Case: I-130/I-485

Potential Issue: Response to Notice of Intent to Deny

Client: Cameroonian

Location: Fayetteville, NC

Our client entered the United States from Cameroon. She married her U.S. citizen husband and they filed an I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application to the USCIS in April 2018. In July 2021, they appeared at the adjustment of status interview at the USCIS Durham Field Office in North Carolina. However, on October 13, 2021, the USCIS issued a Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID).  The NOID claimed that there was substantial and probative evidence that the marital union between the Petitioner and Beneficiary was not bona fide.  The NOID pointed out that the submitted documentation of Petitioner and Beneficiary did not establish a bona fide marriage. 

In response to the USCIS’s NOID, our office included multiple supporting documents including, several affidavits from their friends, joint bank account statements, a joint tax return, and several pictures of our client and her husband in several occasions with different people.  Several legal authorities were cited based on particular issues discussed, and on November 5, 2021, we filed the Response to NOID prior to the 30-day deadline.

On February 18, 2022, the USCIS approved our client’s case. Both the I-130 Petition and I-485 Green Card Applications were approved. Our client is now a green card holder.

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Case: I-130/I-485

Potential Issue: Response to Notice of Intent to Deny

Client: Cameroonian

Location: Fayetteville, NC

Our client entered the United States from Cameroon. She married her U.S. citizen husband and they filed an I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application to the USCIS in April 2018. In July 2021, they appeared at the adjustment of status interview at the USCIS Durham Field Office in North Carolina. However, on October 13, 2021, the USCIS issued a Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID).  The NOID claimed that there was substantial and probative evidence that the marital union between the Petitioner and Beneficiary was not bona fide.  The NOID pointed out that the submitted documentation of Petitioner and Beneficiary did not establish a bona fide marriage. 

In response to the USCIS’s NOID, our office included multiple supporting documents including, several affidavits from their friends, joint bank account statements, a joint tax return, and several pictures of our client and her husband in several occasions with different people.  Several legal authorities were cited based on particular issues discussed, and on November 5, 2021, we filed the Response to NOID prior to the 30-day deadline.

On February 18, 2022, the USCIS approved our client’s case. Both the I-130 Petition and I-485 Green Card Applications were approved. Our client is now a green card holder.

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CASE: J-2 Waiver of Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement / Over 21-year-old dependent child

NATIONALITY: Filipina

LOCATION: Hendersonville, NC

Our client is a citizen of the Philippines who came to the U.S. on a J-2 Visa in July 2019.  She came with her mother who came on a J-1 Visa for her employment in the United States. Both were subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement, meaning they had to get a waiver or go back to their home country for two-years before they can apply for permanent residency or some non-immigrant visa such as the H, L, and O visas.

She turned 21 in January 2021.  She wanted to file her I-485 adjustment of status application with her U.S. citizen spouse’s I-130 petition. However, because of her two-year foreign residency requirement, our client cannot adjust her status in the United States without the fulfillment of requirement or the waiver. 

Although J-2 dependents cannot independently apply for a waiver, in cases where a J-2 child reaches 21, the Waiver Review Division may consider requests for waivers on behalf of the J-2 dependent.  The Department of State’s policy allows for that process in instances where the J-2 dependent obtains a divorce form the J-1 principal, the J-1 principal dies, or in cases where the J-2 dependent turns 21, which is our client’s case. In fact, our client turned 21 in January 2021.

Our firm was retained to do her J-2 waiver, and on September 15, 2021, the J-2 Waiver application (Form DS-3035 and supporting documents) 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 reached the age of 21 and was not a dependent of a J-1 visa holder anymore.  Eventually, on November 18, 2021, the DOS recommended to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) that our client be granted a waiver.  On December 15, 2021, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for our client’s waiver request.

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CASE: I-751

APPLICANT: Algerian

LOCATION: Kill Devil Hills, NC

Our client contacted our office in February 2020 regarding his I-751 application.

He is from Algeria and he married a U.S. citizen in August 2016. Through his marriage, he obtained a 2-year conditional green card in March of 2018.  His conditional residency terminated in March 2020.

To comply with immigration requirements, our client and his wife had to file an I-751 Joint Petition to Remove Conditions. He retained our office on February 10, 2020, and our office prepared the I-751 application for our client.

