CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: Japanese

LOCATION: New York, NY

Our client came to the United States from Japan and has worked as an engineer on his H-1B visa. He married a U.S. Citizen in June 2019 and retained our office on June 26, 2019 for his green card application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on July 22, 2019.  Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, fingerprint appointment, and work permits all came on time. Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our clients via conference calls. On September 30, 2020, our client was interviewed at the New York, NY USCIS office. Eventually, on the same day of the interview, his green card application was approved.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: Japanese

LOCATION: Lakewood, OH

Our client came to the United States from Japan on a F-1 student visa. She married a U.S. Citizen in December 2019 and retained our office on January 3, 2020, for her green card application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on January 27, 2020.  Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, fingerprint appointment, and work permits all came on time. Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our clients as well. On September 10, 2020, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, Ohio USCIS office. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office also accompanied our clients. On the same day of her interview, her green card application was approved.

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CASE: H-1B Visa Extension Petition
PETITIONER:  Sensor Device Development Company in Irvine, CA
BENEFICIARY: Mechanical Engineer from Japan

Our client is a leading company in providing innovative sensors and health monitoring solutions to the problem related to maintenance and safety of civil infrastructure and other structural / material systems. They contacted our office in January 2019 to seek legal assistance from our office for their foreign employee’s H-1B extension.  The beneficiary obtained his Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering. The proffered position for the Beneficiary is a Principal Engineer which qualifies as a specialty occupation. This proffered position is clearly a “specialty occupation” because the minimum requirements for this position are a Bachelor’s Degree in Science/Engineering or its equivalent.  Moreover, our office helped this employee’s H-1B transfer case in 2016 and it was approved by the USCIS.

Once retained, our office promptly filed the H-1B visa petition with various supporting documents on February 18, 2019 via the regular processing service. Eventually, our client’s H-1B application was approved on May 15, 2019.  His H-1B is good until April 11, 2021.

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CASE: PERM Labor Certification    
EMPLOYER:  Sensor Manufacturing Company in Irvine, CA
BENEFICIARY: Japanese Engineering Manager

Our client from Japan works for his US employer on an H1B status. His current employer was willing to do an immigration petition for him, second-preference. Our client has a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering. After talking to our client, our firm concluded that his employer can petition him as an Engineering Manager. Based on our client’s education and resume, our office determined that he is eligible for EB-2 classification.

Prior to filing PERM, our firm prepared the prevailing wage request, job order, advertisements, internal job posting, recruitment report, and all other steps which are important pre-PERM filing. Take note that PERM could be filed at least 60 days from the job posting date or 30 days from the last ad. On February 20, 2018, the prevailing wage request was filed.  After we obtained Prevailing Wage determination, our office filed the job order on May 22, 2018. On September 17, 2018, we promptly filed PERM. Eventually, on November 28, 2018, the PERM Labor Certification was approved – an EB2 position for the Japanese beneficiary. Now our client can file the I-140 petition.

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CASE: H-1B Change of Employer

PETITIONER: Sensor Device Development Company

BENEFICIARY: Japanese Mechanical Engineer

LOCATION: Irvine, CA

Our client is a leading company in providing innovative sensors and health monitoring solutions to problems related to maintenance and safety of civil infrastructure and other structural / material systems. They contacted our office in early February 2016 to seek legal assistance from our office for their foreign employee. The beneficiary is from Japan and obtained his Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering. The proffered position for the Beneficiary is a Principal Engineer which we argued qualifies as a specialty occupation.

The foreign beneficiary in this case already had his H-1B visa from his previous employer.  However, his H-1B visa was not expired yet, and he wanted to extend his H-1B status on a change of employer basis.

Once retained, our office promptly filed the H-1B visa petition with various supporting documents on February 26, 2016 via premium processing service.  Since this petition was based on a change of employer, we argued that this petition was exempt from the annual cap of the H-1B.  There were no Requests for Evidence during the processing of the H-1B.  Eventually, our client’s H-1B Petition was approved on March 8, 2016.  The H-1B approval had the duration of March 2016 to March 2019. Now the Beneficiary can work for his Petitioner-Employer as an H-1B visa holder and he can work there for next three years.

