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

 NATIONALITY:  Egyptian

 LOCATION: Laurel, MD

Our client came from Egypt and entered the U.S. as a J-1 scholar in 2013.  In 2015, he got his F-1 status as a Ph.D. Student in the United States.   His J-1 status made him subject to the two-year foreign resident requirement. Our client would like to file his adjustment of status application along with his I-140 NIW application; 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 No Objection Statement or Interest Government Agency (IGA). Our client also received government funding for his research programs which made his case tougher for the No Objection Statement or IGA waiver route. Our client, though, would like to pursue his J-1 waiver based on exceptional hardship standard. In fact, our client’s U.S. citizen daughter is experiencing exceptional medical hardships. 

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 extreme 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). 

After he retained our firm, we prepared and filed a waiver request through the exceptional hardship basis. On August 7, 2020, 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 daughter’s medical conditions.  On August 7, 2020, our office filed an I-612 application to the USCIS and asked for them to issue and recommend this waiver based on the fact that our client’s daughter would experience exceptional hardship if our client needs to go back to Egypt for two years. 

Eventually, the USCIS approved his I-612 waiver on June 24, 2022. Now that our client’s two-year foreign residency requirement is waived, he can file his adjustment of status application along with his NIW I-140 self-petition in the United States. 

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CASE: I-485 / National Interest Waiver

CLIENT: Korean

LOCATION: College Park, MD

Our client contacted us about the possibility of doing a National Interest Waiver self-petition. He is a researcher from South Korea and he is exceptional in the field of Condensed Matter Physics. 

Our client’s significant contributions have placed him at the pinnacle of his field. He is capable of many experimental measurement techniques such as electrical transport, thermal transport, low temperature physics, etc., and he is capable of device fabrication and computational simulations using finite element analysis. Because of his innovative research, our client’s research work were highly evaluated by reviewers of various journals and by colleagues and experts in the field.

Upon review of his credentials and qualifications, our office determined that he was qualified for the National Interest Waiver (NIW) category. Being qualified for NIW is beneficial since you would not need an employer nor family member to petition for you for green card purposes. You’d be eligible for a self-petition and unless you are from China or India, in which case you’d still have to wait for priority dates to be current, you would be eligible to apply for adjustment of status (green card) immediately without any lag in priority dates.

As a primer, NIW applicants must have a master’s or higher degree. While we prepared his case, the AAO set the new standards for NIW cases in Matter of Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. 884 (AAO 2016). Under the new standard, the petitioner must demonstrate that the foreign national’s proposed endeavor has both substantial merit and national importance. Next, it must be shown that he or she is well positioned to advance the proposed endeavor. Finally, the petitioner seeking the waiver needs to demonstrate that, on balance, it would be beneficial to the United States to waive the job offer and labor certification requirements. Id. 

Our office prepared a 24-page brief for our client’s NIW filing. Our client also obtained 6 letters of recommendation from his colleagues and internationally-recognized researchers. Our office also included his publication records, presentation records, and conference materials in the NIW application. We demonstrated that our client is one of the few elite researchers who have made significant and substantial contributions to his field of endeavor, that he is well positioned to advance the proposed endeavor, and it would be beneficial to the United States to waive the requirements of a job offer and thus of a labor certification for our client. 

Our office filed his I-140(NIW) petition to the USCIS Texas Service Center on October 5, 2021. Eventually, on March 15, 2022, the USCIS approved his I-140 petition without any Requests for Evidence. While his I-140 NIW petition was pending with the USCIS, he decided to file his I-485 adjustment of status to the USCIS. Our office prepared and filed his I-485 application to the USCIS on January 24, 2022. On May 18, 2022, our client’s adjustment of status applications was approved by the USCIS without any Request for Evidence (RFE). 

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CASE: I-140 / National Interest Waiver

CLIENT: Korean

LOCATION: College Park, MD

Our client contacted us about the possibility of doing a National Interest Waiver self-petition. He is a researcher from South Korea and he is an exceptional scientist in the field of Condensed Matter Physics research. 

Our client’s contributions have placed him at the pinnacle of his field. He is capable of many experimental measurement techniques such as electrical transport, thermal transport, low temperature physics, etc., and he is capable of device fabrication and computational simulations using finite element analysis. Because of his innovative research, our client’s work were highly evaluated by the reviewers of various journals, colleagues and experts in the field.

