CASE: I-485 / National Interest Waiver

CLIENT: Korean

LOCATION: Colorado

Our client contacted us in May 2015 about the possibility of doing a National Interest Waiver. He is a researcher from South Korea and he is an exceptional researcher and scientist in the field of photophysical sciences; specifically, solar energy conversion sciences.

His significant contributions have placed him at the pinnacle of the field of photophysical research. His research regarding solid-state morphology in electron transfer processes of organic solar energy conversion devices has shown that the combination of two versatile spectroscopic techniques can bring new insights for complex material systems. Moreover, our client has discovered the electronically excited triplet state of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) which 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 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 landmark immigration case that discusses the standards for NIWs is Matter of New York State Department of Transportation, 22 I&N Dec. 215 (Comm.1998). This case held that the qualifying applicant must show the following elements in his or her I-140 NIW petition: First, it must be shown that the alien seeks employment in an area of substantial intrinsic merit. Next, it must be shown that the proposed benefit will be national in scope. Finally, the petitioner seeking the waiver must establish that the alien will serve the national interest to a substantially greater degree than would an available U. S. worker having the same minimum qualifications.

Our office prepared a 18-page brief for our client’s NIW filing. Our client also obtained 6 letters of recommendation from his colleagues and internationally-recognized scientists. Our office also included his publication records, presentation records, and conference materials in the NIW application. We demonstrated the intrinsic merit of our client’s research in the United States, the national scope of his research, and asserted that our client would serve the national interest to a substantially greater degree than would an available U.S. worker having the same minimum qualifications. His NIW application contained 35 exhibits (Exhibit A to II).

We filed his I-140(NIW) petition to the USCIS Nebraska Service Center on September 11, 2015. Eventually, on June 26, 2016, the USCIS approved his I-140 petition without any Requests for Evidence.  

Our office filed his I-485 application along with his I-140 petition concurrently. However, on October 21, 2016, the USCIS issued Request for Evidence (RFE) and requested our client to submit updated vaccination records. Our client promptly submitted their updated vaccination records (I-693) to USCIS. Eventually, on November 22, 2016, the USCIS approved his I-485 application as well. Now, he is a green card holder.

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CASE: PERM Labor Certification    
EMPLOYER: Hydraulic Pumps and Motors Manufacturing Company in WV
BENEFICIARY: Kenyan Sales Manager

Our client is from Kenya, who is currently working in the U.S. on his H-1B status. His current employer was willing to do an immigration petition for him, third-preference. Our client has a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree and has worked for the current employer as a Sales Manager. After talking to our client, our firm concluded that his employer can petition him as a Sales Manager. Based on our client’s education, professional and work background, our office determined that he was 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 February 5, 2016, the prevailing wage request was filed.  After we obtained Prevailing Wage determination, our office filed the job order on July 6, 2016.  On September 27, 2016, we promptly filed PERM.  Eventually, on November 22, 2016, the PERM Labor Certification was approved – an EB3 position for the Kenyan beneficiary. Now our client can file the I-140 petition.

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CASE: I-485 Adjustment of Status / National Interest Waiver

CLIENT: Korean

LOCATION: Dallas, TX

Our client contacted us in May 2015 about the possibility of doing a National Interest Waiver. He is a researcher from South Korea and he is an exceptional researcher and scientist in the field of renewable energy technology.

His significant contributions have placed him at the pinnacle of his field of endeavor. Throughout his research career, our client has made critical research contributions and developed an innovative algorithm to forecast the future variability of long-term wind power scenarios by analyzing the power spectral density of wind power outputs. Moreover, our client suggested an innovative stochastic storage operation algorithm based on his probabilistic wind power forecasting algorithm in order to limit the severe ramp rates of wind power. His expertise in probabilistic renewable energy forecasting is 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 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 landmark immigration case that discusses the standards for NIWs is Matter of New York State Department of Transportation, 22 I&N Dec. 215 (Comm.1998). This case held that the qualifying applicant must show the following elements in his or her I-140 NIW petition: First, it must be shown that the alien seeks employment in an area of substantial intrinsic merit. Next, it must be shown that the proposed benefit will be national in scope. Finally, the petitioner seeking the waiver must establish that the alien will serve the national interest to a substantially greater degree than would an available U. S. worker having the same minimum qualifications.

