CASE: I-485 (EB-3)

APPLICANT: Filipina High School Science Teacher

LOCATION: McIntosh, SD

Our client has an employer willing to petition her for a third-preference petition (I-140).  Our client has a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry, a valid South Dakota Teaching license, and has worked for her current employer since August 2016. Based on our client’s education and work background, our office determined that she is clearly eligible for EB-3 classification for her I-140 petition.  Our client eventually retained us in February 2020.

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 the PERM application could be filed at least 60 days from the job posting date or 30 days from the last ad. Within a week from our retention, the prevailing wage request was filed.  After we obtained the PW determination, our office filed the job order on May 21, 2020.  On September 1, 2020, we promptly filed PERM. Eventually, on April 19, 2021, the PERM Labor Certification was approved – an EB3 position for the Filipina 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, employee’s W-2 copy, and other necessary supporting documents.

The I-140 Petition was filed on May 11, 2021 via regular processing service. Eventually, on February 12, 2022, the I-140 EB3 Petition for our Filipina client was approved without any Request for Evidence (RFE). 

Once her I-140 petition was approved, she retained our office again and we filed adjustment of status applications for her and her family members. On April 12, 2022, our office filed I-485 adjustment of status applications for our clients. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices and fingerprint appointment came on time. Eventually, on July 28, 2022, her green card application was approved without any RFE. Her adjustment of status application was approved less than 4 months from the filing date.

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CASE: I-140 (EB-3)

EMPLOYER: Public School District

BENEFICIARY: Filipina Special Education Teacher

LOCATION: McIntosh, SD

Our client has an employer who was filling to file an I-140 Petition for her.  Our client has a Bachelor’s degree in Special Education, a valid South Dakota Teaching license, and has worked for her current employer since August 2018. Based on our client’s education and work background, our office determined that she is eligible for EB-3 classification for her I-140 petition.  Our client eventually retained us in June 2020.

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 the PERM application could be filed at least 60 days from the job posting date or 30 days from the last ad. Within a week from our retention, the prevailing wage request was filed.  After we obtained the PW determination, our office filed the job order on February 11, 2021. On June 17, 2021, we filed PERM. 

On November 16, 2021, the Department of Labor issued a request for audit. The DOL requested documents from the Petitioner to determine whether the recruitment process was done properly. In response to the Audit request, our office prepared the response to Audit brief along with Employer’s declaration, notice of filing, and recruitment documentation on December 14, 2021.   

Eventually, on March 21, 2022, the PERM Labor Certification was approved – an EB3 position for the Filipina 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, employee’s W-2 copy, and other necessary supporting documents.

The I-140 Petition was filed on April 26, 2022 via regular processing service. Eventually, on July 19, 2022, the I-140 EB3 Petition for our Filipina client was approved without any Request for Evidence (RFE).

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CASE: H-1B Visa Extension Petition
PETITIONER:  Public School District in Saint Francis, SD
BENEFICIARY: Filipina Special Education Teacher

Our client is a Public School District in Saint Francis, SD. They contacted our office in May 2022 to seek legal assistance from our office for their foreign employee’s H-1B extension.  The beneficiary obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Special Education. The proffered position for the Beneficiary is a Special Education Teacher which qualifies as a specialty occupation. The Beneficiary has worked for her employer under a H-1B status since July 2020.   

Our office filed the H-1B visa petition on June 3, 2022 via premium processing. Eventually, our client’s H-1B application was approved on June 16, 2022.  Her H-1B is good until June 30, 2025. 

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CASE: PERM Labor Certification

EMPLOYER: Public School District

BENEFICIARY: Filipina Special Education Teacher

LOCATION: McIntosh, SD

Our client has an employer who was filling to file an I-140 Petition for her.  Our client has a Bachelor’s degree in Special Education, a valid South Dakota Teaching license, and has worked for her current employer since August 2018. Based on our client’s education and work background, our office determined that she is eligible for EB-3 classification for her I-140 petition.  Our client eventually retained us in June 2020.

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 the PERM application could be filed at least 60 days from the job posting date or 30 days from the last ad. Within a week from our retention, the prevailing wage request was filed.  After we obtained the PW determination, our office filed the job order on February 11, 2021.  On June 17, 2021, we filed PERM. 