Upon review of his credentials and qualifications, our office determined that he was qualified for the National Interest Waiver (NIW) category. Being qualified for NIW is beneficial since you would not need an employer nor family member to petition for you for green card purposes. You’d be eligible for a self-petition and unless you are from China or India, in which case you’d still have to wait for priority dates to be current, you would be eligible to apply for adjustment of status (green card) immediately without any lag in priority dates.

As a primer, NIW applicants must have a master’s or higher degree. The AAO set new standards for NIW cases in Matter of Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. 884 (AAO 2016). Under this standard, the petitioner must demonstrate that the foreign national’s proposed endeavor has both substantial merit and national importance. Next, it must be shown that he or she is well positioned to advance the proposed endeavor. Finally, the petitioner seeking the waiver needs to demonstrate that, on balance, it would be beneficial to the United States to waive the job offer and labor certification requirements. Id. 

Our office prepared a 24-page brief for our client’s NIW filing. Our client also obtained 6 letters of recommendation from his colleagues and internationally-recognized researchers. Our office also included his publication record, presentation record, and conference materials in the NIW application. We demonstrated that our client is one of the few elite researchers who have made significant and substantial contributions to his field of endeavor, that he is well positioned to advance the proposed endeavor, and it would be beneficial to the United States to waive the requirements of a job offer and thus of a labor certification for our client. 

Our office filed his I-140(NIW) petition to the USCIS Texas Service Center on October 5, 2021. On March 15, 2022, the USCIS approved his I-140 petition without any Request for Evidence.  When we filed his I-140, he concurrently filed his I-485 adjustment of status application. His adjustment of status application will be approved soon as well.

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CASE: J-1 Waiver of Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement, No Objection Statement

NATIONALITY: Korean

LOCATION: Greenbelt, MD

Our client is from South Korea who came to the U.S. on a J-1 Visa in November 2020 to work as a postdoctoral researcher. His J-1 program made him subject to the two-year foreign residence requirement. He retained our office to seek legal assistance for his I-140 (National Interest Waiver Classification) and I-485 Adjustment of Status applications. However, before we file his I-485 application, he had to get a waiver for his two-year foreign residency requirement. 

Our office filed the waiver request through the No Objection Statement (NOS) from the Korean Embassy in the United States.

Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office contacted the Korean Embassy in DC to pursue the waiver for our client.  The Embassy requested six different documents including a statement of reason for the waiver, the applicant’s resume, a J-1 visa waiver confirmation application, and a letter of reason for obtaining the J-1 waiver.  Most of those documents needed to be written in Korean, so Attorney Yu, a Korean himself, assisted our client in completing those documents.

On August 23, 2021, the J-1 Waiver (Form DS-3035) Application was filed to the Department of State.  We also sent a request to the Korean Embassy to issue a No Objection Statement and recommend this waiver based on the fact that our client is eligible to file a National Interest Waiver petition and adjustment of status application.

Thereafter, the Korean Embassy issued a No Objection Statement for our client, and sent this letter to the State Department’s Waiver Review Division.  On December 9, 2021, the Waiver Review Division issued a favorable recommendation based on the No Objection statement. Eventually, on December 30, 2021, the USCIS issued the I-612 approval notice and waived our client’s 2 year foreign residency requirement.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status (F-2A category)

CLIENT: Zimbabwean

LOCATION: Germantown, MD

Our client came to the United States from the Zimbabwe with a F-1 student visa. He married a lawful permanent resident in February 2020, and retained our office for his green card application on March 22, 2020.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and Adjustment of Status Application on April 22, 2020.  We could file both I-130 and I-485 applications simultaneously since the priority date for F-2A category was current at the time of the filing. 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 as well. On August 23, 2021, our client was interviewed at Baltimore, MD USCIS office. Eventually, on November 4, 2021, his green card application was approved.

