Bring Your Family Together

Whether your loved one is here in South Carolina or waiting abroad, we guide your family through every form, interview, and deadline with care.

(843) 517-6886 Schedule a Consultation

Bilingual representation, English & Spanish
Member, American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA)
Federal court background

About the Firm

Family Immigration Handled With Care and Precision

Marcia A. Alvarez Benavidez, Esq. is a bilingual immigration attorney born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Having gone through the immigration process herself, she understands what it means to wait on a petition that will decide where your family gets to live.

She brings experience in federal court to her immigration practice. In family-based cases, where a single missing document or missed deadline can set a petition back by months, that attention to procedure protects her clients.

She represents couples and families in petitions before USCIS and the National Visa Center in both English and Spanish, from the first I-130 through the removal of conditions on a green card. While based in Goose Creek, South Carolina, and serving the greater Charleston area, including Summerville, Moncks Corner, Hanahan, and Ladson, immigration is federal law. That means Marcia A. Alvarez Benavidez, Esq. is able to represent clients anywhere in the United States and its territories.

American Immigration Lawyers Association

Licensed to practice law in the State of California

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Marcia A. Alvarez Benavidez, Esq., Immigration Attorney

Family-Based Immigration

How We Help Reunite Families

Petitions, interviews, and follow-up filings for clients in the greater Charleston area and all U.S. states and territories.

Marriage-Based Green Cards

Marriage to a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident is one of the most direct paths to a green card, but it is also one of the most closely reviewed. We prepare the I-130 petition together with the evidence of a genuine relationship that officers look for, from joint finances and leases to photographs and declarations. We also prepare you for the interview so nothing about the process feels like a surprise.

Adjustment of Status

If your relative is already in the United States and eligible, adjustment of status allows them to become a permanent resident without leaving the country. We confirm eligibility first, then file the I-485 package along with work authorization and travel documents where appropriate. Throughout the wait we track biometrics appointments, respond to any Request for Evidence, and keep you updated on where the case stands.

Consular Processing

When your family member is abroad, the case moves from USCIS to the National Visa Center and then to a U.S. consulate. We assemble the civil documents, financial support forms, and translations each stage requires, and prepare your relative for the consular interview and medical exam. Where a prior immigration or criminal issue could create inadmissibility, we address it before the interview rather than after.

Fiancé(e) Visas & Removal of Conditions

The K-1 fiancé(e) visa lets your partner enter the United States to marry you, with an adjustment of status filing to follow once you are married. Two years later, a conditional green card must be converted to permanent status through an I-751 petition. We handle both ends of that timeline and calendar the filing window so a conditional green card never lapses.

Our Process

From First Call to Green Card

Family petitions involve multiple agencies and long waits. Our process is designed to keep your case organized, keep you informed, and make sure every filing goes out complete the first time.

Consultation

We start with a confidential consultation to understand your family situation, review your immigration and travel history, and identify which path fits, whether that is adjustment of status, consular processing, or a fiancé(e) visa.

Strategy

We map out the filings your case needs and in what order, flag anything that could raise an inadmissibility or eligibility question, and give you a clear checklist of the documents to gather.

Action

We prepare and file your petitions, respond to any Request for Evidence, communicate with USCIS, the National Visa Center, and the consulate on your behalf, and prepare you for every interview.

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Frequently Asked Questions

If you are married to a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident and the marriage is genuine, you are generally eligible to be petitioned for. Whether you can complete the process inside the United States depends on how you entered the country, your current status, and your immigration and criminal history. We review those details with you and explain honestly which path is available and what it will require.

Adjustment of status is for relatives who are already in the United States and eligible to apply here; they stay in the country while the case is decided by USCIS and can often obtain work and travel authorization in the meantime. Consular processing is for relatives who are abroad, and the final interview takes place at a U.S. consulate in their home country. Which one applies depends on where your family member is and how they last entered the United States.

Timelines vary widely by relationship and category. Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, spouses, parents, and unmarried children under 21, do not wait for a visa number and often finish within roughly a year to a year and a half. Preference categories such as siblings or relatives of permanent residents can take several years because of annual visa limits. We give you the current processing estimates for your specific category at the consultation.

A U.S. citizen files an I-129F petition for their fiancé(e), who then applies for a K-1 visa at a consulate abroad after an interview and medical exam. Once approved, your fiancé(e) enters the United States and you must marry within 90 days, after which they file for adjustment of status to become a permanent resident. Because the K-1 depends on proving a genuine relationship and an intent to marry, we build that evidence into the initial petition.

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Ready to Take the Next Step?

We provide immigration representation across all 50 states and worldwide. Consultations outside regular office hours are available by appointment to accommodate your schedule, because we understand that life does not always happen between 9 and 5.

Every immigration journey begins with a conversation. Contact us today to schedule a confidential consultation with Attorney Alvarez Benavidez.