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Case: I-130/I-485

Applicant/Beneficiary – Japanese

Location: Cleveland, Ohio

Our client entered the United States in April 2015 from Japan under the visa waiver program. She came here to visit her U.S. citizen boyfriend (now her husband) for a couple of months. As a Visa Waiver Entrant, she was only authorized to remain in the United States for 90 days.

Later, in June 2015, our client and her U.S. citizen boyfriend married in the United States. Her husband contacted our office, and they retained us on June 26, 2015.

One main issue in her green card application through marriage was the fact that she came to the United States under the visa waiver program.   As our office wrote in our previous success story with a similar issue,  under the visa waiver program, citizens of certain countries can enter the U.S. for 90 days without a visa with the condition that the visitor waives his or her right to contest removal (other than on the basis of asylum).  The “no-contest” provision of the Visa Waiver Program is fundamental; if someone could enter under the VWP and then contest removability; it would defeat the whole purpose of the Program which is to make it easy for certain nationals to come to the United States to visit and then leave without all the red-tape involved in visa issuance.

Our office filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on July 6, 2015.  Our office requested the CIS to exercise favorable discretion in granting adjustment of status. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, fingerprint appointment, and work permit all came on time. Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our clients at our office. On September 18, 2015, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, Ohio USCIS Field Office. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office accompanied our clients as well. Despite the visa waiver issue, on the same day of the interview, the USCIS approved her green card application.  Now, our client is a green card holder.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: Japanese

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our Japanese client came to the United States on a J-1 exchange visitor visa to teach Japanese in the United States. She was not subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement. She married a U.S. Citizen in December 2014 and retained our office on February 1, 2015 for her adjustment of status application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and Adjustment of Status Application on February 19, 2015.  Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, fingerprint appointment, and work permits all came on time. Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our clients as well. On May 15, 2015, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, OH USCIS office.  Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office accompanied our clients as well. On May 27, 2015, her green card application was approved.

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CASE: H-1B Visa Petition

PETITIONER: IT Consulting Company in New Jersey

BENEFICIARY: Indian Systems Analyst in Japan

Our client is an IT Consulting Company located in New Jersey.  They contacted our office in the middle of February this year to seek legal assistance for possible H-1B petitions for prospective foreign employees.

The beneficiary obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Electronic Engineering in India. The beneficiary is currently working in Japan. The proffered position for the Beneficiary is a Systems Analyst which we argued qualifies as a specialty occupation.

Upon retention, our office prepared and eventually filed the H-1B visa petition with various supporting documents on March 31, 2014 via regular processing. This H-1B petition was selected after the lottery.

However, the USCIS mailed a Request for Evidence to the Petitioner-Employer and requested Petitioner to submit additional evidence to establish that the proffered position to the beneficiary qualified as a “Specialty Occupation” on June 30, 2014, plus additional questions about the “in-house” nature of the employment.

We gathered supporting documents from both the Petitioner and Beneficiary and did research on the industry, focusing on similarly sized businesses, to demonstrate that a bachelor’s degree is commonly required for this position. We also provided in-house employment proof.

In the response brief, our office argued that the degree requirement is common to this industry in parallel positions among similar organizations.  We provided evidence that the position of Systems Analyst or Computer Systems Analyst is a common position required by similarly sized IT consulting company.  Also, we provided evidence that Petitioner’s competitors normally require degrees in a specific specialty for closely related positions like that of Systems Analyst.  Moreover, our office asserted that the nature of the specific duties is so specialized and complex that knowledge required to perform the duties is usually associated with the attainment of a baccalaureate or higher degree in a specific specialty. Other documents pertaining to an in-house project was also submitted.

Our office filed a detailed Response to RFE brief with many exhibits to the USCIS Vermont Service Center on August 6, 2014.  Eventually, our client’s H-1B application was approved on August 25, 2014. Now, the beneficiary can apply for an H-1B visa at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, Japan, and upon the issuance of visa, he can work for the Petitioner from October 1, 2014 for three years.

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