Helen Ann Sklar

We found Helen Sklar through the recommendation of Human Resources at Kaiser Permanente Hospital in West Los Angeles, where my wife worked as an operating room nurse. Our only regret is that we did not find Helen sooner. We found our son, Alex, as a little gangster street urchin in North Hollywood.... He was born in El Salvador and left with his grandmother while his mother moved to Los Angeles. By the time he was 10 years old his grandmother could not take care of him and died shortly thereafter. He was brought to LA to live with his birth mother, who took him reluctantly. He was born out of wedlock and his mother had now married and had two “legitimate” children of her own and had little to give to Alex, who was deprived of love and treated so harshly that he was soon out on the street for us to find (and that’s a whole other story in itself ). He fit so perfectly with us that he became our son in a very short time. Knowing his circumstance, I went to a lawyer, who told us to do nothing until his birth mother or his stepfather became a citizen and then they might could get him in on the family unity program. This included advising us not to complicate things by filing for adoption. This was fine until one evening Alex got picked up by the police for being “brown” and riding a bicycle in Burbank after dark. (We never did get his bicycle back.) Of course Alex had committed no crime so they let him go – right into the hands of two INS agents who whisked him off to San Pedro. He finally appeared before an immigration judge who set his bail at $750. And told him to get a lawyer that it looked like he had a good case. As it turned out his stepfather had just gotten his citizenship and they directed us to a place where we thought we’d found a lawyer who told us it would be an easy case. Surprise, after giving this guy a couple of thousand dollars, we received a notice for deportation stating that Alex had missed his court date. The man we thought was Alex’s lawyer filed an appeal, and then another and each one brought an order for his deportation. We found out our lawyer wasn’t a lawyer but a notary, and we were getting ready to move to Canada when we found Helen. By this time our only recourse was with the 9th Circuit court of appeals. Helen wrote such a brilliant brief, proving the postal service to be at fault, that the INS lawyers joined her in a motion to move the case back to the immigration judge. After this, in immigration court, she presented his case deftly knocking down every argument the INS lawyers could muster. After a grueling hour and a half in court, the judge finally smiled at Alex and said, “Welcome to the United States of America.”

I highly recommend Helen Sklar as an attorney, she is compassionate and competent. Helen Sklar has represented me as my immigration lawyer for more than a decade. I was referred to her by several other attorneys due to the complex nature of my case and her specific expertise. Helen is an honest attor...ney and will give you the best possible advice. At every step of the way, she presented all possible outcomes of my case; she gave me hope for the best possible outcome, but also prepared me for the worst. Her staff has always been kind and respectful, and I've always felt welcome in her office. The billing office itemizes each expense. I felt that the office was very fair in the fees they charged for the services they provided. I have never been overcharged or not known what I have been billed for. I have felt very fortunate to have Helen by my side in one of the most difficult matters in my life. In two weeks I will be sworn in as an American citizen. I will always have a great amount of gratitude towards Helen and her staff.

I have met her in 2005 in my hopeless situation, at my first meeting got the peace that she can handle the case adequately. My case was so bad and went through many court hearings and (ICE officers) as witnesses. She fought the case aggressively and logically. She was fully informed about the case in... the court unlike some lawyers. Highly recommended..

Helen is a diligent, intelligent attorney who will fight for you throughout the immigration process. She not only cleared up the problems created by the bad advice of our previous lawyers, but also made us feel like there was genuine hope in what had become a difficult situation. My green card a...pplication had some unusual documentation requirements. Helen approached this in a calm and methodical manner, giving us the feeling that we were being represented by a concerned family member as well as a highly experienced and competent attorney. She found precise solutions to each issue until the immigration authorities were satisfied and my green card was awarded. I recommend Helen to anyone who needs a great immigration lawyer. Hope this looks OK. Phil