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

CLIENT: Korean Operations Research Analyst

LOCATION: Dallas, Texas

Our client is from South Korea and his prospective employer was willing to do an immigration petition for him, second-preference. Our client has a Master’s degree in Business Administration. After talking to our client, our firm concluded that his employer can petition him as an Operations Research Analyst. Based on our client’s education and work background, our office determined that 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 May 18, 2017, the prevailing wage request was filed.  After we obtained Prevailing Wage determination, our office filed the job order on August 8, 2017. On October 11, 2017, we promptly filed PERM. Eventually, on March 19, 2018, 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 April 13, 2018 via premium processing service. Eventually, on April 26, 2018, 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 and determined to file an adjustment of status application for him and his wife. On May 15, 2018, our office filed an I-485 adjustment of status application for our clients. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices and fingerprint appointment came on time.

Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our clients via conference calls as well. On October 29, 2018, our clients were interviewed at Irving Texas USCIS office.  Their interview went well; and eventually, their I-485 applications were approved by the USCIS on October 30, 2018.

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CASE: J-1 Waiver (No Objection Statement)

NATIONALITY: Philippines

LOCATION: California

Our client came from the Philippines on a J-1 in September 2013 to work as a teacher. She was subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement. Later, she got married to her U.S. citizen husband and consulted with our firm for her J-1 visa waiver prior to applying for adjustment of status. If someone is subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement, he or she cannot get a green card in the United States until he or she fulfills the requirement or obtains a waiver.

Upon retention, our office promptly prepared a waiver request through a No Objection Statement (NOS) from the Philippine Embassy in the United States and eventually the EVP in the Philippines.

On June 8, 2018, the J-1 Waiver Application (Form DS-3035) was filed to the Department of State.  We also sent a request to the California State Government to get authentication for the necessary documents.  Later, these authenticated documents and No Objection Application (for the Philippines Government) were sent to the Philippines Consulate General in Los Angeles for further authentication.  On July 27, 2018, our office sent our client’s materials to the Waiver Review Committee in Manila, Philippines. Then, the Waiver Review Committee forwarded the materials and favorable recommendation to the Philippine Embassy in D.C. who eventually issued a No Objection Statement.

On September 13, 2018, the Waiver Review Division issued a favorable recommendation based on the No Objection statement.  Eventually, on October 11, 2018, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for the waiver. Now, our client can file for her adjustment status application along with her U.S. Citizen husband’s I-130 petition for her.

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CASE: I-485 Adjustment of Status / I-140 (EB-3)

CLIENT: Korean In-House Graphic / Web Design Specialist

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client had a prospective employer that was willing to petition her for a third-preference petition (I-140).  Our client has a bachelor’s degree in a graphic design in the United States and work experience. Based on our client’s education and  professional background, our office determined that she is eligible for EB-3 classification for her I-140 petition. Our client eventually retained us in May 2016.

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 November 4, 2016. On April 7, 2017, we promptly filed PERM.

However, on August 22, 2017, the Department of Labor issued a request for audit. The DOL requested documents from 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 September 5, 2017.  Eventually, on December 11, 2017, the PERM Labor Certification was approved – an EB3 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 January 31, 2018 via premium processing service. Eventually, on February 12, 2018, the I-140 EB3 Petition for our Korean client was approved without any Request for Evidence (RFE).

Once her I-140 petition was approved, she retained our office again and determined to file an adjustment of status application for her. On February 20, 2018, our office filed an I-485 adjustment of status application for our client. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices and fingerprint appointment came on time.

Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our client at our office as well. On July 30, 2018, our client was interviewed at Cleveland Ohio USCIS office. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office also accompanied our client as well. However, the priority date of Eb-3 category for the Korean national backlogged. Our client had to wait until the priority date becomes current. In October 2018, her priority date becomes current. Eventually, her I-485 application was approved by the USCIS on October 12, 2018.

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CASE: J-1 Waiver (No Objection Statement)

NATIONALITY: Philippines

LOCATION: Montana

Our client came from the Philippines on a J-1 Visa in August 2015 to work as a teacher. Based on her visa and DS-2019, she was subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement.

In February 2018, she got married to her U.S. citizen husband and later on consulted with our firm for her J-1 visa waiver prior to applying for adjustment of status. If someone is subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement, he or she cannot get a green card in the United States until he or she fulfills the requirement or obtains a waiver.

Upon retention, our office promptly prepared a waiver request through a No Objection Statement (NOS) from the Philippine Embassy in the United States and eventually the EVP in the Philippines.

On March 8, 2018, the J-1 Waiver Application (Form DS-3035) was filed to the Department of State.  We also sent a request to the Montana State Government to get authentication for the necessary documents.  Later, these authenticated documents and No Objection Application (for the Philippines Government) were sent to the Philippines Consulate General in Chicago for further authentication.  On April 11, 2018, our office sent our client’s materials to the Waiver Review Committee in Manila, Philippines. Then, the Waiver Review Committee forwarded the materials and favorable recommendation to the Philippine Embassy in D.C. who eventually issued a No Objection Statement.

On August 6, 2018, the Waiver Review Division issued a favorable recommendation based on the No Objection statement.  Eventually, on September 29, 2018, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for the waiver. Now, our client can file for her adjustment status application along with her U.S. Citizen husband’s I-130 petition for her.

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

EMPLOYER: Nursing Care Facility

BENEFICIARY: Filipina Nurse Manager in Manila, Philippines

LOCATION: Houston, TX

Our client’s beneficiary is a Filipina lady who has worked in the Philippines as a registered nurse. Our client was willing to petition her for a second-preference employment immigrant visa petition (I-140). Since she has a registered nurse license and the proffered position for her is a nurse manager at the nursing care facility, the petitioner wanted to try going for a “Schedule A” classification. They also wanted to do EB2 (requiring at least a Masters degree or Bachelors degree + 5 years of experience).

