CASE: I-485 / I-140 / National Interest Waiver

CLIENT: Korean

LOCATION: Akron, OH

Our client contacted us in December 2017 about the possibility of doing a National Interest Waiver self-petition. He is a Ph.D. student from South Korea and has a Master’s Degree in Engineering. Though he is a Ph.D. student, he is already considered as an exceptional researcher and scientist in the field of polymer engineering and nanofabrication research. 

Our client’s significant contributions have placed him at the pinnacle of his field. He has made important contributions to the field of nanofabrication based on layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly using two-dimensional (2D) materials. LbL assembly technique can create ultrathin films and highly tunable surfaces using diverse combinations of nanomaterials on various supports. Our client has incorporated 2D materials (e. g. graphene and molybdenum disulfide) into thin films using LbL assembly technique to produce materials with designed functionality. Because of his innovative experimental research, our client’s research works were highly evaluated by the 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 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 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 22-page brief for our client’s NIW filing. Our client also obtained 7 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. His NIW application contained 26 exhibits (Exhibit A to Z).

Our office filed his I-140(NIW) petition to the USCIS Nebraska Service Center on July 30, 2018. Eventually, on February 14, 2019, the USCIS approved his I-140 petition without any Requests for Evidence.  

Once his I-140 petition was approved, he retained our office again and determined to file an adjustment of status application for him and his wife. On July 3, 2019, our office filed an I-485 adjustment of status application for our client and his wife. 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 February 20, 2020, our client was interviewed at Pittsburgh Pennsylvania USCIS office. The interview went well, our client and his wife’s adjustment of status applications were approved by the USCIS on the same day of the interview.

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CASE: I-485 / National Interest Waiver

CLIENT: Korean

LOCATION: Columbus, OH

Our client contacted us about the possibility of doing a National Interest Waiver self-petition. She is a post-doctorate researcher from South Korea and she is an exceptional researcher and scientist in the field of cancer biology and biomedical research. 

Our client’s significant contributions have placed her at the pinnacle of her field. She has developed several animal models for breast cancer and pancreatic cancer focusing on the Brca1/2 and Palb2 genes. Individuals carrying mutations in these genes are highly predisposed to breast and pancreatic cancer. Specifically, by using her mouse models, she studied Palb2 pancreatic tumor pathology, characterizing differences and similarities of such cancers caused by Brca1/2 or Palb2 mutations and determined therapeutic effects of different chemotherapy drugs on these model mouse tumors. Our client’s experimental results provided important clues concerning treatment for human cancers initiated due to Brca1/2 or Palb2 mutations. Moreover, her research works 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 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 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 21-page brief for our client’s NIW filing. Our client also obtained 7 letters of recommendation from his 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 September 25, 2018. Eventually, on April 16, 2019, the USCIS approved her I-140 petition without any Requests for Evidence.  

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 husband. On May 16, 2019, our office filed an I-485 adjustment of status application for our client and his 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 2, 2019, our client was interviewed at Columbus Ohio USCIS office. Eventually, on February 6, 2020, our client and her husband’s adjustment of status applications were approved by the USCIS. 

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CASE: I-485 Adjustment of Status / 245(k)

APPLICANT: Filipina Speech Language Pathologist

LOCATION: North Dakota

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 speech language pathology, a valid North Dakota speech language pathologist license, and has worked for her current employer since March 2014. Based on our client’s education and 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 January 29, 2019, we promptly filed PERM. Eventually, on April 26, 2019, the PERM Labor Certification was approved – an EB2 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 most recent W-2 record, and other necessary supporting documents.

The I-140 Petition was filed on May 28, 2019 via regular processing service. Eventually, on August 22, 2019, the I-140 EB2 Petition for our Filipina client was approved without any Request for Evidence (RFE). We filed her I-140 petition and I-485 adjustment of status application concurrently. 

However, our office was informed that our client’s DS-2019 was not extended by her employer and she has continuously worked for her employer without the DHS’ authorization. Thus, she worked without authorization and overstayed her visa status. 

