CASE: BIA Appeal and Refiled I-130
CLIENT: Jordanian
LOCATION: Toledo, Ohio

Our client is a Jordanian citizen who married her U.S. Citizen husband in Jordan in September 2009.  They had their marriage ceremony in Jordan, and our client came to the United States in October 2009 with an F-1 student visa.  Since September 2009, the couple has maintained their bona fide martial relationship in the United States.  The couple also entered a marriage contract in the United States after our client came here.  Once our client came to the United States, her U.S. citizen husband filed an I-130 Petition on her behalf.  They had an I-130 interview at the Cleveland USCIS Office in October 2010, but the USCIS issued a Notice of Intent to Revoke in March 2011.  The USCIS intended to revoke the I-130 petition because our client was not free and lawfully eligible to enter into a valid martial union at the time of their marriage.  Although our client prepared and submitted a response to Notice of Intent to Revoke with an assistance of her immigration counsel, the USCIS revoked the I-130 petition.

Our client consulted with our office in June 2011.  They explained to us what happened during the I-130 interview, and we thoroughly reviewed the USCIS’s revocation/denial decision.  After the review, we pointed out that there were several mistakes by previous counsel with regard to their marriage dates and I-130 filing. The USCIS even claimed that our client fraudulently procured her student visa in Jordan and did not disclose her marital relationship with her current husband.  However, our client clearly applied for her student visa prior to her marriage to her U.S. citizen husband, and when the student visa was issued, she was still not married to her husband. Yet previous counsel admitted fraud though there was not any, and submitted a waiver.

Based on these facts, our office prepared a BIA appeal brief with extensive documents to reverse the USCIS’s determination.  We filed the BIA appeal on July 10, 2011.  Our office also refiled the I-130 with supporting documents including affidavits and an explanatory brief with regard to the marriage between our client and her husband. Dates pertaining to the F-1 visa application and the marriage were emphasized. The USCIS received our I-130 refiled application on August 11, 2011.

On October 29, 2011, the USCIS approved the I-130 petition without conducting an interview again. With the approved I-130, our client can file for Adjustment of Status application in the United States to get her permanent residency.

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CASE: I-130 and Consular Processing – Marriage-Petition
CLIENT: US Citizen Petitioenr; Filipina Beneficiary
LOCATION: Petitioner: Ohio; Beneficiary: Manila, Philippines

Our client is a U.S. citizen who married a Filipina lady in the Philippines in 2008. He had his marriage ceremony with his wife in the Philippines, and had resided there until late 2010.  The couple has a son as well.  When he came back to the United States, he wanted to bring his family over here. He contacted our office in December 2010 and retained our office to help bring his family to the States. It is important to note that an alien cannot adjust his or her status (get a green card) outside the U.S. by filing an I-130 and I-485 simultaneously. Since the client’s wife was not in the United States, and their marriage occurred in the Philippines, our office promptly filed the I-130 to the National Visa Center first on January 9, 2011.

After the I-130 was filed, everything went smoothly and the receipt notices came on time. The I-130 Petition was approved by the USCIS on May 13, 2011.  After the I-130 approval, we filed the immigrant visa packets to the National Visa Center on June 27, 2011, 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 US Embassy in Manila, and we prepared her for her interview. On September 7, 2011, the beneficiary went to her interview in Manila. On October 20, 2011, the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines approved and issued her immigrant visa.

With the approved Immigrant visa, our client’s wife can come to the United States immediately, and she will get her green card.

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CASE: Adjustment of Status / J-1 Waiver
NATIONALITY: Philippines                                                                                                       �
LOCATION: Seattle, WA

Our client came from the Philippines on a J-1 Visa three years ago. However, upon completion of her J-1 program, she remained in the United States.  According to her DS-2019, she was subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement.   At the end of last year, she got married to her U.S. citizen husband and later on consulted with our firm for her adjustment of status (obtaining a green card). 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.

Our client asked us to help her obtain a waiver of the two-year foreign residency requirement.  Upon retention, our office promptly prepared a waiver request through a No Objection Statement (NOS) from the Philippine Embassy in the United States.