On November 16, 2021, the Department of Labor issued a request for audit. The DOL requested documents from the Petitioner to determine whether the recruitment process was done properly. In response to the Audit request, our office prepared the response to Audit brief along with Employer’s declaration, notice of filing, and recruitment documentation on December 14, 2021.   

Eventually, on March 21, 2022, the PERM Labor Certification was approved – an EB3 position for the Filipina beneficiary. Our client can file the I-140 petition at any time.

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CASE: H-1B Visa Petition

PETITIONER: School District in Eagle Butte, SD

BENEFICIARY: Filipina Elementary School Teacher

ISSUES: Cap-Exempt, Nonprofit Organization Affiliated with an Institution of Higher Education

Our client is a public school district affiliated with several institutions of higher education. They contacted our office in January 2021 to seek legal assistance from our office for their foreign employee. The beneficiary is an Elementary School Teacher from the Philippines who has been working for this employer for the last 5 years under a  J-1 status. Though she was subject to the INA 212(e), two-year foreign residency requirement, she obtained a J-1 waiver from the USCIS through our firm’s legal assistance. 

The proffered position for the Beneficiary is an Elementary School Teacher. We showed that this is a “specialty occupation” because the minimum requirement for this position is a Bachelor’s Degree in Education or its equivalent.

In the first week of April 2020, the numerical cap of H-1B visas for fiscal year 2021 was already reached. However, our client is qualified for cap-exempt petitions since it is a non-profit organization affiliated with an Institution of Higher Education as defined in 8 C.F.R. 214.2(h)(19)(iii)(B). 

Once retained, our office filed the H-1B visa petition with various supporting documents on January 26, 2021, via premium processing. On February 3, 2021, the USCIS issued a Request for Evidence (RFE) and requested our client to submit more documents to prove its affiliation with institutions of higher education. Our office prepared the response and filed the Response to RFE on March 30, 2021. Eventually, our client’s H-1B application was approved on April 13, 2021. She can now work for her employer for three years on an H-1B status.

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CASE: PERM Labor Certification

EMPLOYER: Public School District

BENEFICIARY: Filipina High School Science Teacher

LOCATION: McIntosh, SD

Our client has a current employer willing to petition her for a third-preference petition (I-140).  Our client has a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry, a valid South Dakota Teaching license, and has worked for her current employer since August 2016. Based on our client’s education and qualifications, our office determined that she is clearly eligible for EB-3 classification for her I-140 petition.  Our client eventually retained us in February 2020.

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 the PERM application could be filed at least 60 days from the job posting date or 30 days from the last ad. Within a week from our retention, the prevailing wage request was filed.  After we obtained the PW determination, our office filed the job order on May 21, 2020.  On September 1, 2020, we filed PERM. 

Eventually, on April 19, 2021, the PERM Labor Certification was approved – an EB3 position for the Filipina beneficiary. Our client can file the I-140 petition at any time.

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CASE: J-1 Waiver (No Objection Statement)

NATIONALITY: Philippines

LOCATION: Eagle Butte, SD

Our client came from the Philippines on a J-1 in August 2015 to work as a teacher. She was subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement. She now has a US Citizen child and she wishes to apply for a waiver. 

Our office told our client that she can apply for a waiver under the No Objection Statement category based on the fact that she has a U.S. citizen child. 

On July 12, 2019, the J-1 Waiver Application (Form DS-3035) was filed to the Department of State.  We then prepared the EVP Packet upon receipt of her documents. On November 14, 2020, our office sent our client’s materials to the Waiver Review Committee in Manila, Philippines.  They eventually approved the No Objection Statement, forwarded the approval to the Philippine Consulate in DC to issue the official NOS, and the then on September 10, 2020, the Waiver Review Division issued a favorable recommendation based on the No Objection statement.  Eventually, on September 23, 2020, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for the waiver.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Green Card (Same Sex Marriage Case)

CLIENT: Filipino

LOCATION: Eagle Butte, SD

Our client came to the United States from the Philippines on a J-1 exchange visitor’s visa.  In December 2016, he married his U.S. Citizen same-sex spouse in South Dakota.  

On June 26, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court held that restricting U.S. federal interpretation of “marriage” and “spouse” to apply only to heterosexual unions, by Section 3 of the defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), is unconstitutional under the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment. United States v. Windsor, 570 U.S. ___ (2013). After Windsor decision, the USCIS implemented a new policy that the USCIS officer must review immigration via petitions filed on behalf of a same-sex spouse in the same manner as those filed on behalf of an opposite-sex spouse. As long as a same-sex couple is married in a U.S. state that recognizes same-sex marriage, their marriage shall be considered a valid marriage under the immigration law. 

