CASE: I-751

APPLICANT: Lebanese

LOCATION: San Diego, CA

Our client contacted our office in February of 2021 regarding her I-751 application.

She is from Lebanon and she married a U.S. citizen in August 2018. Through her marriage, she obtained a 2-year conditional green card in April 2019.  Her conditional residency terminated in April 2021.

To comply with immigration requirements, our client and her husband had to file an I-751 Joint Petition to Remove Conditions. She retained our office on February 21, 2021, and our office prepared the I-751 application.

On March 2, 2021, our office filed the I-751 application to the USCIS with multiple affidavits from her friends and family members, joint bank statements, joint taxes, utility bills, insurance policies, and photos of our client and her husband to demonstrate the bona fideness of their marriage.

Eventually, on September 9, 2021, the USCIS approved our client’s I-751 application without any Request for Evidence (RFE).  Our client received her 10-year green card which removed the conditions.

{ 0 comments }

CASE: J-1 Waiver of the Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement, Extreme Hardship

 NATIONALITY:  Lebanese

 LOCATION: Cleveland Heights, OH

Our client came from Lebanon in June 2016 on a valid J-1 visa.  He got his J-1 status as a research scholar and received government funding for his research.  His J-1 status made him subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement. 

Later, he married his current U.S. citizen wife and became a father of a U.S. citizen child. Our client would like to file his adjustment of status application along with his wife’s I-130 petition; however, due to the two-year foreign residency requirement, he had to obtain a waiver first.

Unlike our other J-1 clients, our client could not pursue his waiver under the No Objection Statement or Interest Government Agency (IGA). That’s because he received government funding for his research program. 

According to 8 C.F.R. Section 212.7(c)(5), “an alien who is subject to the foreign residence requirement and who believes that compliance therewith would impose exceptional hardship upon her spouse or child who is a citizen of the United States… may apply for a waiver on Form I-612.” 

Some of the factors in analyzing hardship are as follows: age of the subject, family ties in the U.S. and abroad, length and residency in the U.S., health / medical conditions, conditions in the country of removal – economic and political, financial status – business and occupation, position in / ties to the community. Matter of Anderson, 16 I&N Dec. 596 (BIA 1978). 

On May 7, 2019, the J-1 Waiver (Form DS-3035) Application was filed to the Department of State.  Thereafter, our office prepared an affidavit for our client, an extensive brief in support for our client’s J-1 waiver application, and other supporting documents. Our client provided us with extensive medical documents and doctor’s reports for his U.S. citizen wife’s medical conditions.  On May 8, 2019, our office filed the I-612 application to the USCIS.

On February 5, 2020, the USCIS issued a Request for Evidence (RFE) for our client’s I-612 case. The USCIS asked our client to submit more hardship evidence. On February 25, 2020, our office filed the Response to RFE to the USCIS.

Eventually, the USCIS approved his I-612 waiver on May 25, 2021. Now that our client’s two-year foreign residency requirement is waived, he can file his adjustment of status application along with his wife’s I-130 petition in the United States. 

{ 0 comments }

CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

NATIONALITY: Lebanese

LOCATION: Marlborough, MA

Our client is a Lebanese Citizen who came to the U.S. on a J-2 Visa in November 2012. She came with her husband who held a J-1 Visa. Both were subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement.

Unfortunately, their marriage did not work out and she eventually got divorced from her ex-husband. Later, she married her current U.S. citizen husband. She was still subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement, and she would like to adjust her status in the United States. Until she gets a waiver of the 2-year foreign residency requirement, she cannot adjust her status in the United States.

She contacted our office, and our firm was retained to do her J-2 waiver on August 13, 2018.

On August 16, 2018, the J-2 Waiver Application along with the Form DS-3035 was filed to the Department of State. We also sent a request to the DOS to be an interested government agency and recommend this waiver based on the fact that our client was divorced from the J-1 visa holder.

On September 19, 2018, the DOS sent a recommendation to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) for our client be granted a waiver.

After we received the waiver, our client retained us again and sought legal assistance for her adjustment of status application. Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and Adjustment of Status Application on September 27, 2018.  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 through conference calls. On April 18, 2019, our client was interviewed at the Boston Massachusetts USCIS office.  The interview went well, and eventually, on the same day of the interview, her green card application was approved.

{ 0 comments }

CASE: N-400 (Citizenship / Naturalization)
APPLICANT: Lebanese
LOCATION: Ohio

Our client contacted us in November 2015 to seek legal representation for his naturalization and citizenship N-400 application. He came to the United States from Lebanon and obtained his green card in 1991. O client was previously placed in removal proceedings due to his criminal convictions. However, after his conviction charges were vacated and dismissed, he was no longer removable and his case was terminated at the Cleveland Immigration Court. He retained our office for his naturalization and citizenship N-400 application on November 18, 2015.

The naturalization and citizenship N-400 application was filed on December 3, 2015 with all supporting documents. Our office prepared him before his naturalization interview, and also accompanied him on February 29, 2016 at the Cleveland CIS office. Our client answered all questions correctly and passed his naturalization and citizenship N-400 interview. Eventually, his naturalization application was approved. His oath taking is scheduled in which he will become a naturalized U.S. Citizen.

{ 0 comments }

CASE: Motion to Terminate Removal Proceedings Based on Criminal Conviction Dismissal

CLIENT: Lebanese

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client is a Lebanese citizen and who has been a green card holder in the United States for more than 25 years. However, he was placed into removal proceedings in March 2012 due to his previous criminal record; specifically, a drug-related offense that he committed when he was a teenager.  Our client contacted us in March 2012 to seek legal assistance and representation at his removal proceedings.  Our office was retained on April 9, 2012.

According to our client’s Notice to Appear, he was removable for a criminal ground of deportability. Based on his removable charge, our office first sought for relief under Section 212(c) and got an individual hearing date. However, the likelihood of success for our client’s case was quite low. Nevertheless, our office did extensive researche and asked our client whether he was advised before he pled guilty for his charges at the county court.  Our client told us that he did not receive any advisement as required by Ohio criminal statute.

Under Matter of Pickering, 23 I&N Dec. 621 (BIA 2003), the BIA held that “If a court with jurisdiction vacates a conviction based on a defect in underlying criminal proceedings, the Respondent no longer has a ‘conviction’ within the meaning of section 101(a)(48)(A). According to O.R.C Section 2943.031, the court must ask the following before the defendant entered the plea: “If you are not a citizen of the United States you are hereby advised that conviction of the offense to which you are pleading guilty (or no contest, when applicable) may have the consequences of deportation, exclusion from admission to the United States, or denial of naturalization pursuant to the laws of the United States.”

As stated above, our client told us that he never had aforementioned advisement from the court before he pled guilty for his charge.  Thus, we contacted our client’s previous criminal attorney to file a Motion to Vacate conviction based on a defect in underlying criminal proceedings – that of having a lack of advisement or lack of substantial compliance with the advisement provisions of O.R.C. Section 2943.031 from the county court.

On November 13, 2014, the county court granted our client’s Motion to Vacate for his previous criminal conviction.  With that, our office filed a Motion to Terminate Proceedings to the Immigration Court and argued that our client is not removable anymore because the court with jurisdiction vacated convictions based on a defect in underlying criminal proceedings. We included the criminal court judges’ orders and other supporting documents, and argued that our client’s removal proceedings must be terminated.

On November 6, 2015, the Immigration Judge granted our Motion to Terminate Proceedings.  Our client got his green card back. .

{ 0 comments }