Our office prepared a 19-page brief for our client’s NIW filing. Our client also obtained 7 letters of recommendation from his colleagues and internationally-recognized scientists. Our office also included his publication records, presentation records, and conference materials in the NIW application. We demonstrated the intrinsic merit of our client’s research in the United States, the national scope of his research, and asserted that our client would serve the national interest to a substantially greater degree than would an available U.S. worker having the same minimum qualifications. His NIW application contained 34 exhibits (Exhibit A to HH).

Our office filed his I-140(NIW) petition to the USCIS Texas Service Center on July 7, 2016. Eventually, on October 3, 2016, the USCIS approved his I-140 petition without any Requests for Evidence.  Our office filed his I-485 application along with his I-140 petition concurrently. On November 17, 2016, the USCIS approved his I-485 application as well. Now, he is a green card holder.

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CASE: Follow-to-join based on approved I-140 for husband and I-485 adjustment of status

CLIENT: Filipina Client in Miami, FL

Our client contacted our office in November 2014 for her adjustment of status case. Her husband was a beneficiary of an EB-3 I-140 petition from his prospective employer, and got his green card in July 2014. Our client and her husband have been married since May 2010 before her husband got his permanent residency. Thus, she was eligible follow-to-join and adjustment of status based on her husband’s I-140.

She came to the United States in October 2014 on a valid B-2 visitor’s visa. She did not know that she was eligible for the adjustment of status when she came to the United States, but later learned that she would be eligible for the adjustment of status filing. After the consultation with our office, she retained our office on December 18, 2014.

Once retained, we prepared and file our client’s adjustment of status application along with supporting documents to USCIS on December 22, 2014.  However, the priority date of Eb-3 category for the Philippines national backlogged. Our client had to wait until the priority date becomes current. In October 2016, her priority date becomes current. The USCIS requested our client to submit her new immigration medical record and our office submitted it to the USCIS on October 20, 2016. Eventually, our client’s adjustment application was approved by the USCIS on November 14, 2016.  After a long wait, our client is finally a green card holder.

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CASE: H-1B Change of Employer

PETITIONER: Waste Management Company

BENEFICIARY: Indian Chief Financial Officer

LOCATION: St. Louis, MO

Our client is a wastewater treatment and management company in the St. Louis, MO area. They contacted our office in early July 2016 to seek a legal assistance from our office for their foreign employee. The beneficiary is from India and obtained her Master’s degree in Business Administration. The proffered position for the Beneficiary is a Chief Financial Officer which qualifies as a specialty occupation. This proffered position is clearly a “specialty occupation” because the minimum requirements for this position are a Master’s Degree in Business Administration or its equivalent.  

The foreign beneficiary in this case already had her H-1B visa from her previous employer.  However, her H-1B visa was not expired yet, and she wanted to extend her H-1B status on the change of employer basis.

Once retained, our office promptly filed the H-1B visa petition with various supporting documents on July 21, 2016. Since this petition was based on the change of employer, this petition was exempted from the annual cap of the H-1B.  Thus, we could file prior to the April 1.  There were no Requests for Evidence during the processing of the H-1B.  Eventually, our client’s H-1B Petition was approved on November 15, 2016.  Now the Beneficiary can work for her Petitioner-Employer as an H-1B visa holder and she can work there for next three years.

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

APPLICANT: South Korean Nurse Practitioner

LOCATION: Atlanta, GA

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

The Department of Labor (DOL) maintains a schedule of occupations in its regulations, Schedule A included, for which the individual permanent labor certification procedure is not required. The schedule of pre-certified occupations is referred to as Schedule A, and is included in DOL regulations at 20 CFR 656.10. Based on an occupation’s inclusion on Schedule A, an employer may file an immigrant visa petition (I-140) directly with the (USCIS) without first going to the DOL for a labor certification. Usually, prior to filing I-140 petitions (EB-2 or EB-3 category), the employer must file a Labor Certification to the Department of Labor. However, for Schedule A cases, the employer does not have to go through the labor certification process. The position of Nurse Practitioner is included in Schedule A.

