Complex Immigration, National Security, Maritime, and International Litigation
Some legal problems cannot be resolved through routine forms, ordinary state-law procedures, or conventional litigation strategies.
Charles International Law represents individuals, families, professionals, and organizations confronting high-stakes matters that cross borders, involve federal agencies, or arise in specialized international and maritime environments. Our work includes complex asylum and immigration cases, national-security matters, federal litigation, and representation of commercial divers and maritime workers injured in offshore operations.
Led by a former federal national-security prosecutor and Navy SEAL officer, our firm combines courtroom experience, operational understanding, and a practical command of international affairs.
When a legal problem crosses borders, enters federal court, or arises offshore, experience matters.
Our Practice Areas
Asylum and Humanitarian Protection
Charles International Law represents people seeking protection from persecution, torture, political retaliation, and other serious threats abroad.
Our asylum practice is particularly suited to cases involving:
Political activists, dissidents, and opposition figures
Military personnel, interpreters, and government officials
Journalists, human-rights advocates, and humanitarian workers
Survivors of imprisonment, torture, or state-sponsored violence
Applicants with sensitive political, military, or security backgrounds
Claims requiring extensive country-conditions evidence
Cases involving armed conflicts, resistance movements, or international organizations
We handle affirmative asylum applications, defensive removal proceedings, motions to reopen, administrative appeals, and related federal litigation.
National-Security Immigration Matters
Immigration cases can become considerably more difficult when the government raises—or appears to be investigating—a national-security concern.
We represent applicants affected by:
Terrorism-Related Inadmissibility Grounds
Alleged material support for a prohibited organization
Controlled Application Review and Resolution Program delays
Military, intelligence, law-enforcement, or politically sensitive employment
Past membership in political, liberation, or resistance organizations
FBI or other government interviews
Extended administrative processing
Security-related visa or immigration denials
Misunderstood foreign activities, affiliations, or associations
These cases require more than completing immigration forms. They require a coherent factual record, careful legal analysis, credible supporting evidence, and an understanding of how national-security institutions assess people, organizations, and overseas events.
Immigration Appeals and Motions to Reopen
An adverse immigration decision is not always the end of the case. Charles International Law evaluates and litigates challenges arising from immigration-court and agency decisions, including:
Appeals to the Board of Immigration Appeals
Appeals before the Administrative Appeals Office
Motions to reopen or reconsider
In absentia removal orders
Lack-of-notice claims
Ineffective assistance of prior counsel
Improper abandonment and filing determinations
Errors in asylum and employment-based cases
Petitions for review in the federal courts of appeals
Immigration appellate deadlines are often extremely short. Prospective clients should contact counsel promptly after receiving an adverse decision.
Federal Immigration and Constitutional Litigation
When an agency unlawfully delays a case, denies relief on an improper basis, or violates a person’s constitutional rights, federal litigation may provide a remedy.
Our federal practice includes appropriate matters involving:
Administrative Procedure Act claims
Mandamus actions addressing unreasonable government delay
Habeas corpus petitions
Freedom of Information Act litigation
Constitutional due-process and access-to-courts claims
Challenges to unlawful agency action
Petitions for review of removal decisions
Prospective relief against continuing unconstitutional conduct
We assess not only whether litigation is legally available, but whether it is strategically likely to advance the client’s underlying objective.
Employment-Based Immigration for Exceptional Professionals
We represent accomplished professionals whose work offers substantial value to the United States.
Our employment-based practice includes:
EB-2 National Interest Waiver petitions
EB-1 petitions for individuals of extraordinary ability
Researchers, academics, engineers, physicians, entrepreneurs, humanitarian professionals, and security specialists
Requests for evidence and notices of intent to deny
Motions and administrative appeals following an adverse decision
We help clients translate a complex professional history into a clear, evidence-supported explanation of expertise, influence, and national importance.
Maritime, Offshore, and Cross-Border Injury Litigation
Charles International Law represents commercial divers, offshore personnel, seafarers, and other maritime workers injured in dangerous and highly specialized working environments.
Maritime injury cases frequently cross conventional legal boundaries. An accident may involve a foreign-flagged vessel, an international employer, an offshore worksite, multiple contractors, or a dispute over which jurisdiction’s law applies. Even when an accident occurs in American waters, the claim may be governed by specialized federal maritime law rather than an ordinary state workers’ compensation system.
Our firm evaluates claims involving:
Commercial and saturation-diving accidents
Decompression illness and pressure-related injuries
Equipment, air-supply, and life-support failures
Diving-supervision and operational-safety failures
Underwater construction, inspection, repair, and salvage operations
Offshore energy and marine-construction projects
Vessel-related injuries and unseaworthy conditions
Injuries involving foreign vessels, employers, or contractors
Claims under the Jones Act and general maritime law
Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act coverage
Disputes concerning the application of federal, state, or foreign law
Accidents occurring during international maritime transit or offshore operations
The firm’s maritime practice draws upon Nathan M. F. Charles’s experience as a former Navy SEAL officer and Naval Special Warfare Diving Supervisor. That operational background provides an informed understanding of diving procedures, equipment, supervision, mission planning, emergency response, and the realities of working in unforgiving underwater environments.
We represent injured people—not vessel owners, diving contractors, or insurance companies defending injury claims.
International and National Security Legal Consulting
Charles International Law provides focused research, analysis, and consulting for attorneys, organizations, and institutions confronting issues at the intersection of law, national security, international affairs, and specialized federal litigation.
Available services may include:
Expert-witness and consulting-attorney support
Analysis of national-security issues in immigration proceedings
Country-conditions and political-context analysis
Litigation strategy involving sensitive overseas facts
Research concerning international agreements and government conduct
Assistance interpreting military, intelligence, and security-related evidence
Analysis of diving operations, maritime procedures, and underwater working environments
Support for universities, NGOs, think tanks, and internationally engaged organizations
Who We Serve
Our clients frequently include:
People seeking protection from persecution or torture
Immigrants whose cases involve military, intelligence, political, or security-related facts
Families confronting removal proceedings or prolonged separation
Professionals pursuing national-interest or extraordinary-ability classifications
Individuals challenging unlawful government delay or agency action
Commercial divers and underwater-construction personnel
Offshore workers, seafarers, and vessel personnel
Maritime workers injured in operations involving foreign vessels, employers, or contractors
Families pursuing claims arising from catastrophic or fatal maritime accidents
Attorneys seeking consulting, co-counsel, or expert support
NGOs, research institutions, and internationally engaged organizations
Why Clients Choose Charles International Law
Experience with unusually difficult cases
We are built for matters that do not fit neatly into ordinary legal categories.
Litigation capability
When administrative processing or informal negotiation is insufficient, we can evaluate motions, appeals, and federal-court remedies.
National-security perspective
The firm’s experience includes federal national-security prosecution, military operations, counterintelligence matters, and complex government investigations.
Operational maritime understanding
Our knowledge of diving and maritime operations comes from direct military leadership and diving-supervision experience—not merely from reviewing an accident report after something has gone wrong.
Individualized representation
We develop the factual theory, evidence, and legal strategy around the client’s actual circumstances. We do not treat high-stakes matters as document-processing exercises.
International perspective
Our work regularly involves foreign governments, political organizations, armed conflicts, international institutions, foreign vessels, and events occurring across multiple jurisdictions.