CASE: EB-2 I-140    
EMPLOYER: Dental Group in Cleveland, OH
BENEFICIARY: Canadian Dentist

Our Canadian client works in the United States as an associate dentist under H-1B status. His current employer was willing to do an immigration petition for him, second-preference. Our client has a Doctor of Dental Medicine degree in the United States. Based on our client’s education and work background, he is clearly 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 December 10, 2019, the prevailing wage request was filed.  After we obtained the Prevailing Wage determination, our office filed the job order on April 1, 2020.  On June 8, 2020, we promptly filed PERM.  Eventually, on December 16, 2020, the PERM Labor Certification was approved – an EB2 position for the Canadian beneficiary. 

We then proceeded with the I-140 Petition filing. We submitted the “ability to pay” letter for the I-140 petition. We included the job offer letter, employer’s tax records, and other necessary supporting documents.

The I-140 Petition was filed on January 14, 2021, via regular processing service. We also filed his I-485 adjustment of status application simultaneously since his priority date was current. On April 14, 2021, our office filed a premium processing upgrade request to the USCIS upon our client’s request. Eventually, on April 26, 2021, the I-140 EB2 Petition for our Canadian client was approved without any Request for Evidence (RFE). 

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CASE: EB-2 I-140    
EMPLOYER: Dental Group in Cleveland, OH
BENEFICIARY: Korean Dentist

Our client is from South Korea, who is currently working in the United States as an associate dentist on an H-1B status. Her current employer was willing to do an immigration petition for her, second-preference. Our client has a Doctor of Dental Medicine degree in the United States. After talking to our client, our firm concluded that her employer can petition her as an associate dentist. Based on our client’s education and work background, our office determined that she 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 December 6, 2019, the prevailing wage request was filed.  After we obtained the Prevailing Wage determination, our office filed the job order on March 30, 2020.  On June 4, 2020, we filed PERM.  Eventually, on December 3, 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 December 28, 2020, via regular processing service. We also filed her I-485 adjustment of status application simultaneously since her priority date was current. On April 9, 2021, our office filed a premium processing upgrade request to the USCIS upon our client’s request. Eventually, on April 21, 2021, the I-140 EB2 Petition for our Korean client was approved without any Request for Evidence (RFE). 

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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: I-485 Adjustment of Status / EB-2 I-140

EMPLOYER: Nutrition Management Company

BENEFICIARY: Taiwanese Consulting Dietician in Toledo, OH

Our client has a current employer that was willing to petition her for a second-preference petition (I-140).  Our client has a master’s degree in nutrition, a valid state dietician license, and has worked for her current employer since November 2018. Based on our client’s education an work background, our office determined that she is eligible for EB-2 classification for her I-140 petition.  

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 October 8, 2019.  On February 22, 2020, we filed PERM.  Eventually, on June 18, 2020, the PERM Labor Certification was approved – an EB2 position for the Taiwanese 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 August 28, 2020, via regular processing. We also filed her I-485 adjustment of status application simultaneously since her priority date was current. On October 1, 2020, our office filed a premium processing upgrade request to the USCIS upon our client’s request. Eventually, on October 14, 2020, the I-140 EB2 Petition for our Taiwanese client was approved without any Request for Evidence (RFE). 

When we filed her I-140 petition, she concurrently filed her I-485 adjustment of status application. On March 30, 2021, the USCIS approved our client’s adjustment of status application without an interview. She is now a green card holder.

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CASE: I-140 (EB-2 Category) / Schedule A / Premium Processing

EMPLOYER: Physician’s Office

BENEFICIARY: Taiwanese Nurse Practitioner

LOCATION: Brooklyn, NY

Our client is a certified nurse practitioner. Her prospective employer was willing to petition her for a second-preference employment immigrant visa petition (I-140). Since she was a certified nurse practitioner, 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 Nurse Practitioner is included in Schedule A.

Our client has a Bachelors and Masters degree in nursing and is a certified Nurse Practitioner. Our office was retained and we filed the Prevailing Wage Determination immediately.

We filed the I-140 application on March 9, 2021 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. On April 8, 2021, the USCIS Nebraska Service Center approved her EB-2 I-140 petition. Since the priority date for Taiwanese nationals is current for the EB-2 category, she is eligible to file her adjustment of status application now.

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CASE: I-140 (EB-2 Category) / Schedule A / Premium Processing

EMPLOYER: Physician’s Office

BENEFICIARY: Nepalese Nurse Practitioner

LOCATION: Bridgeport, CT

Our client is a certified nurse practitioner. Her prospective employer was willing to petition her for a second-preference employment immigrant visa petition (I-140). Since she was a certified nurse practitioner, she was eligible for EB2 and “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 Nurse Practitioner is included in Schedule A.

