CASE: I-751

APPLICANT: Jamaican

LOCATION: New York, NY

Our client contacted our office in early February of 2014 regarding her I-751 application.

She is from Jamaica and she married a U.S. citizen in July 2011. Through her marriage, she obtained a 2-year conditional green card in April 2012. Our office helped her in the green card process.  Her conditional residency terminated in April 2014.

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 February 19, 2014 and our office prepared an I-751 application for our client with other supplemental exhibits.

On March 31, 2014, our office filed an I-751 application to the USCIS with multiple affidavits from her friends and family members, joint tax filing records, 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. 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 November 25, 2014.

Nonetheless, the USCIS scheduled an interview for our client and her husband. On March 11, 2015, our client and her husband were requested to appear for the interview at the USCIS New York City Office.  Prior to the interview, our office prepared them thoroughly via conference calls and also accompanied them at the interview as well. The interview went well, and as a result, on the same day of the interview, the USCIS approved our client’s I-751 application. On April 20, 2015, our client received her 10-year green card which removed the conditions.

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Case: I-130/I-485

Applicant/Beneficiary – Korean

Location: San Francisco, CA

Our client entered the United States in September 2014 from South Korea under the visa waiver program. She came here to visit her U.S. citizen boyfriend (now her husband) for a couple of months. As a Visa Waiver Entrant, she was only authorized to remain in the United States for 90 days.

Later, in November 2014, our client and her U.S. citizen boyfriend married in the United States. Her husband contacted our office, and they retained us on November 20, 2014.

One main issue in her green card application through marriage was the fact that she 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 December 10, 2014.  Our office requested the CIS to exercise favorable discretion in granting adjustment of status. 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 through conference calls. On April 8, 2015, our client was interviewed at the San Francisco, California USCIS Field Office.  Despite the visa waiver issue, on the same day, the USCIS approved her green card application.  Now, our client is a green card holder.

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CASE: I-751

APPLICANT: Ghanaian

LOCATION: Cleveland, Ohio

Our client contacted our office in early July 2014 regarding his I-751 application.

He is from Ghana and married a U.S. citizen in 2011. Through his marriage, he obtained a 2-year conditional green card in October of 2012.  His conditional residency terminated in July 2014.

What was unique in this case was that after our client obtained his green card, their marriage suffered and they eventually got divorced. However, after a few months, they got remarried again. Those set of facts typically would raise red flags with immigration, but we got their story and obtained documents about their relationship and filed the I-751.

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 7, 2014 and our office prepared an I-751 application for our client with other supplemental exhibits. We made sure the application was extensive as their situation, post conditional residency application, was unique.

On August 19, 2014, our office filed an I-751 application to the USCIS with multiple affidavits from his friends and family members, joint tax filing records, joint bank statements, utility bills, insurance policies, and photos of our client and his wife to demonstrate the bona fideness of their marriage. The divorce decree plus new marriage certificate were also submitted. The beneficiary even had a domestic violence case which was brought down to disorderly conduct.

Once the application was filed, the fingerprint notice was issued two weeks later. However, USCIS issued a Request for Evidence (RFE) on December 3, 2014. The USCIS requested our client to submit more documentary evidence to prove the bona fide nature of his marriage with his wife. In response to the RFE, our office prepared the response and gathered more joint documentary evidence to demonstrate the bona fide nature of their marriage We filed the RFE response on February 5, 2015.

As expected, the USCIS scheduled an interview for our client’s I-751 application. On April 2, 2014, our client and his wife were requested to appear for their interview at the USCIS Cleveland Office.  Prior to the interview, our office prepared them thoroughly. We also accompanied them at the interview as well. The interview went well, and as a result, on the same day of the interview, the USCIS approved our client’s I-751 application and our client received his 10-year green card which removed the conditions

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CASE: Marriage-Based Green Card (Same Sex Marriage Case)

CLIENT: Filipino

LOCATION: Portland, OR

Our client came from the Philippines and he was working in Oregon on an H-1B visa. Since 2011, our client and his current U.S. citizen spouse were in a relationship.

