CASE: Fiancée Visa

PETITIONER: US Citizen in Cleveland Ohio

BENEFICIARY: Russian

PETITION FILED: January 5, 2016

PETITION APPROVED: March 4, 2016

K-1 VISA APPROVED: May 10, 2016

Our client, a US Citizen Petitioner, met his Russian fiancée in Russia in 2014. They started their relationship in 2015 while he visited Russia again. His fiancée also visited the United States to see him in the summer of 2015. In October 2015, he proposed to her during his trip in Russia. After his proposal, he retained our firm to file a fiancée petition for her.

After retention, we informed our client about the necessary supporting documents to demonstrate the bona fide nature of their relationship. Our client retained our office on November 25, 2015. We helped him and his fiancée draft letters in support of the fiancé petition, and we filed the petition on January 5, 2016.

On March 4, 2016, less than two months of the filing, the I-129F fiancée petition was approved. On May 10, 2016, our client’s fiancée appeared at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, Russia for her K-1 visa interview. The interview went well, and on the same day, the U.S. Embassy issued her K-1 visa.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: Filipina

LOCATION: Cincinnati, OH

Our client came to the United States from the Philippines on an F-1 student visa in December 2014. She married a U.S. Citizen in December 2015 and 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 December 17, 2015.  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 April 12, 2016, our client was interviewed at the Cincinnati, Ohio USCIS office. Eventually, on April 29, 2016, her green card application was approved.

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CASE: Fiancée Visa

PETITIONER: US Citizen in Cleveland Ohio

BENEFICIARY: Filipina

PETITION FILED: August 13, 2015

PETITION APPROVED: September 8, 2015

K-1 VISA APPROVED: April 26, 2016

Our client, a US Citizen Petitioner, met his Filipina fiancée in the Philippines in 2011. They started their relationship, and he visited the Philippines. In 2014, he proposed to her during his trip in the Philippines. After his proposal, he retained our firm to file a fiancée petition for her.

After retention, we informed our client about the necessary supporting documents to demonstrate the bona fide nature of their relationship. Our client retained our office on June 6, 2015. We helped him and his fiancée draft letters in support of the fiancé petition, and we filed the petition on August 13, 2015.

On September 8, 2015, less than a month after the filing, the I-129F fiancée petition was approved. On April 16, 2016, our client’s fiancée appeared at the U.S. Embassy in Manila, Philippines for her K-1 visa interview. The interview went well, and on April 26, 2016, the U.S. Embassy issued her K-1 visa.

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CASE: Adjustment of Status Based on Approved K-1 Visa

CLIENT: Ukrainian

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client came to the United States in December 2015 as a K-1 visa entrant from Ukraine.  Our client is the beneficiary of an approved I-129F petition. She came to the United States as a K-1 Fiancée of a U.S. Citizen whom she married within 90 days of her entry. By law, if you married the petitioner-fiancé within 90 days of your K-1 visa entry, you are eligible to apply for adjustment of status (green card) in the United States.

Our client contacted our office initially in the middle of January 2016 and consulted with us for her adjustment of status application. After retention, our firm prepared and filed the I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on January 29, 2016.  Things went smoothly and the receipt notices, and the fingerprint appointment all came on time.  

It is not mandatory to have an adjustment of status interview for an applicant who entered on a K-1 visa.  However, the USCIS may require an interview to test the validity and bona fide nature of the marriage between the Petitioner and Beneficiary. The USCIS did not require an adjustment interview for our client.  On April 22, 2016, her green card application was approved.

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CASE: I-751

APPLICANT: Indian

LOCATION: New Jersey

Our client contacted our office in May of 2015 regarding his I-751 application.

He is from India and he married a U.S. citizen in September 2012. Through his marriage, he obtained a 2-year conditional green card in August of 2013.  His conditional residency was terminated in August 2015.

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 May 4, 2015 and our office prepared an I-751 application for our client with bona fide marriage evidence.

On June 3, 2015, our office filed an I-751 application to the USCIS with multiple affidavits from his friends and family members, joint bank statements, joint tax returns, utility bills, joint lease, and photos of our client and his wife to demonstrate the bona fideness of their marriage.

There was no RFE issuance or interview request for our client’s I-751 application. As a result, on April 20, 2016, the USCIS approved our client’s I-751 application and our client received his 10-year green card.

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CASE: Adjustment of Status / 245(i)

CLIENT: Filipino

LOCATION: North Carolina

Our Filipino client came to the U.S. on a B-2 visa in March 2015. Later, his authorized status expired and he overstayed his status. In September 2015, his wife came to the United States on a valid B-2 visa and at the time of her adjustment of status filing, she was still in status.

Our client contacted us around September of 2015 for consultation and sought legal assistance for their adjustment of status. After consultation, we determined that he is eligible for adjustment of status under INA 245(i) and the priority date for his case was current in September 2015.