On January 18, 2011 the J-1 Waiver Application (Form DS-3035) was filed to the Department of State.  We also sent a request to the Washington State Government to get authentication for the necessary documents.  Later, these authenticated documents and No Objection Application (for the Philippine Government) were sent to the Philippine Consulate General for further authentication.  On March 8, 2011, the Consulate office in San Francisco 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. which eventually issued a No Objection Statement.  Throughout the process, we asked these government agencies to recommend a waiver for our client based on the fact that our client was eligible to adjust if she obtains a waiver.

On April 27, 2011, the Waiver Review Division issued a favorable recommendation based on the No Objection statement.  Eventually, on May 16, 2011, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for the waiver.

Once the waiver was issued, our office filed the I-130 Petition and I-485Adjustment of Status Application on May 18, 2011.  Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, fingerprint appointment, and work permits all came on time.  We thoroughly prepared our clients prior to the interview.   On August 17, 2011, our client was interviewed at the Seattle USCIS Field office.  Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu accompanied them at the interview as well. The Petitioner and Respondent were separated, but were prepared to answer questions and did well. Although the interview process was intensive and the USCIS went through further investigation for our client’s eligibility, on October 18, 2011, her green card application was finally approved.

From having the two-year foreign residency requirement, our firm effectively helped her get a J-1 waiver before she adjusted her status.  She did not have to go to the Philippines for 2 years before she got her permanent residency in the United States. She’s now a green card holder.

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Case: I-130/I-485
Issue: Visa Waiver Overstay
Applicant/Beneficiary – Argentinean
Location: Columbus, Ohio

Our client entered the United States in 2001 from Argentina under the visa waiver program.  When he entered the United States, he was a minor and came with his parents.  As a Visa Waiver Entrant, he was only authorized to remain in the United States for 90 days. However, he has remained in the United States ever since.

Several years later, he married his U.S. citizen wife on March 25, 2011. One main issue in his green card application through marriage was the fact that he came to the United States under the visa waiver program.   As our office wrote in our previous success story with a similar issue,  under the visa waiver program, citizens of certain countries can enter the U.S. for 90 days without a visa with the condition that the visitor waives his or her right to contest removal (other than on the basis of asylum).  The “no-contest” provision of the Visa Waiver Program is fundamental; if someone could enter under the VWP and then contest removability, it would defeat the whole purpose of the Program which is to make it easy for certain nationals to come to the United States to visit and then leave without all the red-tape involved in visa issuance.

Our office filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on July 21, 2010.  Our office requested the CIS to exercise favorable discretion in granting adjustment of status despite the filing date falling beyond the expiration of the visa waiver. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, the fingerprint appointment, and the work permit all came on time. There was no Request for Evidence.  Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our clients. On October 14, 2011, our client was interviewed at the Columbus, Ohio USCIS Field Office.  We accompanied them at the interview as well.  Despite the visa waiver / overstay issue, the USCIS officer approved his green card application on the same day.  Now, our client is a green card holder.

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CASE: Adjustment of Status / 245(i)
CLIENT: Chinese
LOCATION: Columbus, Ohio

Section 245(i) of the INA allows certain foreign nationals to become permanent residents of the United States despite entering without inspection (EWI). Immigrants are barred from adjusting their status if they entered the United States without first being inspected and admitted by a Customs and Border Patrol officer and if they have either failed to maintain lawful status or been unlawfully employed in the country, with certain exceptions. Section 245(i) was first added to law in 1994 to allow certain people who otherwise would not be eligible to adjust their status to be able to do so upon payment of a $1,000 fine.

Four years later, on January 14, 1998, Congress phased Section 245(i) out of law. Immigrants and their families who had already begun the process of changing their status under Section 245(i) by January 14, 1998 were grandfathered into the section’s benefits. However, this left thousands of otherwise qualified persons who had not begun the process unable to adjust status in the United States. They could not return to their countries to begin the legal process of obtaining their permanent residency in the United States also without being subject to either a three- or a 10-year bar upon returning to the United States.