On June 26, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court held that restricting U.S. federal interpretation of “marriage” and “spouse” to apply only to heterosexual unions, by Section 3 of the defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), is unconstitutional under the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment. United States v. Windsor, 570 U.S. ___ (2013). After the Windsor decision, the USCIS implemented a new policy that the USCIS officer must review immigration via petitions filed on behalf of a same-sex spouse in the same manner as those filed on behalf of an opposite-sex spouse. As long as a same-sex couple is married in a U.S. state that recognizes same-sex marriage, their marriage shall be considered a valid marriage under the immigration law.

After DOMA was struck down, our client and his current U.S. citizen spouse, decided to get married. They married in Sacramento, CA in February 2014 where same-sex marriage is recognized. Our client contacted our office and retained us on August 8, 2014 for his I-130 petition and I-485 adjustment of status application. Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 petition and I-485 adjustment of status application, together with all necessary supporting documents, on August 15, 2014. 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 1, 2015, our client was interviewed at the Portland, Oregon USCIS office. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu accompanied them as well. The interview went well and his green card application was approved on the same day.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

NATIONALITY: Vietnamese

LOCATION: Houston, Texas

Our client is a citizen of Vietnam who initially came to the U.S. on a J-2 Visa in December 2011. He came with his ex-wife who held a J-1 Visa as a visiting researcher. Both were subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement.

Unfortunately, their marriage did not work out and he eventually got divorced from his ex-wife. In June 2014, our client married his current U.S. citizen wife. She is willing to file an I-130 for our client, but our client cannot file an adjustment of status application without a waiver of the two-year foreign residency requirement.

He contacted our office, and our firm was retained for his J-2 waiver.  On June 18, 2014 the J-2 Waiver was filed with 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 July 30, 2014, the DOS sent a recommendation to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) for our client to be granted a waiver. On August 25, 2014, the USCIS issued the I-612 waiver approval.

Once his J-2 waiver was approved, he 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 for him on November 4, 2014.  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 March 23, 2015, our client was interviewed at the Houston, Texas USCIS office. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office accompanied out clients as well.  Eventually, on March 24, 2015, his green card application was approved.

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

APPLICANT: Dominican

LOCATION: Orlando, FL

Our client contacted our office in early December of 2014 regarding her pending I-751 filing. She came to the United States from the Dominican Republic and she married a U.S. Citizen (her ex-husband) in July 2011.

Through her marriage, she was able to obtain a 2-year conditional green card in March of 2012. Her conditional residency terminated in March 2014.

Before her 2 year green card expired, our client filed an I-751 application JOINTLY with her ex-husband in 2014. However, while the I-751 application was pending, their marriage started to fall apart. Our client experienced a lot of difficulties in her marital life with his ex-husband. Eventually, they were SEPARATED AND FILED FOR DIVORCE IN DECEMBER 2014. Their marriage ended in February 2015 (divorce issued). While her I-751 was pending, she retained our office to convert her I-751 from joint filing to a waiver of the joint filing category.

According to an April 9, 2009 USCIS Memorandum by Director Neufeld, “USCIS may not deny a petition solely because the spouses are separated and/or have initiated divorce or annulment proceedings…  If a Service Center ISO encounters an I-751 petition jointly filed by co-petitioners who are still married but are in divorce proceedings, the ISO issues the Conditional Permanent Resident (CPR) a Request for Evidence with an 87-day response period.  In the RFE, the ISO specifically asks the CPR to provide a copy of the final divorce decree along with a request to have the joint filing petition treated as a waiver petition.  This affords the CPR an opportunity to provide evidence that the proceedings have been finalized and it affords the CPR an opportunity to request a waiver to the joint filing without refilling.”

Based on this Memorandum and with various supporting documents (over 42 exhibits and an affidavit over 9 pages) to demonstrate their bona fide marriage, on December 26, 2014, our office promptly filed a new I-751 application with a Request to convert the joint filing to I-751 with waiver of the joint waiver requirement pursuant to the Neufeld April 3, 2009 Memorandum for I-751 Applications pending divorce proceedings. No new filing fees were included in this conversion request.