On March 5, 2020, our office filed an I-751 application to the USCIS with multiple affidavits from his friends and family members, joint bank statements, joint taxes, utility bills, insurance policies, and photos of our client and his wife to demonstrate the bona fideness of their marriage.

On December 1, 2021, the USCIS approved our client’s I-751 application without any Request for Evidence (RFE) and our client received his 10-year green card which removed the conditions.

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CASE: EB-2 I-485    
EMPLOYER: Baptist Church
BENEFICIARY: Korean Assistant Pastor
LOCATION: Cary, NC

Our client is a Baptist church in Cary, NC. They were willing to petition a South Korean for an Assistant Pastor second-preference petition (I-140).  Our client’s prospective employee has a master’s degree in Theology. After talking to our client, our firm concluded that this employer can petition him as an Assistant Pastor.  Second preference petitions for Koreans are current, which means that if a PERM Labor Certification for a second preference position gets approved, the I-140 and I-485 could be filed simultaneously. Based on our client’s prospective employee’s education and work background, our office determined that he is eligible for EB-2 classification for his I-140 petition.  Our client eventually retained us in on September 6, 2018. 

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 April 5, 2019, the prevailing wage request was filed.  Then, our office filed the job order on January 6, 2020.  On June 18, 2020, we filed PERM.  Eventually, on December 22, 2020, the PERM Labor Certification was approved – an EB2 position for the Korean beneficiary. 

We then proceeded with the I-140 Petition filing. We submitted the “ability to pay” letter for the I-140 petition application. We included the job offer letter, employer’s tax records, and other necessary supporting documents. The I-140 Petition was filed on March 29, 2021, via premium processing service. Eventually, on April 8, 2021, the I-140 EB-2 Petition for our Korean client was approved without any Request for Evidence (RFE). 

Once the I-140 petition was approved, our client retained our office again for his I-485 adjustment of status application. Our office filed an I-485 adjustment of status application for our client on May 12, 2021. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices and fingerprint appointment came on time.

Eventually, on September 9, 2021, the USCIS approved our client’s adjustment of status application. Now, he finally is a green card holder.

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CASE: J-2 Waiver of Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement / Over 21-year-old dependent child

NATIONALITY: Filipina

LOCATION: Durham, NC

Our client is a citizen of the Philippines who came to the U.S. on a J-2 Visa in July 2019.  She came with her mother who was on a J-1 Visa as a teacher. Both were subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement, meaning they had to go back to their home country for two-years before they can apply for permanent residency or some non-immigrant visa such as the H, L, and O visas.

She turned 21 in October 2020.  By getting a waiver, she would have the ability to be petitioned for H-1B status by her prospective employer. However, because of her two-year foreign residency requirement, our client cannot change her status in the United States without the fulfillment of requirement or the waiver. 

Although J-2 dependents cannot independently apply for a waiver, in cases where a J-2 child reaches 21, the Waiver Review Division may consider requests for waivers on behalf of the J-2 dependent.  The Department of State’s policy allows for that process in instances where the J-2 dependent obtains a divorce form the J-1 principal, the J-1 principal dies, or in cases where the J-2 dependent turns 21, which is our client’s case. In fact, our client turned 21 in October 2020.  

Our firm was retained to do her J-2 waiver, and on March 26, 2021, the J-2 Waiver application (Form DS-3035 and supporting documents) 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 reached the age of 21 and was not a dependent of a J-1 visa holder anymore.  Eventually, on June 24, 2021, the DOS recommended to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) that our client be granted a waiver.  On August 10, 2021, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for our client’s waiver request.

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CASE: J-2 Waiver of Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement / Over 21-year-old dependent child

NATIONALITY: Filipino

LOCATION: Shannon, NC

Our client is a citizen of the Philippines who came to the U.S. on a J-2 Visa in August 2018.  He came with his mother who was on a J-1 Visa. Both were subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement, meaning they had to go back to their home country for two-years before they can apply for permanent residency or some non-immigrant visa such as the H, L, and O visas.

He turned 21 in November 2020.  He wanted to file his I-485 adjustment of status application with his U.S. citizen spouse’s I-130 petition. However, because of his two-year foreign residency requirement, our client cannot adjust his status in the United States without fulfilling the requirement or getting a waiver. 