Our client has a Bachelors and Masters degree in nursing and is a certified Nurse Practitioner. Our office was retained and we filed the Prevailing Wage Determination.

We filed the I-140 application on March 4, 2021 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.  On March 17, 2021, without any Request for Evidence (RFE), the USCIS Nebraska Service Center approved her EB-2 I-140 petition. Since the priority date for Nepalese nationals is current for the EB-2 category, she is eligible to file her adjustment of status application now.

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CASE: PERM Labor Certification    
EMPLOYER: Dental Group in Cleveland, OH
BENEFICIARY: Canadian Dentist

Our client is from Canada, currently working in the United States as an associate dentist on an H-1B status. His employer was willing to do an immigration petition for him, second-preference. Our client has a Doctor of Dental Medicine degree in the United States. After talking to our client, our firm concluded that his employer can petition him as an associate dentist. Based on our client’s education and professional background, 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. PERM could be filed at least 60 days from the job posting date or 30 days from the last ad. On December 10, 2019, the prevailing wage request was filed.  After we obtained the Prevailing Wage determination, our office filed the job order on April 1, 2020.  On June 8, 2020, we promptly PERM. On December 16, 2020, the PERM Labor Certification was approved – an EB2 position for the Canadian beneficiary. Now the I-140 petition can be filed.

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CASE: I-485 Adjustment of Status

EMPLOYER: Physicians’ Office

BENEFICIARY: Canadian Nurse Practitioner

LOCATION: St. Louis, MO

Our client is a certified nurse practitioner. Her prospective employer was willing to petition her for a second-preference employment immigrant visa petition (I-140). Since she is a certified nurse practitioner, she is 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 Nurse Practitioner is included in Schedule A.

Our client has a Bachelors and Masters degree in nursing and is a Certified Nurse Practitioner. Our office was retained on August 12, 2019 and we filed the Prevailing Wage Determination immediately.

We filed the I-140 application on January 28, 2020 via premium processing. We included the job offer letter, 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.  On February 5, 2020, the USCIS Nebraska Service Center issued a Request for Evidence and requested the Petitioner to submit its business existence documents such as IRS FEIN issuance letter, articles of incorporation, and business license. Our office filed the Response to RFE on February 13, 2020. On February 25, 2020, the USCIS Nebraska Service Center approved her EB-2 I-140 petition. 

Once the I-140 petition was approved, our client retained our office again for her and her husband’s I-485 adjustment of status applications. Our office filed the I-485 adjustment of status applications on May 25, 2020. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices and fingerprint appointment came on time.

Eventually, on November 6, 2020, the USCIS Nebraska Service Center approved our clients’ adjustment of status applications without an interview. They are now green card holders.

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CASE: I-140 / National Interest Waiver

CLIENT: Korean

LOCATION: Oxford, OH

Our client contacted us about the possibility of doing a National Interest Waiver self-petition. She is from South Korea who works at a university in Ohio as an assistant professor. She is an exceptional researcher in the field of social work and cancer survivorship research. 

Our client’s significant contributions have placed her at the pinnacle of her field. She is conducting research on areas of vital interest to public health and well-being in the United States. Her research investigates racial and ethnic disparities in influenza vaccination and cancer screening behavior; care for cancer survivors in racial and ethnic minority groups; and effects of culture on disparities in chronic disease prevention and management. Moreover, our client’s research work were highly evaluated by reviewers of various journals and by colleagues and experts in the field.

Upon review of her credentials and qualifications, our office determined that she was definitely 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 her 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 23-page brief for our client’s NIW filing. Our client also obtained 8 letters of recommendation from her colleagues and internationally-recognized researchers. Our office also included her 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 her field of endeavor, that she 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 her I-140(NIW) petition to the USCIS Nebraska Service Center on January 29, 2020. Eventually, on October 19, 2020, the USCIS approved her I-140 petition without any Requests for Evidence. 

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CASE: I-140 (EB-2 Category) / Schedule A / Premium Processing

EMPLOYER: Physicians’ Office

BENEFICIARY: Kenyan Nurse Practitioner

LOCATION: Houston, TX

Our client is a family nurse practitioner. Her prospective employer was willing to petition her for a second-preference employment immigrant visa petition (I-140). Since she is a family nurse practitioner, she is 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 Nurse Practitioner is included in Schedule A.

Our client has a Bachelors and Masters degree in nursing and is a Certified Nurse Practitioner. Our office was retained on March 16, 2020, and we filed the Prevailing Wage Determination immediately.

We filed the I-140 application on September 25, 2020 via premium processing. We included the job offer letter, 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.  Eventually, on October 14, 2020, the USCIS Texas Service Center approved her EB-2 I-140 petition without a Request for Evidence (RFE). Since the priority date for a Kenyan national is current for the EB-2 category, she is eligible to file her adjustment of status application now.

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