Aliya Karmali - Oakland, CA

Zealous Immigration Defense and Human Rights Advocacy in Oakland

Facing removal from the United States or navigating shifting immigration policies places immense strain on individuals and their loved ones. Founded in 2012 by attorney Aliya Karmali, the Law Office of Aliya Karmali delivers compassionate, assertive immigration advocacy from its office at 1720 Broadway, Suite 430, in the historic California Building in downtown Oakland. Located steps from the 19th Street BART Station, the firm is an active member of the Oakland Law Collaborative, working alongside progressive lawyers to advance community justice. Attorney Karmali, a graduate of the University of San Francisco School of Law, focuses her practice on defending low-income individuals, undocumented immigrants, and monolingual Spanish speakers. Clients seeking to find an attorney who pairs deep technical mastery with fearless dedication rely on her seasoned guidance.

Formidable Removal Defense and Asylum Representation

Confronting immigration enforcement requires strategic, proactive defense at every administrative stage. Functioning as skilled deportation defense lawyers and immigration lawyers, attorney Karmali defends clients in detention and before the San Francisco Immigration Court. Key areas of courtroom representation include:

• Defensive and Affirmative Asylum: Building compelling asylum applications, withholding of removal claims, and relief under the Convention Against Torture for people fleeing targeted violence, political persecution, and gang extortion.
• Cancellation of Removal: Preparing exhaustive hardship documentation to protect qualifying non-permanent residents and permanent residents from family separation.
• Bond Hearings and Stays of Removal: Advocating for immediate release from immigrant detention facilities and negotiating administrative stays of removal with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
• Appeals Before the BIA and Federal Courts: Challenging unjust immigration judge rulings before the Board of Immigration Appeals and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Humanitarian Relief, U-Visas, and VAWA Protections

Immigrant survivors of crime and domestic violence face extraordinary barriers to safety and justice. Attorney Karmali collaborates closely with mental health clinicians, medical professionals, and local law enforcement agencies to assemble robust evidentiary records for humanitarian visas. She assists survivors in securing U-visas for victims of qualifying crimes, T-visas for survivors of human trafficking, and self-petitions under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), allowing clients to obtain work authorization and permanent residency independent of an abusive sponsor.

Family Reunification and Citizenship Pathways

As experienced family immigration lawyers and citizenship lawyers, the practice guides families through every step of lawful status acquisition. The firm prepares family relative petitions, consular processing applications, adjustment of status filings, and complex waivers of inadmissibility, including provisional unlawful presence waivers (Form I-601A). For long-time residents ready to become United States citizens, attorney Karmali offers careful screening and representation through the naturalization process.

Dedicated Community Advocacy and Accessible Counsel

Active with the National Lawyers Guild and the Demonstrations Legal Support Collaborative, attorney Aliya Karmali is widely recognized throughout Northern California for her grassroots commitment to immigrant civil rights. When you need to hire an immigration attorney who delivers transparent communication in Spanish and English, flexible payment options, and unwavering dedication, the Law Office of Aliya Karmali provides empowering legal representation.