Bakken Law congratulates clients Maestro Simeone Tartaglione and his wife, violin virtuosa, Alessandra Cuffaro / August 30, 2016 by Torgrim Landsverk

Bakken Law congratulates Maestro Simeone Tartaglione and his wife, violin virtuosa, Alessandra Cuffaro. Simeone and Alessandra were recently granted lawful permanent residence based on Simeone’s extraordinary ability as a Conductor! Permanent resident status in the extraordinary ability category is very difficult to achieve, being reserved for individuals who have reached the top of their field.

Simeone is Conductor and Music Director of the Newark Symphony Orchestra, an Assistant Professor at The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, Conductor at Strathmore Hall, and Music Director of the Italian Festival and the Delaware Youth Symphony Orchestra. Alessandra is a world-renowned violin soloist and the first Italian female violinist to ever play all 24 Paganini Caprices in a single performance.

Bakken Law is honored to have had Simeone and Alessandra as clients and to help them on their U.S. immigration journey. We look forward to watching both of their careers in coming years as they continue to enrich our country with their talents and beautiful music.

For your enjoyment, here is a rare sample of Simeone and Alessandra performing together.

Congratulations and our very best to Simeone and Alessandra!

Congratulations - Same-Sex U.S. citizen partner obtained green card. / March 28, 2014 by Timothy Bakken

Last summer, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down DOMA (the Defense of Marriage Act).

Among its other benefits, this decision paved the way for foreign nationals married to same-sex U.S. citizen partners to obtain green cards.

I am happy to say that since the demise of DOMA I have represented several same-sex married couples who have successfully completed the U.S. green card process, including most recently a green card issued yesterday; great evidence of increasing equality and fairness in our country in general and our immigration system in particular.

See Marriage Equality for additional information and resources about same-sex marriage issues.

Timothy R. Bakken

Congratulations! / March 7, 2014 by Timothy Bakken

I would like to share another happy result for one of our clients. This gentleman, a talented Industrial Engineer from the Philippines, had been waiting over 7 years for his green card – believe it or not, this is a normal waiting time simply because of his Filipino nationality.

I am very happy for this client and his family, all of whom are hard-working and productive members of American society. But, the long wait they had to endure exposes one of the problems with our current employment-based immigration rules, which delay the immigration process for educated professionals based solely on country of nationality. (Nationals of India, China, and Mexico in this employment-based category for professionals with Bachelor’s Degrees must also wait years and years to complete the green card process.)

Timothy R. Bakken

Congratulations! / February 28, 2014 by Timothy Bakken

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Another remarkable musician granted permanent resident status. Congratulations to Bakken Law client, Nicolo Spera, whose green card application as an “extraordinary ability” Classical Guitarist was approved by the USCIS this week!

Dr. Spera is an Instructor in the Music Department at the University of Colorado at Boulder – see his bio and samples of his music here.

Timothy R. Bakken

Congratulations! / February 20, 2014 by Timothy Bakken

Congratulations to our client, Dr. Ysmael Reyes, a world-renowned flutist and now a permanent resident of the United States!

This week, USCIS issued Dr. Reyes a green card based on his extraordinary ability in his field. Check out www.ysmaelreyes.com to learn more about Dr. Reyes and to listen to selections of his beautiful playing.

Timothy R. Bakken