birth, and divorce certificates where relevant
Any notice from USCIS, ICE, or the immigration court

Expect direct answers at your consultation, an honest assessment of your options, and a clear picture of timing before you commit to anything. If your case has a weakness, you will hear about it in that first meeting, not after months of waiting.

Des Plaines Immigration Offices and Local Resources

Des Plaines residents attend most green card and naturalization interviews at the USCIS Chicago Field Office, located in downtown Chicago about 20 miles from Des Plaines, IL. Removal cases for northern Illinois are heard at the Chicago Immigration Court, which sits at 55 East Monroe Street. Biometrics appointments are usually scheduled at an application support center closer to the suburbs. As a Des Plaines immigration law firm, we tell clients exactly what each visit involves, who will be in the room, and what happens next.

Reach Out to Dworsky Law Firm to Schedule a Consultation

A conversation with a Des Plaines immigration attorney should leave you with more clarity, not more questions. We can review your history, explain the options that genuinely fit your situation, and discuss the next step forward. Contact us today to schedule a consultation with Dworsky Law Firm.