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

 APPLICANT: Korean

 LOCATION: Erie, PA

Our client is an assistant professor from South Korea, who is currently teaching at a state university willing to do an I-140 Petition for her. Our client has a Ph.D. degree and has worked for this school since January 2021. 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 February 26, 2021.

In September 2021, she contacted our office and retained us for her I-485 adjustment of status application. Our office filed the I-485 adjustment of status application on October 25, 2021. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices and fingerprint appointment came on time. Eventually, on January 29, 2022, her green card application was approved without any RFE or interview.

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CASE: I-140 (EB-3)

EMPLOYER: Public School District

BENEFICIARY: Filipino High School Physics Teacher

LOCATION: Casa Grande, AZ

Our client has a current employer that was willing to petition for him (I-140).  Our client has a Bachelor’s degree in Physics for Teachers, a valid Arizona Teaching license, and has worked for his current employer since August 2016. Based on his education and credentials, our office determined that he is eligible for EB-3 classification for his I-140 petition.  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 13, 2020.  On November 9, 2020, we promptly filed PERM. 

On June 3, 2021, the Department of Labor issued an audit request. 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 14, 2021.  Eventually, on September 21, 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 October 22, 2021 via regular processing. On January 20, 2022, the I-140 EB3 Petition for our Filipino client was approved without any Request for Evidence (RFE). 

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CASE: H-1B Visa Petition

PETITIONER: School District in New Town, ND

BENEFICIARY: Filipina Elementary School Teacher

ISSUES: Cap-Exempt, Nonprofit Organization Affiliated with an Institution of Higher Education

Our client is a public school district affiliated with several institutions of higher education. They contacted our office in November 2021 to seek legal assistance from our office for their foreign employee. The beneficiary is an Elementary School Teacher from the Philippines who has been working for this employer for several years under J-1 status. The beneficiary’s J-1 program is not subject to the 2 year foreign residency requirement.  

The proffered position for the Beneficiary is an Elementary School Teacher. We showed that this is a “specialty occupation” because the minimum requirement for this position is a Bachelor’s Degree in Education or its equivalent.

In the first week of April, the numerical cap of H-1B visas for fiscal year 2022 was already reached. However, our client is qualified for cap-exempt petitions since it is a non-profit organization affiliated with an Institution of Higher Education as defined in 8 C.F.R. 214.2(h)(19)(iii)(B). 

Upon retention, our office filed the H-1B visa petition with various supporting documents on December 23, 2021 via premium processing. On January 13, 2022, the USCIS issued a Request for Evidence for our client’s petition. Our office filed the Response to RFE on the same day. Eventually, our client’s H-1B application was approved on January 25, 2022. She can now work for her employer for three years on an H-1B status.

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CASE: EB-2 I-485

EMPLOYER: Public School District

APPLICANT: Filipina Elementary Special Education Teacher in Laughlin, NV

Our client has a current employer that was willing to petition for a second-preference I-140.  Our client has a Bachelor’s degree in Education, a valid Arizona Teaching license, and has more than 5 years of experience as a Special Education Teacher. 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.  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 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 October 15, 2020.  On January 8, 2021, we filed PERM. On July 6, 2021, the PERM Labor Certification was approved without any audit – 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, employer’s tax records, and other necessary supporting documents.

The I-140 Petition was filed on July 29, 2021 via premium processing service. However, on August 5, 2021, the USCIS issued a Request for Evidence (RFE) and requested our client to submit her past experience verification letter from her former employer in the Philippines. Our office filed the Response to RFE on August 10, 2021. On August 19, 2021, the I-140 EB2 Petition for our Filipina client was approved. 

Once her I-140 petition was approved, she retained our office again for the adjustment of status applications for her and her immediate family members. On September 10, 2021, our office filed the I-485 adjustment of status applications. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices and fingerprint appointment came on time. Eventually, on December 10, 2021, she and her family members’ green card applications were approved. Her adjustment of status application was approved within 3 months from the filing date.

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CASE: PERM Labor Certification

EMPLOYER: Public School District

BENEFICIARY: Filipina Special Education Teacher

LOCATION: Alamo, NM

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 Psychology, a valid New Mexico Teaching license, and has worked for her current employer since August 2017. 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 September 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, the employer filed the job order on March 11, 2021.  On June 17, 2021, we promptly filed PERM. 

Eventually, on December 3, 2021, 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: PERM Labor Certification

EMPLOYER: Public School District

BENEFICIARY: Filipina High School General Science Teacher

LOCATION: Casa Grande, AZ

Our client has a current employer that was willing to petition her for a third-preference petition (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 classification for her I-140 petition.  Our client retained us on May 29, 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 October 12, 2020.  On January 8, 2021, we filed PERM. 