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 having to file a Labor Certification with the Department of Labor. 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. We argued that the position of Health Services Manager should be classified under Schedule A. We argued that it falls under the broad spectrum of “professional nurse” occupations. We also argued that the job description has excerpts that fall under “professional nurse” and that the description justifies the requirements also of Bachelor’s degree in nursing and five years of related experiences.

Our client has a bachelor’s degree in nursing and more than 5 years of experience as a registered nurse. She also has a registered nursing license in the state of Texas. Our office was retained and we started on the Prevailing Wage Determination filing and other related matters.

Once the prevailing wage was determined, we filed the I-140 application on September 26, 2018 via premium processing. We included a job offer letter, the notice of filing, employment letter, past experience letter, and other necessary supporting documents. In our cover brief, we included the “ability to pay” argument and why the nurse manager position falls under a Schedule A and EB2 designation.

Eventually, on October 4, 2018, the USCIS Texas Service Center approved her EB-2 I-140 petition. Now, with the approved EB-2 I-140 petition (priority date for EB2 Philippines nationals is current), she can file her immigrant visa application.

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CASE: I-140 (EB-3 / Skilled Worker)    
EMPLOYER: Chinese Restaurant
BENEFICIARY: Chinese
LOCATION: Ohio

Our client is a Chinese restaurant in Ohio. They had a prospective employee from China and they were willing to petition him for a skilled worker, third-preference petition (I-140). Their prospective employee has more than 2 years of experience as a Chinese cook. After talking to our client, our firm concluded that they can petition him as a Chinese Specialty Cook. Our client eventually retained us on September 29, 2016.

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 October 6, 2016, the prevailing wage request was filed.  After we got the PW determination, our office filed the job order on January 24, 2017. On June 9, 2017, we promptly filed PERM. Eventually, on October 25, 2017, the PERM Labor Certification was approved – an EB3 position for the Chinese 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 January 22, 2018 via regular processing service. Eventually, on September 18, 2018, the I-140 EB3 Petition for our Chinese client was approved without any Request for Evidence (RFE). He can file an immigrant visa once his priority date becomes current.

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

EMPLOYER: Nursing Care Facility

BENEFICIARY: Filipina Physical Therapist

LOCATION: Houston, TX

Our client is a physical therapist in the Philippines. Her prospective 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 Texas. Our office was retained on May 9, 2018 and we filed the Prevailing Wage Determination immediately.

We filed the I-140 application on September 10, 2018 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 September 24, 2018, the USCIS Texas Service Center approved her EB-2 I-140 petition. Now, with the approved EB-2 I-140 petition (priority date for EB2 Philippines nationals will be current in October 2018), she can file his immigrant visa application next month.

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

EMPLOYER: Nursing / Rehabilitation Center

BENEFICIARY: Nepalese

LOCATION: Lincoln, NE

Our client is a registered nurse from Nepal licensed in the state of Nebraska. She came to the United States and currently works in the United States on her TPS status.  Her current employer was willing to petition her for a third-preference employment immigrant visa petition (I-140).

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

Our client has a nursing degree and has worked for the sponsor-employer. Our firm told her that her employer can petition her as a Registered Nurse under the schedule A category. Our office was retained on April 12, 2018 and started on her Prevailing Wage Request.

We filed the I-140 application on July 31, 2018 via premium processing. We included the job offer letter, the notice of filing, and other necessary supporting documents.  However, the USCIS issued Request for Evidence on August 8, 2018 and requested our client to submit the Petitioner’s financial record to show ability to pay the proffered wage for our client. We filed the Response to RFE on August 21, 2018 and eventually, on September 1, 2018, the I-140 was approved.

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CASE: EB-2 I-140

EMPLOYER: Public Schools District

BENEFICIARY: Filipino Speech Language Pathologist

LOCATION: North Dakota

Our client has a current employer who was willing to petition him 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 his current employer since August 2015. Based on our client’s education 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 March 2017.

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 June 20, 2017. On December 13, 2017, we promptly filed PERM. Eventually, on April 26, 2018, the PERM Labor Certification was approved – an EB2 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, employer’s tax records, and other necessary supporting documents. The I-140 Petition was filed on July 26, 2018 via premium processing service.

However, on August 6, 2018, the USCIS Nebraska Service Center issued Request for Evidence (RFE) and requested our client to submit the documents to show special skills for Beneficiary. On September 5, 2018, our office filed Response to RFE and included the letter from the Petitioner regarding the proof that Beneficiary already obtained his special skills for the proffered position.

Eventually, on September 14, 2018, the I-140 EB2 Petition for our Filipino client was approved. He can file an I-485 adjustment of status application for his green card in October 2018.

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CASE: PERM Labor Certification    
EMPLOYER:  Research Foundation in Washington, D.C.
BENEFICIARY: French Staff Accountant

Our client is from France. His current employer was willing to do an immigration petition for him, third-preference. Our client has a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and has worked for his current employer on an H-1B status since 2013. After talking to our client, our firm concluded that his employer can petition him as a Staff Accountant. Based on our client’s educational, professional and work backgrounds, our office determined that he clearly eligible for EB-3 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 18, 2017, the prevailing wage request was filed.  After we obtained Prevailing Wage determination, our office filed the job order on April 23, 2018. On July 9, 2018, we promptly filed PERM. Eventually, on August 31, 2018, the PERM Labor Certification was approved – an EB3 position for the French beneficiary. Now our client can file the I-140 petition.

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