They married in South Dakota where same-sex marriage is recognized. Our client contacted our office and retained us on August 26, 2019 for his I-485 adjustment of status application. His U.S.Citizen spouse already filed an  I-130 petition for him and it was approved. However, our client waited for getting his J-1 waiver before he can file his adjustment of status application. Our firm prepared and filed the I-485 adjustment of status application together with all necessary supporting documents on January 7, 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 via conference calls. On September 23, 2020, our client was interviewed at the Omaha, NE USCIS office. The interview went well and his green card application was approved on the same day.

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CASE: H-1B Visa Petition

PETITIONER: School District in Eagle Butte, SD

BENEFICIARY: Filipino Junior High Math Teacher

ISSUES: Cap-Exempt, Nonprofit Organization Affiliated with an Institution of Higher Education

Our client is a public school district affiliated with several institutions of higher education. They contacted our office in March 2020 to seek legal assistance from our office for their foreign employee. The beneficiary is a Junior High Math Teacher from the Philippines who has been working for this employer for the last 5 years under a J-1 status. Though he was subject to the INA 212(e), two-year foreign residency requirement, he already obtained a J-1 waiver from the USCIS. 

The proffered position for the Beneficiary is a Junior High Math Teacher. We showed that this is a “specialty occupation” because the minimum requirement for this position is a Bachelor’s Degree in Education or its equivalent.

In the first week of April, the numerical cap of H-1B visas for fiscal year 2021 was already reached. However, our client is qualified for cap-exempt petitions since it is a non-profit organization affiliated with an Institution of Higher Education as defined in 8 C.F.R. 214.2(h)(19)(iii)(B). 

Once retained, our office filed the H-1B visa petition with various supporting documents on August 7, 2020 via premium processing. Eventually, our client’s H-1B application was approved on August 19, 2020 without any RFE.  He can now work for his employer for three years on an H-1B status.

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CASE: I-485 Adjustment of Status / I-140 (EB-2 Category) / Schedule A 

APPLICANT: Filipina Physical Therapist

LOCATION: Philip, South Dakota

Our client is a physical therapist from the Philippines who is currently working for her employer on a H-1B status. Her current employer-sponsor was willing to petition her for a second-preference employment immigrant visa petition (I-140). Since she was a physical therapist, she was eligible for “Schedule A” classification.

The Department of Labor (DOL) maintains a schedule of occupations in its regulations, Schedule A included, for which the individual permanent labor certification procedure is not required. The schedule of pre-certified occupations is referred to as Schedule A, and is included in DOL regulations at 20 CFR 656.10. Based on an occupation’s inclusion on Schedule A, an employer may file an immigrant visa petition (I-140) directly with the (USCIS) without first going to the DOL for a labor certification. Usually, prior to filing I-140 petitions (EB-2 or EB-3 category), the employer must file a Labor Certification to the Department of Labor. However, for Schedule A cases, the employer does not have to go through the labor certification process. The position of Physical Therapist is included in Schedule A.

Our client has U.S. equivalent Master’s degrees in Physical Therapy and is a licensed physical therapist in the State of South Dakota. Our office was retained on September 10, 2018 and we filed the Prevailing Wage Determination immediately.

We filed the I-140 application on April 22, 2019 via premium processing. We included the job offer letter, the notice of filing, employment letter, and other necessary supporting documents. In our cover brief, we included the “ability to pay” argument and why nurse practitioners must fall under the Schedule A designation.  However, on April 26, 2019, the USCIS Nebraska Service Center issued Request for Evidence and requested our client to submit her marriage certificate and a letter from her employer stating the signed date of the notice of filing document. Our office filed the Response to RFE on April 29, 2019. Eventually, on May 2, 2019, the USCIS Nebraska Service Center approved her EB-2 I-140 petition. 

Once her I-140 petition was approved, she retained our office again and determined to file an adjustment of status application for her and her immediate family members. On June 25, 2019, our office filed an I-485 adjustment of status application for our client and her family. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices and fingerprint appointment came on time.

Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our client via conference calls as well. On December 9, 2019, our client was interviewed at Omaha Nebraska USCIS office. The interview went well, our client and her family members’ adjustment of status applications were approved by the USCIS on the same day of the interview.

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