CASE: I-130 / I-485

NATIONALITY: Philippines

LOCATION: Salinas, CA

Our client came from the Philippines on a J-1 in September 2013 to work as a teacher. Based on her visa and DS-2019, she was subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement. Later, she got married to her U.S. citizen husband and consulted with our firm for her J-1 visa waiver prior to applying for adjustment of status. 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.

Upon retention, our office prepared a waiver request through a No Objection Statement (NOS) from the Philippine Embassy in the United States through the EVP in the Philippines.

On June 8, 2018, the J-1 Waiver Application (Form DS-3035) was filed to the Department of State.  We then prepared the documents for the NOS request to the EVP. On July 27, 2018, our office sent our NOS application to the Waiver Review Committee in Manila, Philippines.  Then, the Waiver Review Committee granted the No Objection Statement and forwarded the materials and favorable recommendation to the Philippine Embassy in D.C. who eventually issued the official No Objection Statement to the Department of State.

On September 13, 2018, the Waiver Review Division issued a favorable recommendation based on the No Objection statement.  Eventually, on October 11, 2018, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for the waiver. 

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 I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on February 1, 2019.  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 January 15, 2020, our client was interviewed at the Santa Clara, CA USCIS office.  

However, on May 1, 2020, the USCIS issued a Request for Evidence (RFE) and requested our client to submit a certified disposition of court and police documents record regarding her previous misdemeanor criminal record. Our office filed the Response to RFE to the USCIS on May 26, 2020. Eventually, on June 9, 2020, the USCIS approved our client’s I-485 adjustment of status application. Now, she is a green card holder. 

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CASE: I-751

APPLICANT: Indian

LOCATION: Maryville, TN

Our client contacted our office in July of 2019 regarding his I-751 application.

He is from India and he married a U.S. citizen in December 2016. Through his marriage, he obtained a 2-year conditional green card in October of 2017 through our firm.  His conditional residency terminated in October 2019.

To comply with immigration requirements, our client and his wife had to file an I-751 Joint Petition to Remove Conditions. He retained our office on July 9, 2019, and our office prepared an I-751 application for our client.

On July 26, 2019, our office filed an I-751 application to the USCIS with several supporting documents to demonstrate the bona fideness of their marriage.

After the application was filed, the fingerprint notice was issued two weeks later. There was no RFE issuance or interview request for our client’s I-751 application. As a result, on May 27, 2020, the USCIS approved our client’s I-751 application and our client received his 10-year green card.

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CASE: I-751 / Waiver of the Joint Waiver Requirement
APPLICANT: Vietnamese
LOCATION: Round Rock, TX

Our client contacted our office in March of 2019 regarding his daughter’s I-751 filing. Our client is from Vietnam and he married a U.S. citizen and got his conditional green card in 2015. He filed his I-751 application and his I-751 application was approved as well. When he was petitioned by his U.S. citizen wife, his wife also filed I-130 petitions for our client’s daughter and she (the daughter – the subject of this success story) got her conditional green card in March 2015. Therefore, her conditional residency terminated in March 2017.

Unfortunately, during their marriage, our client and his ex-wife went through struggles. His ex-wife (his spouse at that time) refused to sign the form I-751 for his daughters to remove their conditional green cards. His daughters had to file the form I-751 under extreme hardship. In their application package, besides the required documents, each of them wrote a letter, explaining their hardships if they are forced to depart from the U.S and return to Vietnam. The hardship evidence included the fact that they left Vietnam at an early age, being unable to communicate in Vietnamese anymore, no protection, family separation, being unable to continue with their education, life insecurity, and physical and emotional depression. 

Nevertheless, our client received a Request for Evidence for this I-751 application in January 2019 and contacted our office for legal assistance.  After consultation, we advised that we can help her re-file the I-751 application with a waiver of the joint filing requirement. We requested a waiver because our client (applicant’s father) entered into the marriage in good faith, but the marriage was terminated through divorce or annulment before they can file a joint petition.

