CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

NATIONALITY: Lebanese

LOCATION: Marlborough, MA

Our client is a Lebanese Citizen who came to the U.S. on a J-2 Visa in November 2012. She came with her husband who held a J-1 Visa. Both were subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement.

Unfortunately, their marriage did not work out and she eventually got divorced from her ex-husband. Later, she married her current U.S. citizen husband. She was still subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement, and she would like to adjust her status in the United States. Until she gets a waiver of the 2-year foreign residency requirement, she cannot adjust her status in the United States.

She contacted our office, and our firm was retained to do her J-2 waiver on August 13, 2018.

On August 16, 2018, the J-2 Waiver Application along with the Form DS-3035 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 was divorced from the J-1 visa holder.

On September 19, 2018, the DOS sent a recommendation to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) for our client be granted a waiver.

After we received the waiver, our client retained us again and sought legal assistance for her adjustment of status application. Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and Adjustment of Status Application on September 27, 2018.  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 18, 2019, our client was interviewed at the Boston Massachusetts 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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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: Mexican

LOCATION: Pennsylvania

Our client came to the United States from Mexico on a B-2 visitor’s visa in 2002. He has remained in the United States since then.  He married a U.S. Citizen in February 2018 and retained our office for his green card application.

Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on March 20, 2018.  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 via conference calls. On March 12, 2019, our client was interviewed at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USCIS office. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office also accompanied our client as well.

The interview went well. However, the USCIS issued Request for Evidence (RFE) for our client to submit his updated medical record (I-693) and certified court disposition for his previous minor criminal record.  Our office filed the Response to RFE on April 4, 2019. Eventually, on April 12, 2019, his green card application was approved.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: Nigerian

LOCATION: San Antonio, TX

Our client came to the United States from Nigeria on a F-1 student’s visa in August 2015. He married a U.S. Citizen in July 2018 and retained our office on July 26, 2018 for his green card application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on October 11, 2018. 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 as well. On April 11, 2019, our client was interviewed at the San Antonio, Texas USCIS office. Eventually, on the same day of his interview, his green card application was approved.

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CASE: Adjustment of Status at Removal Proceeding
CLIENT: Gabonese
LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client came to the United States in July 2011 with a B-2 visitor’s visa from Gabon.  Later, she filed for asylum and her asylum application was denied by the immigration judge in Cleveland. She filed a BIA appeal and the BIA remanded her case in 2016.  She married a U.S. Citizen in October 2017. Our client’s husband filed an I-130 petition on behalf of our client, and this I-130 petition was approved by the USCIS Cincinnati Field Office in August 2018. However, she also applied for adjustment of status and this was administratively closed due to removal proceedings.  Our client contacted our office to seek legal representation.

Our client retained us on November 16, 2018. Thereafter, our office prepared and filed the I-485 Adjustment of Status Application and other supporting documents to the Cleveland Immigration Court at her Master Calendar hearing on December 11, 2018. We withdrew our client’s asylum case as well.   

On April 12, 2019, Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu represented our client’s at her Individual Hearing for adjustment of status at the Cleveland Immigration Court.  After the hearing, the Immigration Judge granted our client’s adjustment of status relief. Our client’s removal proceeding is terminated simultaneously. Now, our client becomes a green card holder.    

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

NATIONALITY: Filipina                                                                                                    

LOCATION: Mississippi

Our client is from the Philippines who came to the U.S. on a J-1 exchange visitor’s visa in October 2014. Her J-1 program was not subject to the 2-year foreign residency requirement (INA Section 212(e)).  In May 2017, our client married her current U.S. citizen husband. After she got married, she retained our office for her green card application. Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on June 8, 2018.  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 at our office via conference calls. On March 19, 2019, our client was interviewed at the New Orleans, Louisiana USCIS office. Eventually, on April 8, 2019, her green card application was approved.

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CASE: I-751

APPLICANT: Kenyan

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client contacted our office in May of 2017 regarding her I-751 application.

She is from Kenya and she married a U.S. citizen in November 2013. Through her marriage, she obtained a 2-year conditional green card in August of 2015.  Her conditional residency terminated in August 2017.

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, and our office prepared an I-751 application for our client with other supplemental exhibits.

On July 17, 2017, 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.

Once the application was filed, the fingerprint notice was issued two weeks later. However, the USCIS issued the Request for Evidence (RFE) to demonstrate the bona fideness of our client’s marriage with her husband. We filed an extensive Response to RFE to the USCIS with more bona fide marital documents on February 13, 2019.  

