CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: Chinese

LOCATION: Boston, MA

Our Chinese client came to the United States on a F-1 student visa to pursue her graduate degree in 2012. She married a U.S. Citizen in May 2014 and retained our office on June 13, 2014 for her green card application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on June 25, 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 as well. On September 18, 2014, our client was interviewed at the Boston, Massachusetts USCIS office.  On the same day, her green card application was approved.

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CASE: I-360 Petition

NATIONALITY: Canadian

LOCATION: Florida

Our Canadian client came to the U.S. in February 2013. He entered the United States with B-2 visitor’s visa for pleasure to go to Florida.

In October 2013, he contacted our office to seek legal representation for his I-360 petition.

Our client’s marital life was tough and he was abused by his spouse. He was hesitant at first because he was male, and believed VAWA cases for males were impossible. However, with his story and evidence, our office determined that he would be eligible for an I-360 self-petition as a spouse of an abusive U.S. citizen.

Our client experienced domestic violence and spousal abuse during his marriage. His wife physically and mentally abused him after the inception of their marriage. Thus, we prepared and filed his I-360 petition and I-485 adjustment of status application, which included 40 exhibits and a detailed brief to the USCIS Vermont Service Center on February 14, 2014.

Despite our client’s thoroughly prepared I-360 application, in May 2014, the USCIS Vermont Service Center issued a Request for Evidence (RFE).  Specifically, the RFE letter requested our client to submit more documents to prove his marriage was in good faith at the time of the inception of marriage. Our client and our office thoroughly gathered the requested documents, and filed a response to the RFE on July 24, 2013.

Finally, on September 8, 2014, the USCIS Vermont Service Center approved our client’s I-360 petition.

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Case: I-130/I-485

Applicant/Beneficiary – Lithuanian

Location: Columbus, OH

Our client entered the United States in April 2013 from Lithuania under the visa waiver program. She had a transit stamp on the passport though 90 days was given. While her flight was delayed, she spoke with a close friend and decided to stay in the US.

As a Visa Waiver Entrant, she was only authorized to remain in the United States for 90 days, as was stamped on her passport.

Later, in May 2014, our client married her U.S. citizen boyfriend. However, her authorized stay had elapsed. Our client and her husband contacted our office, and they retained us on May 30, 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. Another issue also was the “transit” note there (which also conflicted with the 90 day handwritten date provided on the stamp).

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 June 26, 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. On September 11, 2014, our client was interviewed at the Columbus, Ohio 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: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status.

NATIONALITY:Filipina

LOCATION: Seattle, Washington

Our client is from the Philippines who came to the U.S. on a J-1 Visa in October 2011.  Upon completion of her J-1 program, she remained in the United States and overstayed.  She was subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement. Later, she got married to her U.S. citizen husband.

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.

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 December 6, 2012, 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 December 28, 2012.

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 on March 5, 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 August 29, 2014, our client was interviewed at the Yakima WA USCIS office.  On September 2, 2014, her green card application was approved.

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CASE: I-130 / BIA Remand / Stokes Interview

CLIENT: Canadian

LOCATION: New York, NY

Our client came from Canada in 2002 as a visitor. He marrie his U.S. Citizen wife in October 2002. Our client has stayed in the United States since the inception of marriage and his authorized period of stay expired. Due to his overstay, our client was placed in removal proceedings in April 2010. He already had an I-130 approval but when he filed for adjustment of status on his own, they denied it and placed him in removal proceedings, and revoked the I-130.

He retained our office in 2010 for legal assistance for his removal proceedings representation and I-130 filing.

Unfortunately, on July 2, 2010, the USCIS New York office denied our client’s I-130 petition, after an almost three-hour Stokes interview. Before and at the interview, extensive evidence of bona fide marriage covering 8 years of marriage was submitted. The couple was able to answer a majority of the questions in the two and half hour interview, and the grounds and discrepancies relied upon by the USCIS in denying the I-130 compared to the majority and relevance of the correctly answered questions together with the extensive evidence was relatively minor.