On December 21, 2000, Congress extended the qualifying date for Section 245(i) benefits to April 30, 2001. This law allowed immigrants who had labor certifications or visa petitions filed on their behalf between 1998 and April 30, 2001, to qualify for adjustment of status. Those who were beneficiaries of petitions filed prior to January 14, 1998 could still adjust despite an EWI record, and those people do not have to meet the December 2000 physical presence requirement.

Our clients came from China and had approved I-130 petitions (F-4 category) filed by our client’s U.S. Citizen brother in 1987.  Now that their son (over 21 years old) is a U.S. Citizen, we also filed an I-130 petitioned by their son on their behalf.  However, they have an EWI (Entry without Inspection and Admission) record in 2008. Since our clients are beneficiaries of an approved I-130 F4 petition filed in 1987, they can still adjust status through INA § 245(i) despite their entry issue. Also, since the F-4 petition was filed before January 14, 1998, physical presence in December 2000 was not required.

Our office was retained on May 23, 2011. We prepared and filed the Adjustment of Status Application with Form I-485 Supplement A on July 9, 2011.  Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, the fingerprint appointment, and the work permit all came on time. There was no Request for Evidence.  Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our clients with our Chinese speaking staff.   On October 11, 2011, our client was interviewed at the Columbus, Ohio USCIS office.  We accompanied them at the interview as well. Prior to the interview, we submitted a brief pertaining to the INA § 245(i) issue, including documents evidencing the fact that an I-130 was filed in 1987. The petition and green card applications were approved on the same day.

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Case: Motion to Reopen / Terminate with the BIA
Nationality: Chinese
Location: Cleveland, OH

Our client came to the United States in 2000 without any immigration document (such as a passport and / or visa) from China.  After he arrived at the port of entry, he was inspected by the DHS officer and was paroled into the United States.  He applied for asylum, but was later denied by the Immigration Judge in New York in 2002.  He appealed with the BIA and that too was denied. Thus, he had a final order of removal.

Despite his final order of removal, our client remained in the United States for the next nine years and eventually married his U.S. Citizen spouse.  As we stated in a previous success story, this client ultimately obtained his permanent residency through adjustment of status with the USCIS as an arriving alien.

After he obtained his permanent residency, he retained our office again to terminate his final order of removal.  Since he had a final order of removal, our office filed a Motion to Terminate Proceedings to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) on August 26, 2011.  Although the DHS opposed our motion, the BIA granted our Motion to Terminate on September 30, 2011. Our client now does not have a final order of removal on his records.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status
CLIENT: Moldovan
LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client came to the United States in May 2009 with a J-1 Exchange Visitor visa from Moldova.  She was not subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement, so she could apply for adjustment of status in the United States without a waiver.  She married a U.S. Citizen in December 2010 and retained our office in May 2011 for her adjustment of status application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and Adjustment of Status Application on June 7, 2011.  Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, the fingerprint appointment, and the work permit all came on time. There was no Request for Evidence.  Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our clients. On September 1, 2011, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, Ohio USCIS.  We accompanied them at the interview as well.  On September 16, 2011, her green card application was approved.

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CASE:  Adjustment of Status, I-601 Hardship Waiver of Inadmissibility

APPLICANT / BENEFICIARY: From Grenada

LOCATION: New York, NY

Our client entered the U.S. in 2000 as a tourist.  Later, she married to U.S. citizen husband and her husband filed an I-130 petition for her and she concurrently filed an I-485 adjustment of status application in 2010.  Our client also filed an I-601 hardship waiver application with her adjustment of status with the help of her previous immigration lawyer.  She needed to file an I-601 waiver because she was found inadmissible due to her previous immigration law violation.

In 1992, our client tried to come to the United States from Canada with someone else’s passport.  She encountered the border patrol officer and the officer denied her entry.  As a result of her this, she was found to be inadmissible pursuant to Section 212(a)(6)(C)(i) of the INA.  (Any alien who, by fraud or willfully misrepresenting a material fact, seeks to procure a visa, other documentation, or admission into the United States or other benefit provided under this Act is inadmissible).