On August 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. Moreover, the Department of Labor requested Petitioner to submit a business necessity statement for this position. In response to the Audit request, our office prepared the response to Audit brief along with Employer’s declaration, notice of filing, business necessity statement from the employer, and recruitment documentation on August 27, 2021.   

On November 17, 2021, 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: PERM Labor Certification

EMPLOYER: Public School District

BENEFICIARY: Filipina High School Biology Teacher

LOCATION: Casa Grande, AZ

Our client has a current employer who was willing 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 classification for her I-140 petition.  Our client eventually 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 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. Our client can file the I-140 petition at any time.

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CASE: H-1B Visa Petition

PETITIONER: School District in New Town, ND

BENEFICIARY: Filipina Elementary School Teacher

ISSUES: Cap-Exempt, Nonprofit Organization Affiliated with an Institution of Higher Education

Our client is a public school district affiliated with several institutions of higher education. They contacted our office in September 2021 to seek legal assistance from our office for their foreign employee. The beneficiary is a Special Education Teacher from the Philippines who has been working for this employer for several years under a J-1 status. The beneficiary’s J-1 program is not subject to the 2 year foreign residency requirement.  

The proffered position for the Beneficiary is an Elementary School Teacher. We showed that this is a “specialty occupation” because the minimum requirement for this position is a Bachelor’s Degree in Education or its equivalent.

In the first week of April, the numerical cap of H-1B visas for fiscal year 2022 was already reached. However, our client is qualified for cap-exempt petitions since it is a non-profit organization affiliated with an Institution of Higher Education as defined in 8 C.F.R. 214.2(h)(19)(iii)(B). 

Once retained, our office filed the H-1B visa petition with various supporting documents on October 5, 2021 via premium processing. Our client’s H-1B application was approved on October 18, 2021 without any RFE.  She can now work for her employer for three years on an H-1B status.

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CASE: H-1B Visa Petition

PETITIONER: School District in New Town, ND

BENEFICIARY: Filipina Elementary School Teacher

ISSUES: Cap-Exempt, Nonprofit Organization Affiliated with an Institution of Higher Education

Our client is a public school district affiliated with several institutions of higher education. They contacted our office in September 2021 to seek legal assistance from our office for their foreign employee. The beneficiary is a Special Education Teacher from the Philippines who has been working for this employer for several years under J-1 status. The beneficiary’s J-1 program is not subject to the 2 year foreign residency requirement.  

The proffered position for the Beneficiary is an Elementary School Teacher. We showed that this is a “specialty occupation” because the minimum requirement for this position is a Bachelor’s Degree in Education or its equivalent.

In the first week of April, the numerical cap of H-1B visas for fiscal year 2022 was already reached. However, our client is qualified for cap-exempt petitions since it is a non-profit organization affiliated with an Institution of Higher Education as defined in 8 C.F.R. 214.2(h)(19)(iii)(B). 

Once retained, our office filed the H-1B visa petition with various supporting documents on October 5, 2021 via premium processing. Eventually, our client’s H-1B application was approved on October 18, 2021 without any RFE.  She can now work for her employer for three years on an H-1B status.

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CASE: H-1B Visa Petition

PETITIONER: School District in Forrest City, AR

BENEFICIARY: Filipina High School Math Teacher

ISSUES: Cap-Exempt, Nonprofit Organization Affiliated with an Institution of Higher Education

Our client is a public school district affiliated with several institutions of higher education. They contacted our office in August 2021 to seek legal assistance from our office for their foreign employee. The beneficiary is a High School Math Teacher from the Philippines who has been working for this employer for the last several years under a J-1 status. Her J-1 visa was not subject to the 2 year foreign residency requirement. 

The proffered position for the Beneficiary is a High School Math Teacher. We showed that this is a “specialty occupation” because the minimum requirement for this position is a Bachelor’s Degree in Education or its equivalent.

In the first week of April, the numerical cap of H-1B visas for fiscal year 2022 was already reached. However, we argued that our client is qualified for cap-exempt petitions since they are a non-profit organization affiliated with an Institution of Higher Education as defined in 8 C.F.R. 214.2(h)(19)(iii)(B). 

Once retained, our office filed the H-1B visa petition with various supporting documents on September 24, 2021 via premium processing. Eventually, our client’s H-1B application was approved on October 7, 2021 without any RFE.  She can now work for her employer for three years on an H-1B status.

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