Although J-2 dependents cannot independently apply for a waiver, in cases where a J-2 child reaches 21, the Waiver Review Division may consider requests for waivers on behalf of the J-2 dependent.  The Department of State’s policy allows for that process in instances where the J-2 dependent obtains a divorce form the J-1 principal, the J-1 principal dies, or in cases where the J-2 dependent turns 21, which is our client’s case. Our client turned 21 in November 2020.

Our firm was retained to do his J-2 waiver and on November 13, 2020, the J-2 Waiver application (Form DS-3035 and supporting documents) 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 reached the age of 21 and was not a dependent of a J-1 visa holder anymore.  On February 26, 2021, the DOS recommended to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) that our client be granted a waiver.  On April 9, 2021, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for our client’s waiver request.

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CASE: EB-2 I-140    
EMPLOYER: Baptist Church
BENEFICIARY: Korean Assistant Pastor
LOCATION: Cary, NC

Our client is a Baptist church in Cary, NC who is willing to petition an Assistant Pastor position for a second-preference petition (I-140).  Our client’s prospective employee has a master’s degree in Theology. We advised that they can petition him as an Assistant Pastor.  Second preference petitions for Koreans are current, which means that if a PERM Labor Certification for a second preference position gets approved, the I-140 and I-485 could be filed simultaneously. Based on our client’s prospective employee’s educational and work background, our office determined that he is clearly eligible for EB-2 classification for his I-140 petition.  Our client eventually retained us in on September 6, 2018. 

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 April 5, 2019, the prevailing wage request was filed.  Then, our office filed the job order on January 6, 2020.  On June 18, 2020, we promptly filed PERM.  Eventually, on December 22, 2020, the PERM Labor Certification was approved – an EB2 position for the Korean beneficiary. 

We then proceeded with the I-140 Petition filing. We submitted the “ability to pay” letter for the I-140 petition application. We included the job offer letter, employer’s tax records, and other necessary supporting documents. The I-140 Petition was filed on March 29, 2021, via premium processing. On April 8, 2021, the I-140 EB-2 Petition for our Korean client was approved without any Request for Evidence (RFE).

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CASE: N-400 (Citizenship / Naturalization)

APPLICANT: Indian

LOCATION: Winston Salem, NC

Our client contacted us in May 2020 to seek legal representation for his naturalization and citizenship N-400 application. He came to the United States from India and obtained his green card in May 2017 through marriage to his US Citizen spouse. We also did his green card and I-751 applications. 

Upon retention, his N-400 application was filed on May 19, 2020, with all supporting documents. Prior to his citizenship interview, our office prepared him via conference calls.  On October 27, 2020, our client appeared at the Charlotte, NC USCIS office for his naturalization interview. Our client answered all questions correctly and passed his naturalization and citizenship interview. 

On October 27, 2020, the USCIS issued a Request for Evidence (RFE) asking our client to submit more bona fide martial evidence with his wife. Our office prepared and filed the Response to RFE on November 2, 2020. Eventually, on December 1, 2020, his application was approved. His oath taking is scheduled in which he will become a naturalized U.S. Citizen.

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CASE: PERM Labor Certification    
EMPLOYER: Baptist Church
BENEFICIARY: Korean Assistant Pastor
LOCATION: Cary, NC

Our client is a Baptist church in Cary, NC which was willing to petition an Assistant Pastor position for a second-preference petition (I-140).  Our client’s prospective employee has a master’s degree in Theology. After talking to our client, our firm concluded that this employer can petition him as an Assistant Pastor.  Second preference petitions for Koreans are current, which means that if a PERM Labor Certification for a second preference position gets approved, the I-140 and I-485 could be filed simultaneously. Based on our client’s prospective employee’s credentials, our office determined that he is eligible for EB-2 classification for his I-140 petition.  Our client eventually retained us in on September 6, 2018. 

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 April 5, 2019, the prevailing wage request was filed.  Then, our office filed the job order on January 6, 2020.  On June 18, 2020, we promptly filed PERM.  Eventually, on December 22, 2020, the PERM Labor Certification was approved – an EB2 position for the Korean beneficiary. Now our client can file the I-140 petition.

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