In response to this denial decision, we timely filed a Notice of Appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals on July 29, 2010.  The BIA appeal was pending for a long time. Eventually, on May 9, 2012, the BIA found that a remand is warranted for our client’s case.  As a result, on September 29, 2012, our client and his U.S. Citizen wife appeared at the USCIS New York Field Office for another I-130 interview.

Even after the second interview, the I-130 remained pending without any issuance of any RFEs or Notice of Intent to Deny. In the meantime, we filed a Motion for Continuance based on the pending I-130 petition. The New York Immigration Court kept granting our Motions, and on October 28, 2013, the Immigration Judge administratively closed our client’s removal proceedings. Nevertheless, the I-130 petition remained pending.

In August 2014, the New York USCIS Field Office sent us another Stokes Interview request for our client and his wife. We prepared our clients extensively regarding their 12-year marital life. On August 20, 2014, our clients appeared at the New York USCIS Field Office for their second Stokes Interview. Attorney JP Sarmiento from our office also accompanied them as well. Finally, the USCIS approved our client’s I-130 petition. Now, our client can file for adjustment of status after the Immigration Court grants our Motion to Re-calendar and Terminate.

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CASE: Velarde Hearing in Immigration Court

CLIENT: Nigerian

LOCATION: New Orleans Immigration Court

Our Nigerian client came to the United States in August 2011 with a valid F-1 student visa to study in a college. However, he did not maintain status and was placed in removal proceedings in July 2012. After he got a Notice to Appear, he appeared at his initial master calendar hearing at the New Orleans Immigration Court without an attorney.

In May, he contacted our office and asked us whether we can take his case. He was married to a US Citizen, but he also had two previous marriages and divorces, also to US Citizens. We told him an I-130 can be filed, but that we need bona fides from his first two marriages also. We explained that the strength of his wife’s I-130 for him would also depend on how he can prove that his first two marriages were in good faith.

He retained our office on May 16, 2014. He married his U.S. wife in May 2014 and our office filed the I-130 petition for our client with a bona fide marriage exemption letter and bona fide marital documents. We organized the exhibits so that bona fide evidence from his first two marriages are also shown. We filed the I-130 application to the USCIS on June 12, 2014.

On June 17, 2014, our attorney Glen Yu appeared at his master calendar hearings via telephonic appearance. Attorney Yu did pleadings for our client, requested adjustment of status relief for our client, and requested a continuance based on a pending I-130 petition. However, the DHS requested a Velarde hearing to the Court. The DHS requested this hearing to determine whether proceedings should be continued to allow USCIS to adjudicate the I-130. DHS argued that our client’s marriage to his U.S. citizen spouse is presumptively invalid under immigration purposes since he married his wife after initiation of removal proceedings.

A Velarde Hearing is a hearing to establish whether good cause exists to continue proceedings for adjudication of a pending I-130 petition. A variety of factors may be considered, including, but not limited to: (1) DHS’ response to the Motion to continue; (2) whether the underlying visa petition is prima facie approvable; (3) the Respondent’s statutory eligibility for adjustment of status; (4) whether the Respondent’s application for adjustment merits a favorable exercise of discretion; and (5) the reason for the continuance and any other relevant factors. Matter of Hashimi, 24 I&N Dec. 785 (BIA 2009).

The Velarde hearing for our client was scheduled for August 18, 2014. Prior to the hearing, our office filed a brief in support and more documents to demonstrate the bona fide nature of our client’s marriage to his U.S. citizen wife.  Attorney Sung Hee Yu from our firm prepared him and his wife extensively via conference calls. He also represented our client at the Velarde Hearing at the New Orleans Immigration Court on August 18, 2014.

The hearing went well and as a result, the Court concluded that our client’s I-130 petition is prima facie approvable. The Immigration Judge granted a continuance based on the pending I-130 petition. His next master calendar hearing is scheduled for October 2015. Until then, and presumable eligible for further continuances, our client and his wife can wait for adjudication of the I-130 petition.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: Chinese

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our Chinese client came to the United States on a F-1 student visa to pursue her graduate degree in 2010. She married a U.S. Citizen in February 2014 and retained our office on March 3, 2014 for her green card application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and Adjustment of Status Application on March 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 as well. On August 19, 2014, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, Ohio USCIS office.  Attorney JP Sarmiento from our office accompanied our clients as well. On the same day, her green card application was approved.