In January 2015, 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 February 24, 2015, our client was interviewed for her I-751 application at the USCIS Orlando, FL Field Office.  Eventually, the USCIS approved our client’s I-751 application. Now, she has her ten-year green card.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

NATIONALITY: Filipina

LOCATION: Albuquerque, NM

Our client is from the Philippines who came to the U.S. on a J-1 Visa in July 2011 to work as a teacher. In June 2013, she got married to her U.S. citizen husband and later on consulted with our firm for her J-1 visa waiver prior to applying for her adjustment of status application.

She was eligible to get a green card through her marriage to a U.S. citizen; however, before we can file her I-130/I-485 application simultaneously, she had to get a waiver of her two-year foreign residency requirement first

As a previous success story explained, our office worked on our client’s J-1 waiver.  Eventually, the Philippine Embassy issued a No Objection Statement for our client, and sent this letter to the State Department’s Waiver Review Division.  On July 21, 2014, the Waiver Review Division issued a favorable recommendation based on the No Objection statement. The CIS has receipted the fee and issued an I-612 approval notice for our client’s waiver on August 19, 2014.

Later on, our client retained us for her adjustment of status application. Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 petition and I-485 adjustment of status application for her and her two children on August 26, 2014.  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 March 10, 2015, our client and her two children were interviewed at the Albuquerque NM USCIS office.  On the same day, her and her two children’s green card applications were approved.

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CASE: Joint Motion to Reopen and Termination of Removal Proceedings with an Approved I-130 Petition

CLIENT: Pakistani
LOCATION: Indiana; San Francisco (EOIR)

Our client is from Pakistan who came to the U.S. on a B-2 visitor’s visa in May 2010. He remained in the United States even after his authorized stay expired.  Later, he filed for asylum and withholding of removal. However, he could not attend his hearing due to an emergency medical issue. He even notified the immigration court but his submission was procedurally incorrect (this was used as an exhibit in our motion). Subsequently, he received an order of removal in absentia. A few months later, his jewelry store got robbed too, leaving them with no money at that time to afford a lawyer for a proper Motion to Reopen.

Our client remained in the United States with the final order of removal. He married his current U.S. citizen wife. His wife filed an I-130 petition in April 2014 with help from of our office, which was subsequently approved by the USCIS in November 2014.

Our client and his wife were wondering whether he has any viable option for his immigration situation.  After careful review, our office determined that we can file a Request to Join in a Motion to Reopen based on the I-130 approval and Bo Cooper’s May 17, 2001 Memorandum.

Once retained, our office filed a Request to Join in a Motion to Reopen and Terminate to the San Francisco DHS office on February 13, 2015. Our office prepared an extensive brief along with multiple supporting documents to request a favorable exercise of DHS’s discretion on this case. We argued that DHS should consider the following factors as set forth in Bo Cooper’s May 17, 2001 Memorandum: (1) whether adjustment of status was available at the prior hearing; (2) whether the alien is statutorily eligible for adjustment of status; and (3) whether the alien merits a favorable exercise of discretion. Bo Cooper, Motions to Reopen for Consideration of Adjustment of Status (May 17, 2001). In considering these factors, as delineated in William J. Howard’s October 24, 2005, Memorandum, “Where a motion to reopen for adjustment of status… is filed on behalf of an alien with substantial equities, no serious criminal or immigration violations, and who is legally eligible to be granted relief except that the motion is beyond the 90-day limitation contained in 8 C.F.R. § 1003.23, strongly consider exercising prosecutorial discretion and join in this motion to reopen to permit the alien to pursue such relief to the immigration court.” William J. Howard, Prosecutorial Discretion (October 24, 2005).

Our office argued that if our client’s case is reopened, he will be prima facie eligible to adjust his status. Our client has been living in the United States since 2010, has no criminal record, and has an approved I-130 petition based on his marriage to his U.S citizen spouse.

As a result, the DHS office agreed to join in our Motion to Reopen and Terminate. The DHS filed the joint motion to the San Francisco Immigration Court, and the San Francisco Immigration Court re-opened and terminated our client’s case on March 3, 2015. Now he can file for adjustment of status and work permit with the CIS.