Our client has a Bachelors and Masters degree in nursing and is a certified Nurse Practitioner. Our office was retained on December 15, 2015 and we filed the Prevailing Wage Determination immediately.

We filed the I-140 application on April 13, 2016 via premium processing. We included the job offer letter, the notice of filing, employment letter, and other necessary supporting documents.

In our cover brief, we included the “ability to pay” argument and why nurse practitioners must fall under the Schedule A designation.  On April 25, 2016, without any Request for Evidence (RFE), the USCIS Texas Service Center approved her EB-2 I-140 petition.

Once the I-140 petition was approved, our client retained our office again for her I-485 adjustment of status application. Our office filed an I-485 adjustment of status application for our client on June 6, 2016. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices and fingerprint appointment came on time.

Eventually, on November 1, 2016, the USCIS Texas Service Center approved our client’s adjustment of status application. Now, she finally is a green card holder.

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

BENEFICIARY: Filipina Registered Nurse

LOCATION: Houston, TX

Our client’s beneficiary is a registered nurse from the Philippines licensed in the state of Texas. Prior to retaining us, she was working at a nursing / rehabilitation center in the greater Houston area under an H-1B status. Her current employer was willing to petition her for a third-preference employment immigrant visa petition (I-140). Our client also has an approved EB-3 I-140 petition with a priority date of November 2009.

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.

Also, under 8 CFR 204.5(e):

“Retention of section 203(b)(1), (2), or (3) priority date. A petition approved on behalf of an alien under sections 203(b)(1), (2), or (3) of the Act accords the alien the priority date of the approved petition for any subsequently filed petition for any classification under sections 203(b)(1), (2), or (3) of the Act for which the alien may qualify. In the event that the alien is the beneficiary of multiple petitions under sections 203(b)(1), (2), or (3) of the Act, the alien shall be entitled to the earliest priority date. A petition revoked under sections 204(e) or 205 of the Act will not confer a priority date, nor will any priority date be established as a result of a denied petition. A priority date is not transferable to another alien.”

As mentioned above, our client’s approved I-140 petition was not denied, was actually approved, and was never revoked at any point. Thus, by virtue of 8 CFR 204.5(e), this succeeding I-140 Petition by our client’s prospective employer for our client is entitled to the previous priority date.

Our client has a nursing degree and has several years of related experience. Our firm told her that her current employer can petition her as a Registered Nurse under the schedule A category. More importantly, since the priority date of her previous I-140 was current, she can eventually apply for her immigrant visa via consular processing. Our office was retained on October 29, 2014 and we started on her Prevailing Wage Request.

We filed the I-140 application on January 7, 2015 via premium processing. We included the job offer letter, the notice of filing, his previous I-140 approval notice, and other necessary supporting documents.  Eventually, on January 15, 2015, the I-140 was approved and it retained our client’s old priority date.  

Once the I-140 petition was approved, our client retained our office again for her and her family members’ I-485 adjustment of status applications. Our office filed an I-485 adjustment of status application for our client and her family members on February 11, 2015. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices and fingerprint appointment came on time. However, while the applications were pending, the EB-3 priority dates for the Philippines nationals were retrogressed so that our client cases could not be adjudicated.  

Her priority dates became current again in 2016. However, on August 25, 2016, the USCIS issued the Request for Evidence for our clients for their new medical records. Our client and her family members submitted their new medical records to the USCIS on October 4, 2016. Eventually, on October 27, 2016, the USCIS Texas Service Center approved our client and her family members’ adjustment of status applications. Now, she finally is a green card holder.

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CASE: Immigrant Visa / I-140 (EB-2 Category) / Schedule A

EMPLOYER: Nursing Care Facility

BENEFICIARY: Filipino

LOCATION: Beneficiary: Thailand / Petitioner: Houston, TX

Our Filipino client was working in Thailand as a nurse coordinator. His prospective employer-sponsor in Texas was willing to petition him for a second-preference employment immigrant visa petition (I-140). Since he has a registered nurse license and the proffered position for him 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 yrs 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 5 years of experience as a nurse coordinator and a coordination nurse. He 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 February 16, 2016 via premium processing. We included a 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 the nurse manager position falls under a Schedule A and EB2 designation.