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CASE: Adjustment of Status / 245i / Public Law 111-83 / INA Section 204(l) Amendment Issue (less stringent humanitarian reinstatement process)

CLIENT: Antiguan

LOCATION: Georgia

Our Antiguan client came to the U.S. on a F-1 student visa in 1996 and later changed to H-1B. His employer did not renew his H-1B status, so he fell out of his status.

Prior to retaining our firm, his father filed an I-130 petition for him back in March 1998 (F2B Classification). The I-130 petition was approved by the INS in 1998.  However, he could not apply for his green card until his priority date became current. Unfortunately, his father (I-130 Petitioner) passed away before he was eligible to apply for his green card.

Before 2009, through the more stringent humanitarian reinstatement process, the INS (USCIS now) allowed a foreign national’s spouse, parent, mother-in-law, father-in-law, sibling, child who is at least 18 years of age, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, sister-in-law, brother-in-law, grandparent, grandchild, or legal guardian to become a substitute sponsor if a family-based visa petitioner dies following the approval of the I-130 petition but before the foreign national obtains permanent residence. Even if the I-130 had been approved, it would be deemed revoked once the petitioner dies. At that time, reinstatement of the revoked petition was not automatic despite a substitute sponsor being available. And the process was still a matter of discretion. The INS had to determine whether “humanitarian reinstatement” was appropriate based on the individual facts of the case.  Thus, the applicant must demonstrate exceptional hardship and request for humanitarian reinstatement if his or her petitioner is deceased before the petition gets reinstated.

Public Law 111-83 (2009) eased this burden for beneficiaries whose petitioners died prior to their adjustment of status application.  The new regulation did not require “humanitarian reinstatement” anymore.  Therefore, as long as they meet certain qualifications such as having physical presence in the U.S. at the time of the petitioner’s death and also having a qualified substitute sponsor for these beneficiaries, the beneficiaries are eligible to adjust.

Our client contacted our office in 2013 and retained our office for his adjustment of status. Our client’s US citizen brother was willing to become a substitute sponsor and he met the physical presence requirement. Once retained, our office filed an I-485 adjustment of status application along with form I-485A and other supporting documents. It was filed on July 24, 2013.

On April 10, 2014, our client appeared at the Atlanta USCIS office for his adjustment interview.  Attorney Yu accompanied him at the interview, and the interview went pretty smoothly. Attorney Yu explained the new regulations and explained to them that the old humanitarian reinstatement standards were not needed anymore. Eventually, our client’s adjustment of status application was approved by the USCIS on August 14, 2014.  After a long wait, our client is finally a green card holder.

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CASE: I-751

APPLICANT: Filipina

LOCATION: Chicago, Illinois

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

She is from the Philippines and she married a U.S. citizen in January 2011. Through her marriage, she obtained a 2-year conditional green card in July of 2012.  Her conditional residency terminated in July 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 June 16, 2014 and our office prepared an I-751 application for our client with bona fide marriage evidence.

On June 19, 2014, our office filed an I-751 application to the USCIS with multiple affidavits from her friends and family members, joint bank statements, joint tax records, utility bills, joint mortgage, joint insurances and photos of our client and her husband 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 August 14, 2014, the USCIS approved our client’s I-751 application and our client received her 10-year green card.

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CASE: I-130 (Petitions for Parents) and Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: Filipinos

LOCATION: Chicago, IL

Our client retained us to petition her parents for a green card. Our client was born and raised in the Philippines, but was naturalized in the United States in 2013.

She contacted our office in November 2013 and discussed with us the green card process. After consultation, she retained our office on November 18, 2013.

Once retained, our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and Adjustment of Status Application on January 3, 2014 for her parents.  Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, fingerprint appointment, and work permits all came on time.  Eventually, on August 6, 2014, our client’s parents’ adjustment of status applications were approved. Now, they are green card holders.

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