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CASE: J-1 Waiver of Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement, No Objection Statement 

NATIONALITY: Korean                                                                                                           

LOCATION: Columbia, MD

Our client is from South Korea who came to the U.S. on a J-1 Visa in August 2009. Later, she changed her status from J-1 to J-2 after she got married. Thereafter, she changed her status from J-2 to H-4 as her husband got his H-1B status. Prior to his H-1B filing, her husband got a J-1 visa waiver; thus, she thought she does not need her J-1 waiver to change her status. Her husband has an approved EB-1 I-140 petition. Our client and her husband would like to file their adjustment of status application; however, in order to file her adjustment of status, she needs a waiver. 

Our client contacted our office and retained our office on December 11, 2019 for her J-1 waiver case. Once retained, Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office promptly contacted the Korean Consulate General Office in Atlanta to pursue the waiver for our client.  The Consulate office requested six different documents including a statement of reason for the waiver, the applicant’s resume, a J-1 visa waiver confirmation application, and a letter of reason for obtaining J-1 waiver.  Most of those documents needed to be written in Korean, so Attorney Yu, a Korean himself, assisted our client in completing those documents.

On January 2, 2020, the J-1 Waiver (Form DS-3035) Application was filed to the Department of State.  We also sent a request to the Korean Embassy to issue a No Objection Statement and recommend this waiver based on the fact that our client is eligible to adjust in the United States if he obtains the waiver.

The Korean Consulate General in Atlanta promptly forwarded our client’s documents to the Korean Embassy in DC.  After that, the Korean Embassy issued a No Objection Statement for our client, and sent this letter to the State Department’s Waiver Review Division.  On March 11, 2020, the Waiver Review Division issued a favorable recommendation based on the No Objection statement. Eventually, the USCIS has issued an I-612 approval notice on March 23, 2020.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status
CLIENT: Zambian
LOCATION: Cheverly, MD 

Our client came to the United States in June 2001 with a J-1 Exchange Visitor visa from Zambia.  His J-1 visa was not subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement, so he could apply for adjustment of status in the United States without a waiver. After his J-1 program was completed, he remained in the United States.

He married a U.S. Citizen in February 2012 and retained our office on January 19, 2018 for his adjustment of status application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and Adjustment of Status Application on February 2, 2018.  Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, the fingerprint appointment, and the work permit all came on time. Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our client via conference calls. On November 19, 2018, our client was interviewed at the Baltimore, Maryland USCIS Field Office.

Though their interview went well, our client’s case remained pending without any Request for Evidence. Nevertheless, on December 30, 2019, the USCIS issued Request for Evidence for our client to submit his new I-693 medical record. Our client filed his response to RFE on January 7, 2020. Eventually, on January 14, 2020, his green card application was approved. 

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CASE: I-130 (Petition for Father) and Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: Canadian

LOCATION: Clarksburg, MD

Our client retained us for her adjustment of status application. Our client was born in China and became a naturalized Canadian citizen. She came to the United States as a B-2 visitor in May 2005. Thereafter, she has remained in the United States.  She has a U.S. citizen son who just turned 21 in 2018 and her son was planning to file an I-130 petition for our client. She contacted our office in May of 2018 and discussed with us the green card process. After consultation, she retained our office on May 30, 2018.

Once retained, our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and Adjustment of Status Application on July 11, 2018 for our client.  Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, fingerprint appointment, and a work permit all came on time. On May 2, 2019, our client appeared at her I-485 adjustment of status interview at Baltimore, Maryland USCIS Field Office. Prior to the interview, our office prepared her via conference calls. Eventually, on May 7, 2019, our client’s adjustment of status application was approved. Now, she is a green card holder.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

NATIONALITY: Tobagonian                                                                                                   

LOCATION: Baltimore, MD

Our client is from Trinidad and Tobago. He has worked in the United States under an H-1B status. In November 2017, our client married his current U.S. citizen wife.  He retained our office in January 2018 for his green card application. Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on May 3, 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 via conference call. On November 29, 2018, our client was interviewed at the Baltimore Maryland USCIS office.  Eventually, on January 9, 2019, his green card application was approved.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

NATIONALITY: Filipina                                                                                                      

LOCATION: Baltimore, MD

Our client is from the Philippines who came to the U.S. on an H-4 visa in 2006.  In May 2017, our client married her current U.S. citizen husband. After she got married, she retained our office for her green card application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on September 6, 2017. 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 as well. On August 8, 2018, our client was interviewed at the Baltimore, Maryland USCIS office. Eventually, on October 19, 2018, her green card application was approved.

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