CASE: EB-3 I-140

EMPLOYER: School

BENEFICIARY: Filipina Middle School Science Teacher

LOCATION: Mt. Clemens, MI

Our client has a current employer that was willing to petition for a third-preference I-140.  Our client has a Bachelor’s degree in Education, a valid Michigan Teaching license, and has worked for her current employer since May 2018. Based on our client’s education and credentials, our office determined that she is eligible for EB-3 classification for her I-140 petition.  Our client retained us in October 2019.

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 only 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 assisted the Petitioner to file the job order on June 26, 2020.  On October 12, 2020, we filed PERM.  Eventually, on May 3, 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, employer’s tax records, and other necessary supporting documents. The I-140 Petition was filed on July 2, 2021 via regular processing. On June 17, 2022, the I-140 EB3 Petition for our Filipina client was approved without any Request for Evidence (RFE).

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CASE: Immigrant Visa / I-140 (EB-3 Category) / Schedule A 

EMPLOYER: Nursing / Rehabilitation Center

BENEFICIARY: Filipino Registered Nurse in the Philippines

LOCATION: Manila, Philippines

Our client is a Filipino registered nurse who currently works in the Philippines. His prospective US employer was willing to petition him for a third-preference employment immigrant visa I-140 as a registered nurse. 

Since he is a registered nurse, he 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 Professional Nurses is included in Schedule A.

Our client has a nursing degree and has a Texas Registered Nursing License. Our firm told him that his prospective employer can petition him as a Registered Nurse under the schedule A category. Our office was retained on February 18, 2019, and we started on his Prevailing Wage Request.

We filed the I-140 application on June 19, 2019 via regular processing. We included the job offer letter, the notice of filing, and other necessary supporting documents. OnJanuary 22, 2020, the USCIS Texas Service Center issued Request for Evidence and requested our client to submit documents to show its “ability to pay” the proffered wage for this beneficiary. Our office filed Response to RFE on February 3, 2020. Eventually, on February 19, 2020, our client’s I-140 petition was approved. 

Once his I-140 was approved, our client retained our office again for his immigrant visa processing. Our office filed the immigrant visa packets to the National Visa Center on December 14, 2020, who in turn forwarded the client’s materials to the U.S. Embassy in Manila, Philippines. An interview notice was set for our client at the U.S. Embassy in Manila. On June 27, 2022, our client appeared at the U.S. Embassy in Manila, Philippines. The interview went well and the Embassy approved and issued his immigrant visa. With the approved Immigrant Visa, our client can come to the United States immediately, and he will get his green card within two months of entry.

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CASE: I-485 Adjustment of Status based on approved EB-2 I-140 petition

EMPLOYER: Cosmetic Products Manufacturer

BENEFICIARY: Korean Cosmetic Product Plant Manager

LOCATION: Solon, OH

Our client is currently working as a Cosmetic Product Plant Manager and his employer was willing to petition for a second-preference I-140.  Our client has a Bachelor’s of Science Degree and has more than 5 years of experience as a Production Director. After talking to our client, our firm concluded that his employer can petition him as a Cosmetic Product Plant Manager. 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 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 on August 24, 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 foreign degree evaluation report, our office filed the job order on February 11, 2021.  On April 19, 2021, we promptly filed PERM.  Eventually, on August 31, 2021, the PERM Labor Certification was approved – an EB2 position for the Korean beneficiary. 

We then proceeded with the I-140 Petition. 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 September 7, 2021 via premium processing service. Eventually, on September 20, 2021, the I-140 EB2 Petition for our Korean client was approved without any Request for Evidence (RFE). 

Once his I-140 petition was approved, he retained our office again for theadjustment of status application. On October 14, 2021, our office filed I-485 adjustment of status applications. 

Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our client via conference calls. On June 21, 2022, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland Ohio USCIS office. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office also accompanied our clients. Eventually, his I-485 application was approved by the USCIS on the same day of the interview.

