CASE:I-130/I-485

NATIONALITY: Philippines

LOCATION: Hillsboro, WI

Our client came to the U.S. as a J-1 teacher. She was subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement. Our client would like to file her adjustment of status application along with her U.S. Citizen husband’s I-130 petition; however, due to the two-year foreign residency requirement, she had to obtain a waiver first.

Unlike our other J-1 clients, our client could not pursue her waiver under the No Objection Statement or Interest Government Agency (IGA). Our client though would like to pursue her J-1 waiver based on the exceptional hardship standard. 

According to 8 C.F.R. Section 212.7(c)(5), “an alien who is subject to the foreign residence requirement and who believes that compliance therewith would impose exceptional hardship upon her spouse or child who is a citizen of the United States… may apply for a waiver on Form I-612.” 

Some of the factors in analyzing hardship are as follows: age of the subject, family ties in the U.S. and abroad, length and residency in the U.S., health / medical conditions, conditions in the country of removal – economic and political, financial status – business and occupation, position in / ties to the community. Matter of Anderson, 16 I&N Dec. 596 (BIA 1978). 

After she retained our firm, we prepared and filed a waiver request through the exceptional hardship basis. On April 26, 2019, the J-1 Waiver (Form DS-3035) Application was filed to the Department of State.  Thereafter, our office prepared an affidavit for our client, an extensive brief in support of our client’s J-1 waiver application, and other supporting documents. Our client provided us with extensive medical documents and doctor’s reports for her U.S. citizen husband’s medical conditions.  On May 9, 2019, our office filed the I-612 application to the USCIS. 

The USCIS issued a Request for Evidence (RFE) on March 16, 2020. Our office prepared the Response to RFE and filed it to the USCIS on May 22, 2020. Eventually, the USCIS approved his I-612 waiver on December 8, 2020. 

Once her J-1 waiver was approved, our client retained our office again for her and her son’s adjustment of status applications. Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petitions and I-485 Adjustment of Status Applications on January 19, 2021.  Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, fingerprint appointment, and work permits all came on time. Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our clients through conference calls. On April 7, 2022, our clients were at the Minneapolis, MN USCIS office.  The interview went well, and eventually, on the same day of the interview, the green card applications were approved.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: Ghanaian

LOCATION: Uniontown, OH

Our client came to the United States from Ghana on a F-1 student visa. She married a U.S. Citizen in February 2020 and retained our office on September 2, 202, for her green card application. Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on October 29, 2021. 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. On March 28, 2022, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, Ohio USCIS office. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu, Esq. from our office accompanied our clients. On March 29, 2022, our client’s green card application was approved.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: Filipina

LOCATION: Port Clinton, OH

Our client came to the United States from the Philippines in September 2021. She married a U.S. Citizen in December 2021. Her husband filed an I-129F fiancée petition for her in 2020; but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, her K-1 visa interview was not scheduled. She retained our office on January 2, 2022, for her green card application. Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on January 10, 2022. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices and fingerprint appointment all came on time. Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our clients via conference calls. On March 29, 2022, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, Ohio USCIS office. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu, Esq. from our office accompanied our clients. On March 30, 2022, our client’s green card application was approved.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

NATIONALITY: Malaysian                                                                                            

LOCATION: Lincoln, NE 

Our client is a citizen of Malaysia who came to the U.S. on a J-2 Visa in 1990.  She came with her step-father who came on a J-1 Visa for his research program in the United States. Both were subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement, meaning they had to go back to their home country for two-years before they can apply for permanent residency or some non-immigrant visa such as the H, L, and O visas.

After our client came to the United States, she has remained here. She completed her secondary schools and pursued her graduate program in the United States as well. 

He turned 21 in 1997. Nonetheless, she did not know of the waiver process, and just stayed in the United States without any legal status.

Our client married her current U.S. citizen husband in August 2015. She would like to get a waiver because she can get a green card based on her U.S. citizen husband’s I-130 petition. However, because of her two-year foreign residency requirement, our client cannot adjust her status in the United States without the fulfillment of requirement or the waiver. 