On April 3, 2019, our office filed the I-751 application with various supporting documents for the daughter. Eventually, on May 27, 2020, the USCIS approved our request for the removal of conditions on her permanent resident status without even an interview nor an RFE. Now, she has her ten-year green card.

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CASE: I-751

APPLICANT: Indonesian

LOCATION: Marietta, GA

Our client contacted our office in May of 2019 regarding her I-751 application.

She is from Indonesia and she married a U.S. citizen in March 2017. Through her marriage, she obtained a 2-year conditional green card in November 2017.  Her conditional residency terminated in November 2019.

To comply with immigration requirements, our client and her husband had to file an I-751 Joint Petition to Remove Conditions. She retained our office on May 21, 2019, and our office prepared an I-751 application for our client with the necessary supporting documents.

On August 21, 2019, our office filed an I-751 application to the USCIS with multiple affidavits from her friends and family members, joint bank statements, joint taxes, utility bills, insurance policies, and photos of our client and her husband to demonstrate the bona fideness of their marriage. 

Eventually, on May 11, 2020, the USCIS approved our client’s I-751 application and our client received her 10-year green card which removed the conditions.

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CASE: I-130 and Consular Processing (Immigrant Visa)

 CLIENT: US Citizen Petitioner Father; Filipino Beneficiary Children in the Philippines

 LOCATION: Petitioner: Daly City, CA; Beneficiary: Manila, Philippines

 I-130 FILED: June 8, 2018

 I-130 APPROVED: February 19, 2019

 IV APPROVED: February 10, 2020

Our client retained us to bring his children over from the Philippines. He was born and raised in the Philippines, but was naturalized in the United States.

On June 8, 2018, our firm filed the I-130 Petitions to the CIS. There were no Requests for Evidence throughout the pendency of the petition. On February 19, 2019, the I-130 Petitions were approved. We then started the immigrant visa processing phase of trying to get his children over to the United States.

On September 17, 2019, we filed the immigrant visa packets to the National Visa Center who in turn forwarded our client’s materials to the U.S. Embassy in Manila, Philippines. An interview notice was set for our client’s children at the U.S. Embassy in Manila, and we prepared them for their interview. On February 10, 2020, the U.S. Embassy in Manila, Philippines approved and issued their immigrant visas.

With the approved immigrant visas, our client’s children can come to the United States immediately, and they will get their green cards within two months of entry.

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CASE: I-751

APPLICANT: Jamaican

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client contacted our office in May of 2019 regarding her I-751 application.

She is from Jamaica and married a U.S. citizen in February 2017. Through her marriage with, she obtained a 2-year conditional green card in August of 2017.  Her conditional residency terminated in August 2019.

To comply with immigration requirements, our client and her husband had to file an I-751 Joint Petition to Remove Conditions. She retained our office on May 15, 2019, and our office prepared an I-751 application for our client with other supplemental exhibits.

On May 30, 2019, our office filed an I-751 application to the USCIS with multiple affidavits from her friends and family members, joint bank statements, joint taxes, utility bills, insurance policies, and photos of our client and her husband to demonstrate the bona fideness of their marriage. 

Eventually, on May 5, 2020, the USCIS approved our client’s I-751 application and our client received her 10-year green card which removed the conditions.

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CASE:  I-751 / Termination of Proceedings

APPLICANT: Filipina

LOCATION: Solon, OH

Our client contacted our office in July 2018 regarding her removal proceedings representation and I-751 application.

She is from the Philippines and married a U.S. citizen in June 2014. Through her marriage, she obtained a 2-year conditional green card in July 2015.  Her conditional residency terminated in July 2017.

To comply with immigration requirements, our client and her husband had to file an I-751 Joint Petition to Remove Conditions. They filed the I-751 application first; however, her husband filed a divorce against her while the application was pending.  Our client’s initial I-751 application was thus denied. Later on, our client was placed into removal proceedings.