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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: I-140 (EB-3)

EMPLOYER: Public School District

BENEFICIARY: Filipino High School Biology Teacher

LOCATION: Casa Grande, AZ

Our client has an employer that was willing to file a third-preference I-140 for him. Our client has a Bachelor’s degree in Biology, a valid Arizona Teaching license, and has worked for his current employer since July 2016. Based on our client’s education and credentials, our office determined that he is clearly eligible for EB-3 classification for his I-140 petition.  Our client eventually retained us in May 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 only 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 September 3, 2020.  On November 20, 2020, we filed the PERM application. 

On June 17, 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 June 29, 2021.  Eventually, on September 29, 2021, the PERM Labor Certification was approved – an EB3 position for the Filipino 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 November 12, 2021 via regular processing service. Eventually, on June 2, 2022, the I-140 EB3 Petition for our Filipino client was approved without any Request for Evidence (RFE).

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CASE: I-140 (EB-3)

EMPLOYER: Public School District

BENEFICIARY: Filipina High School Biology Teacher

LOCATION: Casa Grande, AZ

Our client has an employer was willing to petition her for a third-preference I-140.  Our client has a Bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education, a valid Arizona Teaching license, and has worked for her current employer since July 2016. Based on our client’s education and credentials, our office determined that she is eligible for EB-3. Our client retained us in April 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 only 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 August 31, 2020.  On December 8, 2020, we promptly filed PERM. 

On July 2, 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 July 29, 2021.  Eventually, on November 1, 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 December 3, 2021 via regular processing. On May 23, 2022, the I-140 EB3 Petition for our Filipina client was approved without any Request for Evidence (RFE).

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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 (EB-3)

EMPLOYER: Public School District

BENEFICIARY: Filipino High School Math Teacher

LOCATION: Casa Grande, AZ

Our client has an employer willing to do an I-140 Petition for him. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Math, a valid Arizona Teaching license, and has worked for his employer since July 2016. Based on his education and credentials, our office determined that he is eligible for EB-3 classification for his I-140 petition.  We were retained in May 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 only 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 September 10, 2020.  On December 11, 2020, we filed PERM. 

On July 7, 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 July 23, 2021. Eventually, on November 1, 2021, the PERM Labor Certification was approved – an EB3 position for the Filipino 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 November 19, 2021 via regular processing. On May 17, 2022, the I-140 EB3 Petition for our Filipino client was approved without any Request for Evidence (RFE).

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CASE: I-485/ National Interest Waiver

CLIENT: Korean

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client contacted us about the possibility of doing a National Interest Waiver self-petition. He is a researcher from South Korea in the field of Biomedical Engineering. 

Our client’s significant contributions have placed him at the pinnacle of his field. Our client’s research include advanced medical image processing, machine/deep learning techniques, and its medical applications. Throughout his career, he has made important and innovative contributions to the field of biomedical engineering and his research successfully demonstrated in various cardiovascular imaging modalities, such as echocardiogram, intravascular ultrasound (IVUS), and intravascular optical coherence tomogram (IVOCT). Because of his innovative research, our client’s 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 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 26-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 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 Nebraska Service Center on December 29, 2020. On March 3, 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. Eventually, on May 17, 2022, our client and his immediate family members’ adjustment of status applications were approved by the USCIS without any Request for Evidence (RFE).  

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CASE: H-1B Visa Petition

PETITIONER:  Dental Clinic

BENEFICIARY: Egyptian Periodontist in Toledo, OH

Our client is a dental clinic located in Toledo Ohio.  They contacted our office in early March of this year to seek legal assistance for a possible H-1B petition for their foreign employee.

The beneficiary obtained his Master of Dentistry in the United States. Also, he had 3 years of residency training in Periodontics in the U.S. Moreover, he is a licensed dentist in the state of Ohio. The proffered position for the Beneficiary is an associate periodontist which clearly qualifies as a specialty occupation.

Upon retention, our office prepared and registered for the H-1B selection process. His case was selected for the 2023 Fiscal Year H-1B quota. Our office prepared and eventually filed the H-1B visa petition with various supporting documents on April 27, 2022 via premium processing.  Our client’s H-1B application was approved on May 6, 2022 without any Request for Evidence (RFE).

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