Although J-2 dependents cannot independently apply for a waiver, in cases where a J-2 child reaches 21, the Waiver Review Division may consider requests for waivers on behalf of the J-2 dependent.  The Department of State’s policy allows for that process in instances where the J-2 dependent obtains a divorce form the J-1 principal, the J-1 principal dies, or in cases where the J-2 dependent turns 21, which is our client’s case. In fact, our client turned 21 in 1997.

Our firm was retained to do her J-2 waiver in August 2016. On August 5, 2016, the J-2 Waiver application (Form DS-3035 and supporting documents) was filed to the Department of State. We also sent a request to the DOS to be an interested government agency and recommend this waiver based on the fact that our client reached the age of 21 and was not a dependent of a J-1 visa holder anymore.  Eventually, on August 26, 2016, the DOS recommended to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) that our client be granted a waiver.  On November 4, 2016, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for our client’s waiver request.

In March 2021, she contacted our office for her adjustment of status application process based on the approved I-130 petition. She retained our office on March 30, 2021 for her green card application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on April 23, 2021.  Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices and fingerprint appointment all came on time. Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our clients at via conference calls. On March 18, 2022, our client was interviewed at the Omaha, NE USCIS office. Eventually, on the same day of the interview, her green card application was approved.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

NATIONALITY: Nigerian                                                                            

LOCATION: Harrisburg, PA

Our client is from Nigeria who came to the U.S. with an F-1 visa in March 2015.  In August 2021, our client married his U.S. citizen wife. He retained our office on November 14, 2021 for his green card application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on November 18, 2021.  Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, fingerprint appointment notices, and employment authorization document all came on time. Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our clients at our office via conference calls. On February 25, 2022, our client was interviewed at the Philadelphia, PA USCIS office. On February 26, 2022, his green card application was approved.

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CASE: I-130 / I-485

NATIONALITY: Malaysian

LOCATION: New York, NY

Our Malaysian client came to the U.S. on a J-1 Visa in June 2017 to work as a trainee. In September 2019, he married a U.S. citizen spouse. He wanted to file an adjustment of status application; however, his J-1 visa made him subject to the two-year foreign resident requirement. Due to the two-year foreign residency requirement, he had to obtain a waiver first before he files his adjustment of status application in the U.S.

After he retained our firm, we prepared and filed a waiver request through a No Objection Statement (NOS) from the Malaysian Embassy in the United States.  Our office contacted the Malaysian Embassy in Washington D.C. to make sure we knew all the requirements needed for their office to issue a no objection statement.  The Embassy requested different documents including a statement of reason for the waiver.

On February 4, 2020, the J-1 Waiver (Form DS-3035) Application was filed to the Department of State.  We also sent a request to the Malaysian Consulate General Office in New York to issue a No Objection Statement and recommend this waiver based on the fact that our client would have been eligible to file an adjustment of status application but for the waiver.

The Malaysian Embassy eventually issued a No Objection Statement for our client, and sent this letter to the State Department’s Waiver Review Division. The Waiver Review Division issued a favorable recommendation based on the No Objection statement. The CIS then issued a receipt and an I-612 approval notice on April 1, 2021.    

Once his J-1 waiver was approved, our client retained our office again for his adjustment of status application. Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on July 2, 2021.  Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, fingerprint appointment notices, and the employment authorization document all came on time. Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our clients in our office via conference calls. On March 1, 2022, our client was interviewed at the New York City, NY USCIS office. Eventually, on March 2, 2022, his green card application was approved.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

NATIONALITY: Chinese                                                                                                

LOCATION: Maplewood, OH 

Our client is from China who came to the U.S. on a B-2 visa in September 2021. Since then, she has remained in the United States. In November 2021, our client married her U.S. citizen husband.  She retained our office on November 12, 2021 for her green card application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on November 18, 2021.  Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices and fingerprint appointment all came on time. Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our clients. On February 15, 2022, our client was interviewed at the Cincinnati, OH USCIS office. Eventually, on March 1, 2022, her green card application was approved.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: Indian