However, on March 2, 2016, the USCIS Texas Service Center issued the Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID) for our client’s I-140. The USCIS alleged whether our client’s past experience letters from Thailand were genuine. We submitted new past experience letters and submitted the response to NOID on March 11, 2016.

Eventually, on March 17, 2016, the USCIS Texas Service Center approved his EB-2 I-140 petition.

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 May 16, 2016, who in turn forwarded the client’s materials to the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand. An interview notice was set for the client at the U.S. Embassy in Thailand. On October 4, 2016, our client appeared at the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand. 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: EB-2 I-140 Petition    
EMPLOYER: Korean Church
BENEFICIARY: Korean Education Pastor
LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client is a Korean church in Cleveland, Ohio who was willing to petition someone for an Education Pastor position for a second-preference petition (I-140).  Our client’s prospective employee has a master’s degree in Divinity. After talking to our client, our firm concluded that this employer can petition him as an Education Pastor.  Second preference petitions for Koreans are current, which means that if a PERM Labor Certification for a second preference position gets approved, the I-140 and I-485 could be filed simultaneously. Based on our client’s prospective employee’s educational, professional and working backgrounds, our office determined that he is clearly eligible for EB-2 classification for his I-140 petition.  Our client eventually retained us in October 2015.

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, 2015, the prevailing wage request was filed.  After we obtained foreign degree evaluation report, our office filed the job order on January 12, 2016.  On April 8, 2016, we promptly filed PERM.  Eventually, on July 19, 2016, 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 audited balance sheet (since the church is tax-exemption entity), and other necessary supporting documents. The I-140 Petition was filed on October 17, 2016 via premium processing service. Eventually, on October 25, 2016, the I-140 EB-2 Petition for our Korean client was approved without any Request for Evidence (RFE). Our client can file his I-485 adjustment of status application at any time.

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CASE: Immigrant Visa / I-140 (EB-3 Category) / Schedule A / Old Priority Date Retention

EMPLOYER: Nursing / Rehabilitation Center

BENEFICIARY: Filipino Registered Nurse in the Philippines

LOCATION: Manila, Philippines

Our client’s beneficiary is a registered nurse from the Philippines licensed in the state of Texas. Currently, he is working at a hospital in the Philippines as a nurse. His prospective employer was willing to petition him for a third-preference employment immigrant visa petition (I-140). Our client also has an approved EB-3 I-140 petition with a priority date of July 2008.

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.

Also, under 8 CFR 204.5(e):

“Retention of section 203(b)(1), (2), or (3) priority date. A petition approved on behalf of an alien under sections 203(b)(1), (2), or (3) of the Act accords the alien the priority date of the approved petition for any subsequently filed petition for any classification under sections 203(b)(1), (2), or (3) of the Act for which the alien may qualify. In the event that the alien is the beneficiary of multiple petitions under sections 203(b)(1), (2), or (3) of the Act, the alien shall be entitled to the earliest priority date. A petition revoked under sections 204(e) or 205 of the Act will not confer a priority date, nor will any priority date be established as a result of a denied petition. A priority date is not transferable to another alien.”

As mentioned above, our client’s approved I-140 petition was not denied, was actually approved, and was never revoked at any point. Thus, by virtue of 8 CFR 204.5(e), this succeeding I-140 Petition by our client’s prospective employer for our client is entitled to the previous priority date.

Our client has a nursing degree and has several years of related experience. Our firm told him that his potential employer can petition him as a Registered Nurse under the schedule A category. More importantly, since the priority date of his previous I-140 was current, he can eventually apply for his immigrant visa via consular processing. Our office was retained on July 22, 2014 and started on his Prevailing Wage Request.

We filed the I-140 application on March 15, 2015 via premium processing. We included the job offer letter, the notice of filing, his previous I-140 approval notice, and other necessary supporting documents.  Eventually, on March 23, 2015, the I-140 was approved and it retained our client’s old priority date.  

Once his priority date became current, 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 May 12, 2016, who in turn forwarded the client’s materials to the U.S. Embassy in Manila, Philippines. An interview notice was set for the client at the U.S. Embassy in Philippines. On August 15, 2016, our client appeared at the U.S. Embassy in Manila, Philippines. Eventually, on October 25, 2016, the Immigrant Visa was issued for our client.

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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