As a result, on April 4, 2019, 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: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

NATIONALITY: Indian                                                                                                       

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our Indian client came to the U.S. on an H-1B visa. In September 2018, our client married his current U.S. citizen wife.  He retained our office for his green card application. Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on October 18, 2018. 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 at our office. On April 5, 2019, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland Ohio USCIS office. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office accompanied our clients. On the same day, April 5, 2019, his green card application was approved.

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CASE: Fiancé Visa

PETITIONER: US Citizen in Cleveland, OH

BENEFICIARY: Slovakian

PETITION FILED: August 13, 2018

PETITION APPROVED: January 23, 2019

K-1 VISA APPROVED: March 14, 2019

Our client, a US Citizen Petitioner, met his fiancée in March 2018.  They started their relationship, and spent time together in Slovakia. They got engaged and our client decided to file a fiancé petition for his fiancée.  He retained our firm to file a fiancé petition for her on July 31, 2018.

After retention, we informed our client about the necessary supporting documents to demonstrate the bona fide nature of their relationship. We helped him and his fiancée draft letters in support of the fiancé petition, and we filed the petition on August 13, 2018.

On January 23, 2019, the I-129F fiancé petition was approved. On March 14, 2019, our client’s fiancée appeared at the U.S. Embassy in Bratislava, Slovakia for her K-1 visa interview. The interview went well, and after the interview, the U.S. Embassy issued her K-1 visa.

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CASE: Green Card Approval after Termination of Removal Proceedings with an Approved I-130 Petition

CLIENT: British
LOCATION: Applicant (Dallas, TX area), EOIR (Los Angeles, CA)

Our client is from the United Kingdom who came to the U.S. on a visa waiver in 2002. Soon after her entry to the U.S., she filed for asylum in the United States. Her asylum application was denied at the Los Angeles Immigration Court in October 2003. She has appealed the Immigration Judge’s decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals and the BIA found to remand her case to the Immigration Court in July 2009. Her case was administratively closed by the immigration judge in August 2014.  

Our client married her U.S. citizen husband in December 2013. In August 2014, her husband filed an I-130 petition for her, and this petition was approved in November 2016. In January 2017, she contacted our office to seek legal assistance for the representation of her removal proceedings, termination of removal proceedings, and her adjustment of status application with the USCIS.

In October 9, 2017, our office filed a request to Motion to Re-Calendar and terminate proceedings with an attached I-485 application and its supporting documents to the Los Angeles Immigration Court. Eventually, the Immigration Judge granted the Motion to terminate without prejudice on October 17, 2017.

After her removal proceeding was terminated, our client retained us again for her I-485 adjustment of status application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on November 10, 2017. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, fingerprint appointment, and work permit all came on time. Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our clients. On March 25, 2019, our client was interviewed at the Irving, Texas USCIS Field Office.  After the interview, her I-485 application was approved on March 26, 2019. Now, our client became a green card holder.

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CASE: I-751 / Waiver of the Joint Waiver Requirement

APPLICANT: Filipina

LOCATION: Ohio

Our client contacted our office in June 2017 regarding her potential I-751 filing. She came to the United States from the Philippines and she married a U.S. Citizen (her ex-husband) in June 2015.

Through her marriage, she was able to obtain a 2-year conditional green card in November of 2015. Thus, her conditional residency terminated in November 2017.

Unfortunately, their marriage ended in May 2016. Our client experienced a lot of difficulties during her marriage with her ex-husband. Thus, our client could not file the I-751 application jointly with her ex-husband.

Once retained, we requested a waiver because our client entered into the marriage in good faith, but the marriage was terminated through divorce or annulment before they can file a joint petition. We focused on the supporting documents that she can show and helped her draft an extensive affidavit about their marriage, and why it ended the way it did.

On July 17, 2017, our office filed the I-751 application with various supporting documents to demonstrate our client’s bona fide marriage with her ex-husband.  

In January 2019, the USCIS scheduled an I-751 interview for our client.

Prior to the interview, our office thoroughly prepared our client via conference calls and informed her of potential issues at the interview.

On January 31, 2019, our client was interviewed for her I-751 application at the USCIS Cincinnati, OH Field Office.  The interview was very extensive. Nevertheless, the USCIS approved our client’s I-751 application on March 28, 2019. Now, she has her ten-year green card.

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