Once retained, our office prepared an I-751 application for our client with other supplemental exhibits including a detailed explanatory brief. On December 19, 2018, our office filed an I-751 application to the USCIS with multiple affidavits from her friends and family members, joint bank statements, utility bills, insurance policies, and photos of our client and her husband to demonstrate the bona fideness of their marriage. Once the application was filed, the fingerprint notice was issued two weeks later.

Our client had to appear for her Master Calendar hearing at the Cleveland Immigration Court on December 17, 2019. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu represented our client at her initial Master Calendar Hearing and informed the court that our office filed a new I-751 application to the USCIS.  

In December 2019, the USCIS scheduled an interview for our client. On January 28, 2020, our client was requested to appear for the interview at the USCIS Cleveland Field Office.  Prior to the interview, our office prepared her thoroughly at our office and also accompanied them at the interview as well. Eventually, on April 22, 2020, the USCIS approved our client’s I-751 application and our client received her 10-year green card which removed the conditions. 

Once our client received her 10-year green card, our office filed the Motion to Terminate proceedings to the Cleveland Immigration Court on May 1, 2020. As a result of it, on May 5, 2020, the Immigration Judge terminated our client’s removal proceedings. 

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Case: I-130/I-485

Potential Issue: Response to Notice of Intent to Deny

Client: Filipina

Location: Broadview, IL

Our client entered the United States from the Philippines. Later, 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 February 2019, they appeared at the adjustment of status interview at the USCIS Chicago Field Office. However, on March 27, 2020, 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 is not bona fide.  Moreover, the NOID pointed out that the submitted documentation of Petitioner and Beneficiary does not establish a bona fide nature of their marriage. 

Our office contacted our office and retained our office on April 10, 2020. In response to the USCIS’s NOID, our office included multiple supporting documents including, joint bank account statements, a joint tax return record, a joint cell-phone bill, 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 April 23, 2020, we filed the Response to NOID prior to the 30-day deadline.

Finally, on May 5, 2020, the USCIS approved our client’s case. Both the I-130 Petition and I-485 Green Card Application were approved. Our client is now a green card holder.

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Case: I-485

Potential Issue: Response to RFE

Client: Chinese

Location: Millburn, NJ

Our client came from China and filed her I-485 adjustment of status application to the USCIS in February 2019. We were not her attorney of record when she filed the application. On November 8, 2019, the USCIS Newark Field Office issued a Request for Evidence (RFE) asking for proof that our client met the two-year foreign residency requirement or proof that she has an approved waiver of the two-year foreign residency requirement. Our client contacted our office for legal assistance on RFE response and retained our office on November 14, 2019. 

In response to the USCIS’s RFE, our office included an Advisory Opinion by the U.S. Department of State, a copy of our client’s J-1 visa page and DS-2019. Moreover, our office included a detailed brief explaining why our client’s J-1 program was not subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement. On November 18, 2019, we filed the Response to RFE.

Eventually, on May 5, 2020, the USCIS approved our client’s I-485 adjustment of status application. Our client is now a green card holder.

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CASE: I-130 and Consular Processing (Immigrant Visa) – Marriage-Petition

Our client is a U.S. citizen who married his wife in India in October 2018.  After the marriage, he came back to the United States and retained our office for the I-130 and immigrant visa filing for his wife. He retained our office on February 4, 2019. Our office prepared and filed the I-130 petition for his wife on February 11, 2019. The I-130 petition was approved by the USCIS on May 6, 2019. 

Once the I-130 petition was approved, we filed the immigrant visa packets to the National Visa Center on June 27, 2019, who in turn forwarded our client’s materials to the U.S. Embassy in Mumbai, India. An interview notice was set for the client at the U.S. Embassy in Mumbai, and we prepared her for the interview. On December 4, 2019, the interview was conducted.  Eventually, on April 30, 2020, the U.S. Embassy in Mumbai, India 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 within two months of entry.

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