His brother filed an I-130 petition for him back in 1992. As some of you know, priority dates for Philippine nationals under the family-based immigration category F4 are more retrogressed than other countries. The I-130 petition was approved by the INS in 1992.  However, he could not apply for his green card until his priority date became current.  Therefore, he had to wait for more than 20 years in order to even apply for his green card.

Section 245(i) of the INA allows certain foreign nationals to become permanent residents of the United States despite entering without inspection (EWI) or overstaying (if beneficiary of petitions filed not by an immediate relative). 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.

On September 30, 2015, our office filed an I-485 adjustment of status application under 245(i) for our client and his wife. 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 April 18, 2016, our clients were interviewed at the Charlotte, North Carolina USCIS office. After the interview, our client and his wife’s green card applications were approved.

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CASE:  Request to Join in a Motion to Reopen and Terminate Proceedings
CLIENT: Pakistanis
LOCATION: Philadelphia, PA

Our clients are a Pakistani couple who currently reside in Philadelphia, PA. They were granted withholding of removal years ago.  Our client entered the United States on a valid L-1 and L-2 visa in November 2000.  Later, they were granted withholding of removal in July 2006 by the Philadelphia Immigration Court.  They have remained in the United States thereafter.

In November 2013, our clients’ son became a naturalized U.S. citizen. However, for them to get a green card, their case should first be reopened in the Immigration Court for them to apply for adjustment of status either with the Court, or with the CIS should proceedings be terminated after reopening.

In May 2015, our clients contacted our office and sought legal assistance for their immigration matter. After consultation, our client retained us on May 14, 2015.  Upon retention, we first prepared and filed their U.S. citizen son’s I-130 petitions for them. We filed the I-130 petitions to the USCIS on May 20, 2015 and the USCIS approved the I-130s on October 5, 2015. Once the I-130s were approved, we filed a Request to Join in a Motion to Reopen for our client to USICE-DHS office in Philadelphia.  Our cover brief explained how they got their withholding of removal status, approved of I-130, and their prima facie eligibility to apply for adjustment of status.

On April 11, 2016, the DHS office in Philadelphia agreed to join in the Motion to Reopen and Terminate Proceedings. The Joint Motion was then filed to the Philadelphia Immigration Court and upon reopening and termination, their adjustment of status applications can then be filed to the USCIS.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: Pakistani

LOCATION: Philadelphia, PA

Our client came to the United States when he was a minor as an H-4 visa holder. Later, he changed his status from H-4 to F-1 once he was enrolled in college. After he completed his undergraduate degree, he got a job and was petitioned for his H-1B status in the United States. In August 2015, he married a U.S. Citizen and retained our office for his petition and adjustment of status application.

Once retained, our firm prepared and filed the I-130 petition and I-485 adjustment of status application on December 11, 2015. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, fingerprint appointment, and work permits all came on time. There were no requests for evidence.

Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our clients via conference calls. On March 10, 2016, our clients were interviewed at the Philadelphia Pennsylvania USCIS office. However, after the interview, the USCIS issued a Request for Evidence (RFE) and asked our client to submit more bona fide marital documents with his wife.  Our office prepared and filed the Response to RFE on March 21, 2016. Eventually, on April 11, 2016, the USCIS approved our client’s case. Now he is a green card holder.

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CASE: Adjustment of Status (I-485) based on First Preference Approved I-130
CLIENT: US Citizen Petitioner Mother; Chinese Beneficiary Daughter in Ohio
LOCATION: Cleveland, Ohio

Our client retained us to file her adjustment of status application (I-485) based on an approved I-130 petition which was filed for her by her US Citizen mother in February 2008. Our client is from China and has maintained her status in the United States. She was working as a controller under a valid H-1B status.

In October 2015, she was eligible to file her adjustment of status application. Our firm prepared and filed the I-485 adjustment of status application on October 23, 2015. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, fingerprint appointment, and work permits all came on time. There were no requests for evidence.

Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our client at our office. On March 17, 2016, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, Ohio USCIS office. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office also accompanied our client. The interview went well, and her application was approved on March 21, 2016. Now, she is a green card holder.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: Filipino

LOCATION: Newark, NJ

Our client came to the United States in January 2007 on a B-2 visitor’s visa from the Philippines. He remained in US past the expiration of his I-94. Later, he married a U.S. Citizen in May 2015 and retained our office for his petition and adjustment of status application.

Once retained, our firm prepared and filed the I-130 petition and I-485 adjustment of status application on July 20, 2015. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, fingerprint appointment, and work permits all came on time. There were no requests for evidence.

Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our clients via conference calls. On April 7, 2016, our clients were interviewed at the Newark, New Jersey USCIS office. After the interview, our client’s green card application was approved.

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