Patrick Taurel

Patrick Taurel litigates immigration cases in federal court, fights complex removal cases in immigration court, advises criminal defense counsel on the immigration consequences of criminal convictions, and helps clients obtain immigration benefits before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and U.S. consular posts. He regularly secures his clients’ release from immigration detention through parole and prosecutorial discretion requests to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, immigration court bond hearings, and habeas corpus petitions in federal court.

Since 2017, Patrick has been named by Washingtonian Magazine as one of “Washington’s Top Lawyers” in the field of immigration law, and in June 2018, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) recognized Patrick with the Joseph Minsky Young Lawyer Award for his outstanding contributions made as a young lawyer in the field of immigration and nationality law.

Prior to joining Clark Hill, Patrick was an associate attorney with the boutique Washington, D.C immigration firm of Benach Ragland (now Benach Collopy) where he fought zealously to help his clients achieve goals ranging from asylum, relief under the Violence Against Women Act, U visas, and cancellation of removal, to the approval of long-pending applications, and naturalization. For two years, Patrick was a legal fellow with the American Immigration Council where he focused on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. At the Council, Patrick authored several practice advisories on DACA and related topics. He participated in numerous webinars, panels, and podcasts, and was often a go-to resource for journalists covering DACA and other immigration prosecutorial discretion programs. Following law school, Patrick spent two years as an associate attorney with the leading Idaho immigration law firm, Andrade Legal.

As a law student, Patrick interned with the ACLU’s Immigrant Rights Project, the Hong Kong Refugee Advice Centre, and the Immigrant Defense Project. 

Selected Representative Matters:

• J.G. v. Warden, Irwin County Detention Center, __ F. Supp. 3d __, 2020 WL 6938013 (M.D. Ga. Nov. 16, 2020) (Due Process Clause requires government to bear burden of justifying noncitizen’s detention under 8 U.S.C. §1226(a) by clear and convincing evidence)
• Siahaan v. Madrigal, 2020 WL 5893638 (D. Md. Oct. 5, 2020) (habeas jurisdiction to stay removal of noncitizen pending resolution of asylum-based motion to reopen)
• Siddiqui v. Cissna, 356 F. Supp. 3d 772 (S.D. Ind. 2018) (jurisdiction to review USCIS decision denying application for adjustment of status based on Controlled Application Review and Resolution Program)
• In re J.D.T., N-600 Proceedings (USCIS Washington Field Office pending) – Filed N-600 for noncitizen with aggravated felony conviction and persuaded U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to cancel detainer that would have resulted in Mr. J.D.T.’s transfer from U.S. Bureau of Prisons custody to ICE custody upon completion of his sentence. Mr. J.D.T. is awaiting a decision from USCIS on his N-600.
• Ashqar v. LaRose et al., No. 4:18-cv-01141 (N.D. Ohio filed May 17, 2018) - habeas corpus action that secured release of noncitizen with final order of removal who was detained by ICE for 18 months.
• In re A.S., Asylum Termination Proceedings (USCIS Arlington Asylum Office 2017) – Satisfied USCIS that termination of A.S.’s asylee status was unwarranted.
• In re C.B., Creation of Record Proceedings (USCIS Washington Field Office 2017) – Persuaded USCIS to approve green card application of C.B., the U.S.-born son of a diplomat who had been absent from the United States for a period of six years when he was a child.
• In re M.M., N-400 Proceedings (USCIS Washington Field Office 2017) – Obtained approval of Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, for M.M., notwithstanding that she voted in a prior election.
• Matter of C-A- (Arlington, VA Imm. Ct. 2017) – asylum granted to Anglophone Cameroonian who played a leadership role in the Southern Cameroons National Council based on his well-founded fear of persecution on account of his political opinion and nationality.
• Usilo, et al. v. United States, et al., No. 17-7517 (S.D.N.Y. filed Oct. 2, 2017; dismissed Nov. 7, 2017) – APA complaint and Motion for Preliminary Injunction challenging baseless finding of fraud made by Customs and Border Protection (CBP). 15 days after initiation of the lawsuit, CBP withdrew its inadmissibility finding, clearing the way for our client to obtain his visa.
• Matter of L-B- (BIA 2016), (Arlington, VA Imm. Ct. 2020) – reopened L.B.’s removal proceedings before the Board of Immigration Appeals on the basis of ineffective assistance by prior counsel. L.B.’s prior counsel was ineffective because he failed to present evidence to USCIS and the Immigration Court that L.B.’s most recent entry into the United States was a “wave-through” entry that rendered him eligible for adjustment of status. In reopened proceedings, L.B. satisfied the immigration judge that he had been waved through a U.S. port of entry and that his wife would suffer extreme hardship if his green card were denied. L.B. was granted lawful permanent resident status.
• Matter of A.A. (Arlington, VA Imm. Ct. 2018) – Asylum granted to Afghan journalist who worked with U.S. news organization and reported critically on the Taliban.
• Matter of Y.S.C. (Arlington, VA Imm. Ct. 2018) – Secured adjustment of status to that of lawful permanent resident for Korean conditional lawful permanent resident who inadvertently failed to file petition to remove conditions on residence.
• Wang v. Colucci et al., No. 15-1689 (D.D.C. filed Oct. 15, 2015) – Petition for writ of mandamus on behalf of Chinese EB-5 investor to compel USCIS to adjudicate long-pending Form I-526. Within six months of filing the petition, USCIS approved the I-526.