Our client was assaulted at a gas station in Panama City, Florida where he was a store clerk. Defendants hit him in the head with a claw hammer numerous times. The defendants then proceeded to take $1,000.00 in cash from the register and our client was left inside the store bleeding from the head.

Our client received seven pin staples or stitches due to the injuries. He also underwent a CT scan. In addition to the substantial physical abuse he suffered, he suffered extreme mental distress and depression because he was subsequently sued by Bay Medical Hospital for failure to pay the medical bills that resulted from the medical treatment he received the night of the incident.

The first defendant was convicted of Principal in the First Degree to Robbery with a Deadly Weapon on March 30, 2012 and he was sentenced to one year in county jail, one year of community control, eight years of probation, one hundred hours of public service work, $1,077.00 in court costs and fines, no contact with the victim or the co-defendant and $750.00 in restitution to Mr. Chelamalla, among other things. The second defendant was convicted of Robbery with a Deadly Weapon, Aggravated Battery and Grand Theft.

Our client was admitted to the United States on an F-1 visa on June 6, 2007 to pursue a master’s degree. He received his Master’s of Science in Electrical Engineering on July 27, 2007. His former employer filed a Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker, Form I-129 on behalf of him but this visa process was not completed after he lost his job with the sponsoring company.

We applied for a U visa for our client and, after review, it was approved.