Section 245(k) of the Immigration and Nationality Act can render the normal bars to adjustment of status found in section 245(c)(2), (c)(7), and (c)(8) inapplicable to certain employment-based adjustment of status applicants who, since their last lawful admission to the United States have not, for an aggregate period of more than 180 days: 

1. Failed to maintain, continuously, a lawful status; 
2. Engaged in unauthorized employment; or 
3. Otherwise violated the terms and conditions of his or her admission

INA §245(k). 

An eligible derivative of an alien may benefit from section 245(k) in his or her own right if he or she has failed to maintain continuously a lawful status, worked without authorization, or otherwise violated the terms and conditions of his or her admission for an aggregate of 180 days or less pursuant to a lawful admission. 

(See page 2, Neufeld Memorandum July 14, 2008, “Applicability of section 245(k) to Certain Employment-Based Adjustment of Status Applications filed under Section 245(a). 

At least, our client has not accrued over 180 days of “failure to maintain lawful status” nor over 180 days of “unauthorized employment”, and as such, she was still eligible to adjust status based on the I-485 filing through INA 245(k).

As mentioned above, our office filed an I-485 adjustment of status application for our client and her husband along with her I-140 petition. Our office also submitted a detailed cover brief and explained why our client is still eligible for the adjustment of status through 245K subsection despite her overstay and unauthorized employment.  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 January 6, 2020, our client was interviewed at Minneapolis, Minnesota USCIS office. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office also accompanied our clients. Though interview was thoroughly held, on the same day of the interview, their I-485 applications were approved by the USCIS. 

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CASE: I-140 / National Interest Waiver

CLIENT: Korean

LOCATION: Seoul, South Korea

Our client contacted us about the possibility of doing a National Interest Waiver self-petition. He is a researcher in South Korea and he is an exceptional researcher and scientist in the field of Radio Frequency (RF) / microwave engineering and mobile and wireless communication networks research. 

Our client’s significant contributions have placed him at the pinnacle of his field. Throughout his research career, our client has demonstrated his exceptional research ability as a researcher and has contributed significantly to the general progress of the efforts in the secured and special purposed network analysis and applications. Specifically, our client’s outstanding research work has strong values for multiple application spaces including the Fifth-Generation (5G) based smart city communication applications, smart factor infrastructure design and implementation, and military data communication application. Because of his innovative research, our client’s research works were highly evaluated by the 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 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 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 21-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 Nebraska Service Center on April 15, 2019. Eventually, on December 19, 2019, the USCIS approved his I-140 petition without any Requests for Evidence.  He can file his immigrant visa via consular processing.

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CASE: I-485 based on Approved I-140 (EB-2)

 APPLICANT: Chinese

 LOCATION: Garden City, NY

Our client is a certified nurse practitioner from China, who is currently working at a dermatology clinic which was willing to petition her for a second-preference petition (I-140).  Our client has a Master’s Degree in Nursing and has worked for this clinic since 2013. She has maintained her status as an H-1B visa holder in the United States. She had an approved I-140 petition which was filed by her current employer and this I-140 petition’s priority date was May 5, 2015.

In June 2019, she contacted our office and retained us for her and her immediate family members’ I-485 adjustment of status applications. Our office filed an I-485 adjustment of status applications for our clients on July 19, 2019. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices and fingerprint appointment came on time.

Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our client via conference call as well. On December 16, 2019, our clients were interviewed at Holtsville New York USCIS office. Eventually, on December 17, 2019, her and her family members’ green card applications were approved.

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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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CASE: I-485 / National Interest Waiver

CLIENT: Canadian

LOCATION: Spokane, WA

Our client contacted us about the possibility of doing a National Interest Waiver self-petition. He is a lead mining engineer from South Korea (Citizen of Canada) and currently works for a federal agency under his TN status. He is an exceptional researcher and scientist in the field of mining engineering and rock mechanics research. 