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CASE:   Immigrant Visa / I-601A Hardship Waiver of Inadmissibility

APPLICANT / BENEFICIARY: Mexican

LOCATION: Ohio / Ciudad Juarez, Mexico (Visa Interview)

Our client came to the United States from Mexico in July 2003 without inspection and admission. When he made his entry to the U.S., he was only 16 year old.

He married his U.S. citizen wife in 2011 and they have a U.S. citizen child together. Through our office’s assistance, his U.S. Citizen wife filed an I-130 petition for him on July 19, 2013. This I-130 petition was approved on January 15, 2014.

However, our client cannot file for adjustment of status due to his ground of inadmissibility. He needs a waiver of inadmissibility to become a green card holder – a 601A provisional waiver.

Under current law, immediate relatives of U.S. citizens who are not eligible to adjust status in the United States must travel abroad and obtain an immigrant visa. Individuals who have accrued more than 180 days of unlawful presence while in the United States must obtain a waiver of inadmissibility to overcome the unlawful presence bars under section 212(a)(9)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act before they can return to the United States

Last year, the USCIS announced of new policy called the provisional unlawful presence waiver. Beginning March 4, 2013, certain immigrant visa applicants who are spouses, children and parents of U.S. citizens (immediate relatives) can apply for provisional unlawful presence waivers before they leave the United States. The provisional unlawful presence waiver process allows individuals, who only need a waiver of inadmissibility for unlawful presence, to apply for a waiver in the United States.

The new process is expected to shorten the time U.S. citizens are separated from their immediate relatives while those family members are obtaining immigrant visas to become lawful permanent residents of the United States.

INA § 212(i) provides for a discretionary waiver of the entry without inspection 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 § 212(i)(1). In addition to the equities presented, the USCIS may consider the nature of the inadmissibility ground.

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-601A application had a good chance since our client’s U.S. Citizen wife suffers from a great degree of medical hardship. Also, his U.S. citizen son has medical hardships as well. In the I-601A brief and supporting documents, our office included extensive medical reports of his wife.  We argued that if he was removed from the United States, extreme hardship to his husband is clearly foreseeable and evident.  His wife has ongoing medical hardships and she would not be able to take care of her own needs and the bulk of their family chores, most importantly taking care of their young child. Also, it would be extremely difficult for her to get the same level of therapy and satisfactory access to medical services in Mexico in case she joins our client there.

In our brief, we also argued that our client and his wife have maintained strong family ties in the United States, that his wife will have difficulty in finding the same level of employment in Mexico, that our client has good employment in the United States, and that his U.S. citizen child and his wife will face extreme financial and emotional difficulties if he is removed.

On August 14, 2014, we filed the I-601A waiver application which included the brief in support, his wife’s extensive medical examination records, and other documents that demonstrated hardship to his wife if he is removed from the United States.

Eventually, his I-601A waiver was approved on October 22, 2014.

Once his I-601A waiver was approved, he retained our office again for his immigrant visa processing. Our office prepared and filed his immigrant visa application on November 26, 2014. In February 2015, the U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico informed our office that they scheduled an immigrant visa interview for our client. Our client went back to Mexico to appear at his interview on March 5, 2015. On March 5, 2015, our client appeared at his immigrant visa interview at the Consulate, and the Consulate officer approved his immigrant visa on the same day.

Now, our client is back in the United States with an approved immigrant visa and he will get his green card in the mail within two weeks.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: Filipina

LOCATION: Santa Clara, California

Our Filipina client came to the United States on a B-2 visitor visa in July 2014. Later, she married a U.S. Citizen in September 2014 and retained our office on November 10, 2014 for her green card application. She had previous J-1 visas, but she was not subject. BOTH her DS-2019 and visa stated that she was not subject to the 2-year rule.

Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on November 13, 2014.  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 as well. On March 3, 2015, our client was interviewed at the Santa Clara, California USCIS office. Eventually, on the same day, her green card application was approved.

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