In 2010, her green card application was denied due to this fraud, and because the I-601 that should have waived the fraud inadmissibility was denied.  The denial pointed out that there was not enough hardship to meet the standards for the I-601 waiver application. She filed an appeal to AAO and this was denied as well.

Our client contacted our office in January 2011 to pursue her I-601 waiver once again. She was not yet in removal proceedings so she re-filed her green card application. Our firm thoroughly analyzed why her previous I-601 waiver application was denied.  Based on her story and surrounding circumstances (hardship to her U.S. citizen husband if she is deported), our office determined that she has a good chance to win I-601 application as long as it is extensively prepared.  Our client already re-filed her I-485 adjustment of status application, but she sought legal assistance from our office for her I-601 waiver.  Eventually, she retained our office on February 8, 2011.

If someone is found to be inadmissible under Section 212(a)(6)(C)(i) of the INA, INA Section 212(i) provides for a discretionary waiver of the fraud or misrepresentation inadmissibility ground.  To qualify for the waiver, the alien must establish that his or her US Citizen spouse would suffer extreme hardship if the alien were denied admission.  INA Section 212(i)(l).  In addition to the equities presented, the USCIS may consider the nature of the fraud or misrepresentation.

There is a seminal BIA case that deals with this waiver.  In Matter of Cervantes, 22 I & N Dec. 560 (BIA 1999), the BIA identified the factors to be considered in determining whether a qualifying relative would suffer extreme hardship if the alien were denied admission.  Those factors include: the presence of LPR or USC family ties both within and outside the United States; the conditions in the country to which the qualifying relative would relocate and the extent of the qualifying relative’s ties to that country; the financial impact of departure from the United States; and significant conditions of health, particularly when tied to the unavailability of suitable medical care in the country to which the qualifying relative would relocate.

Our client’s I-601 application had a good chance since our client’s U.S. Citizen husband suffers from chronic severe pain in his bone muscles due to an past incident in which he was shot in the leg. In the I-601 brief and supporting documents, our office included extensive medical reports of her husband.  We argued that if she was removed from the United States, extreme hardship to her husband is clearly foreseeable and evident.  Her husband needs consistent and continuous physical therapy to help deal with his pain. Also, it would be extremely difficult for him to get the same level of physical therapy and satisfactory access to medical services in Grenada in case he joins our client there.  Our office also included the U.S. Department of State Travel Advisory Section for Grenada to highlight the extremely poor medical services in Grenada.

In our brief, we also argued that our client and her husband have maintained strong family ties in the United States, that her husband will have difficulty in finding the same level of employment in Grenada, and that her LPR daughter and her husband will face extreme financial and emotional difficulties if she is removed.

In April 2011, our client had her second I-485 adjustment of status interview in New York.  On April 7, 2011, the CIS NY office requested our client to submit an amended extreme hardship statement and supporting documents for her I-601 waiver application.  On April 22, 2011, our client submitted our I-601 waiver application which included the brief in support, her husband’s medical records, and other documents that demonstrated hardship to her husband if she is removed from the United States.

Her I-601 waiver and I-485 green card application were approved on September 14, 2011. She is finally a green card holder and her inadmissibility has been completely waived.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status
CLIENT: Filipino
LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client came to the United States in March 2011 with a B-2 tourist visa from the Philippines. She married a U.S. Citizen in June 2011 and retained our office around the same time for her adjustment of status application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and Adjustment of Status Application on July 18, 2011.  Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, the fingerprint appointment, and the work permit all came on time. There was no Request for Evidence.  Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our clients. On September 19, 2011, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, Ohio USCIS. Attorney Sung Hee Yu accompanied them at the interview as well.  On the same day, her green card application was approved.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status
CLIENT: Brazilian
LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client came to the United States in November 2010 with a B-2 tourist visa from Brazil. She married a U.S. Citizen in March 2011 and retained our office around the same time for her adjustment of status application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and Adjustment of Status Application on May 18, 2011.  Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, fingerprint appointment, and work permits all came on time. There was no Request for Evidence.  Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our clients. On August 4, 2011, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, Ohio USCIS.  We accompanied them at the interview as well.  On May 10, 2011, her green card application was approved.

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