LOCATION: North Olmsted, OH

Our client came to the United States from India on a F-1 student visa and currently works for her employer under H-1B status. She married a U.S. Citizen in October 2021 and retained our office on November 25, 2021 for her green card application. Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on December 14, 2021. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices and fingerprint appointment all came on time. Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our clients via conference calls. On March 4, 2022, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, Ohio USCIS office. Attorney JP Sarmiento, Esq. from our office accompanied our clients. On March 5, 2022, our client’s green card application was approved.

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Case: I-130/I-485

Potential Issue: Response to Notice of Intent to Deny

Client: Cameroonian

Location: Fayetteville, NC

Our client entered the United States from Cameroon. She married her U.S. citizen husband and they filed an I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application to the USCIS in April 2018. In July 2021, they appeared at the adjustment of status interview at the USCIS Durham Field Office in North Carolina. However, on October 13, 2021, the USCIS issued a Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID).  The NOID claimed that there was substantial and probative evidence that the marital union between the Petitioner and Beneficiary was not bona fide.  The NOID pointed out that the submitted documentation of Petitioner and Beneficiary did not establish a bona fide marriage. 

In response to the USCIS’s NOID, our office included multiple supporting documents including, several affidavits from their friends, joint bank account statements, a joint tax return, and several pictures of our client and her husband in several occasions with different people.  Several legal authorities were cited based on particular issues discussed, and on November 5, 2021, we filed the Response to NOID prior to the 30-day deadline.

On February 18, 2022, the USCIS approved our client’s case. Both the I-130 Petition and I-485 Green Card Applications were approved. Our client is now a green card holder.

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 CASE: I-130 / I-485

 NATIONALITY: Filipina

 LOCATION: Hobbs, NM

Our client came from the Philippines on a J-1 to work as a teacher. She was subject to the two-year foreign resident requirement. Our client would like to file her adjustment of status application along with her U.S. Citizen husband’s I-130 petition; however, due to the two-year foreign residency requirement, she had to obtain a waiver first.

According to 8 C.F.R. Section 212.7(c)(5), “an alien who is subject to the foreign residence requirement and who believes that compliance therewith would impose exceptional hardship upon her spouse or child who is a citizen of the United States… may apply for a waiver on Form I-612.” 

Some of the factors in analyzing hardship are as follows: age of the subject, family ties in the U.S. and abroad, length and residency in the U.S., health / medical conditions, conditions in the country of removal – economic and political, financial status – business and occupation, position in / ties to the community. Matter of Anderson, 16 I&N Dec. 596 (BIA 1978). 

After she retained our firm, we prepared and filed a waiver request through the exceptional hardship basis. On April 11, 2019, the J-1 Waiver (Form DS-3035) Application was filed to the Department of State.  Thereafter, our office prepared an affidavit for our client, an extensive brief in support for our client’s J-1 waiver application, and other supporting documents. Our client provided us with extensive medical documents and doctor’s reports for her U.S. citizen husband’s medical condition.  On April 12, 2019, our office filed the I-612 application to the USCIS and asked for them to issue and recommend this waiver based on the fact that our client’s husband would experience exceptional hardship if our client needs to go back to the Philippines for two years. 

On November 14, 2019, the USCIS issued a Request for Evidence (RFE) and asked our client to submit more hardship evidence. Our office prepared the response and filed an extensive Response to RFE to the USCIS on February 3, 2020. Eventually, the USCIS approved her I-612 waiver on August 31, 2020. 

Once her J-1 waiver was approved, our client retained our office again for her adjustment of status application. Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and -485 Adjustment of Status Application on May 18, 2021.  Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, fingerprint appointment, and work permits all came on time. Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our clients through conference calls. On February 22, 2022, our client was interviewed at the El Paso, Texas USCIS office.  The interview went well, and eventually, on the same day of the interview, her green card application was approved.

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