Our client’s significant contributions have placed him at the pinnacle of his field. He is an extraordinary researcher and scientist in the field of Mining Engineering and Rock Engineering Research with over 22 years of practical research experience with emphasis on the development of safe and economical excavations in underground mines – from which to extract minerals. Specifically, our client’s work has the purpose of determining hazard recognition and engineering solutions for the ground control problems that cause injuries and fatalities in the mining industry. Moreover, his research works 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 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 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 Nebraska Service Center on October 10, 2018. Eventually, on April 22, 2019, the USCIS approved his I-140 petition without any Requests for Evidence.  

Once his I-140 petition was approved, he retained our office again and determined to file an adjustment of status application for him and his immediate family members. On June 19, 2019, our office filed an I-485 adjustment of status application for our client and his 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 4, 2019, our client was interviewed at Spokane Washington USCIS office. The interview went well, our client and his family members’ adjustment of status applications were approved by the USCIS on the same day of the interview. 

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CASE: I-140 / National Interest Waiver

CLIENT: Filipino

LOCATION: Boise, ID

Our client contacted us in March 2019 about the possibility of doing a National Interest Waiver self-petition. He is a researcher from the Philippines and has a Ph.D. Degree in Atmospheric Science. He is already considered an exceptional researcher and scientist in the field of atmospheric science research. 

Our client’s significant contributions have placed him at the pinnacle of his field. Our client’s research centers on ozone, a key air pollutant that is produced from precursor emissions and has adverse impacts on human health and ecosystems. Because of his innovative research, our client’s research works were highly evaluated by the 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 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 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 8 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 Nebraska Service Center on June 10, 2019. Eventually, on November 20, 2019, the USCIS approved his I-140 petition without any Requests for Evidence.  Now, he can file his adjustment of status application.

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CASE: I-485 based on Approved I-140 (EB-2)

 APPLICANT: Korean

 LOCATION: Bowling Green, Ohio

Our client is an assistant professor from South Korea, who is currently teaching at a state university which was willing to petition her for a second-preference petition (I-140).  Our client has a Ph.D. degree and has worked for this school since 2017. She has maintained her status as an H-1B visa holder in the United States. She had an approved I-140 petition which was filed by her current employer and this I-140 petition’s priority date was June 12, 2018.

In November 2018, she contacted our office and retained us for her I-485 adjustment of status application. Our office filed an I-485 adjustment of status application for our client on March 14, 2019. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices and fingerprint appointment came on time.

Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our client via conference call as well. On September 17, 2019, our client was interviewed at Cleveland Ohio USCIS office. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office also accompanied our client as well. Though her interview went well, the visa numbers were not available for her case in September of 2019. Nevertheless, on November 15, 2019, her green card application was approved.

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CASE: I-485 Adjustment of Status based on Approved EB-2 Schedule A I-140

EMPLOYER: Outpatient Mental Health Center

BENEFICIARY: Korean Nurse Practitioner

LOCATION: Orem, Utah

Our client is a certified mental health nurse practitioner. His current employer was willing to petition him for a second-preference employment immigrant visa petition (I-140). Since he is a certified mental health 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 Ph.D. degree in nursing and is a certified Nurse Practitioner. Our office was retained on August 9, 2018, and we filed the Prevailing Wage Determination immediately.

We filed the I-140 application on January 18, 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.  Eventually, on January 30, 2019, the USCIS Nebraska Service Center approved his EB-2 I-140 petition. 

Once his I-140 petition was approved, he retained our office again and determined to file an adjustment of status application for him and his wife. On February 26, 2019, our office filed an I-485 adjustment of status application for our client and his wife. 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 September 16, 2019, our client was interviewed at Salt Lake City Utah USCIS office. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office also accompanied our clients. Though their interview went well, the visa numbers were not available for their cases in September of 2019. Nevertheless, on November 13, 2019, their I-485 applications were approved by the USCIS. 

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