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

EMPLOYER: Hospital

BENEFICIARY: Filipino Registered Nurse

Our client’s beneficiary is a registered nurse from the Philippines who is currently working in the UAE. His prospective U.S. employer was willing to petition him for a third-preference employment immigrant visa petition (I-140). 

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 Bachelor’s of Nursing degree and has passed NCLEX exam. Our firm told him that his employer can petition him as a Registered Nurse under the schedule A category. Our office was retained on May 4, 2020, and started on his Prevailing Wage Request.

We filed the I-140 application on November 5, 2020 via premium processing service. We included the job offer letter, the notice of filing, and other necessary supporting documents.

Eventually, on November 17, 2020, the I-140 was approved. 

Once his I-140 was approved, our client retained our office again for his immigrant visa processing. Once we were retained, our office filed the immigrant visa packets to the National Visa Center on December 18, 2020, who in turn forwarded the client’s materials to the U.S. Embassy in Abu Dhabi, UAE. An interview notice was set for the client at the U.S. Embassy in UAE. On January 20, 2022, our client appeared at the U.S. Embassy in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Eventually, on March 16, 2022, 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 / EB-2 I-140  
APPLICANT: Korean Dentist in Cleveland, OH

Our client is from South Korea, who is currently working in the United States as an associate dentist on 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. 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.  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. On April 21, 2021, the I-140 EB2 Petition for our Korean client was approved without any Request for Evidence (RFE). On March 24, 2022, her I-485 adjustment of status application was approved without any Request for Evidence (RFE).

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CASE: I-485 Adjustment of Status    
APPLICANT: Canadian Dentist in Cleveland, OH

Our client is from Canada, who is currently working in the United States as an associate dentist on an 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. 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 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 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 application. 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. On April 26, 2021, the I-140 EB2 Petition for our Canadian client was approved. Eventually, on March 14, 2022, his I-485 adjustment of status application was approved without any Request for Evidence (RFE). 

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CASE: I-140 / 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 an exceptional scientist in the field of Condensed Matter Physics research. 

Our client’s 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 work were highly evaluated by the reviewers of various journals, 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. The AAO set new standards for NIW cases in Matter of Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. 884 (AAO 2016). Under this 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 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 Texas Service Center on October 5, 2021. On March 15, 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. His adjustment of status application will be approved soon as well.

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CASE: PERM Labor Certification

EMPLOYER: Public School District

BENEFICIARY: Filipina Special Education Teacher

LOCATION: McIntosh, SD

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

Prior to filing PERM, our firm prepared the prevailing wage request, job order, advertisements, internal job posting, recruitment report, and all other steps which are important pre-PERM filing. Take note that the PERM application could be filed at least 60 days from the job posting date or 30 days from the last ad. Within a week from our retention, the prevailing wage request was filed.  After we obtained the PW determination, our office filed the job order on February 11, 2021.  On June 17, 2021, we filed PERM. 

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

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

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CASE: I-140 (EB-3)

EMPLOYER: Online IT Service Petitioner 

BENEFICIARY: Kyrgyz Network and Computer Systems Administrator in Chicago, IL

Our client has a prospective employer that was willing to file and I-140 for her.  Our client has a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and worked for IT consulting companies in the past. Based on our client’s education work background, our office determined that she is eligible for EB-3 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, the job order was filed on April 9, 2021.  On July 16, 2021, we filed PERM. On January 5, 2022, the PERM Labor Certification was approved without the audit. 

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 most recent tax return copy, and other necessary supporting documents.

The I-140 Petition was filed on February 24, 2022 via regular processing service. On March 10, 2022, we filed the I-907 premium processing upgrade request. Eventually, on March 21, 2022, the I-140 EB3 Petition for our Kyrgyz client was approved without any Request for Evidence (RFE). 

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

 APPLICANT: Chinese

 LOCATION: Solon, OH

Our client is an assistant professor from China, who is currently teaching at a state university which was willing to petition for a second-preference I-140.  Our client has a Ph.D. degree and has worked for this school since July 2017. He has maintained his status as an H-1B visa holder in the United States.  He had an approved I-140 petition which was filed by his current employer and this I-140 petition’s priority date was May 17, 2018.

In August 2021, he contacted our office and retained us for his I-485 adjustment of status application once his priority date became current. Our office filed the I-485 adjustment of status application for our client on September 24, 2021. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices and fingerprint appointment came on time. Eventually, on February 28, 2022, he and his wife’s green card applications were approved.

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

EMPLOYER: Nursing / Rehabilitation Center

BENEFICIARY: Filipina Registered Nurse in the UAE

LOCATION: Houston, TX

Our client is Filipina registered nurse who currently works in the UAE. Her prospective employer was willing to petition her for a third-preference employment immigrant visa petition (I-140) as a registered nurse. 

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 a Texas Registered Nurse License. Our firm told her that her prospective employer can petition her as a Registered Nurse under the schedule A category. Our office was retained on June 10, 2021 and we started on her Prevailing Wage Request. Her PW request was filed on June 16, 2021. 

We filed the I-140 application on February 10, 2022 via premium processing. We included the job offer letter, the notice of filing, financial ability to pay letter, and other necessary supporting documents. Eventually, on February 24, 2022, our client’s I-140 petition was approved without any Request for Evidence (RFE). Now, our client can file an immigrant visa application based on the approved I-140 petition.

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CASE: I-140 / 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 and he is an exceptional researcher and scientist 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 research career, he has made important and innovative contributions to the field of biomedical engineering and his research successfully influenced 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 Requests for Evidence.  When we filed his I-140, he concurrently filed his I-485 adjustment of status application. His adjustment of status application will be approved soon as well.

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CASE: H-1B Visa Extension
PETITIONER:  Public School District in Mohave Valley, AZ
BENEFICIARY: Filipina Elementary School Teacher

Our client is a Public School District in Mohave Valley, AZ. They contacted our office in May 2021 to seek legal assistance from our office for their foreign employee’s H-1B extension.  The beneficiary obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education. The proffered position for the Beneficiary is an Elementary School Teacher which qualifies as a specialty occupation. This proffered position is a “specialty occupation” because the minimum requirements for this position are a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education or its equivalent.  The Beneficiary has worked for her employer under H-1B status since August 2018.   

Upon retention, our office filed the H-1B visa petition with various supporting documents on June 14, 2021 via regular processing. Eventually, our client’s H-1B application was approved on February 25, 2022.  Her H-1B is good until June 30, 2024.

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