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

APPLICANT: Indian

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client contacted our office in early February of 2014 regarding her potential I-751 filing. She came to the United States from India and she married a U.S. Citizen (her ex-husband) in September 2011.

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

Unfortunately, their marriage ended in April 2013. 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 February 25, 2014, our office filed the I-751 application with various supporting documents (over 9 exhibits and an affidavit over 3 pages) to demonstrate our client’s bona fide marriage with her ex-husband.

In June 2014, the USCIS scheduled an I-751 interview for our client.

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

On July 10, 2014, our client was interviewed for her I-751 application at the USCIS Cleveland, OH Field Office.  Attorney JP Sarmiento from our office accompanied our client.  The interview was very extensive.  Nevertheless, the USCIS approved our client’s I-751 application on the same day. Now, she has her ten-year green card.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status
CLIENT: Sri Lankan
LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our Sri Lankan client came to the United States on an F-1 student visa in January 2013. Later, he married a U.S. Citizen in October 2013 and retained our office on April 3, 2014 for his adjustment of status application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and Adjustment of Status Application on April 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 in our office. On July 1, 2014, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, OH USCIS.  Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office accompanied them as well. On the same day, his green card application was approved.

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CASE: I-751

APPLICANT: Jordanian

LOCATION: Ohio

Our client contacted our office in December of 2013 regarding her I-751 application.

She is from Jordan and married a U.S. citizen in November 2010. Through her marriage, she obtained a 2-year conditional green card in December of 2011.  Her conditional residency terminated in March 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 again on December 20, 2013 and our office prepared an I-751 application for our client with a lot of exhibits.

On January 2, 2014, our office filed an I-751 application to the USCIS with a birth certificate of their son, joint bank statements, joint tax records and photos of our client and her husband to demonstrate the bona fideness of their marriage.

We then got a receipt notice and the fingerprint notice was issued two weeks later.  However, USCIS issued a Request for Evidence (RFE) on May 6, 2014.  The USCIS requested our client to submit more documentary evidence to prove the bona fide nature of her marriage with her husband. In response to the RFE, our office prepared the response and gathered more joint documentary evidence to demonstrate the bona fide nature of our client’s marriage with her husband during last two years. We filed the RFE response on May 30, 2014 to USCIS.

Eventually, on July 1, 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/I-485

Potential Issue: Response to Notice of Intent to Deny

Client: Kenyan

Location: Dallas, Texas

Our client entered the United States in May 2001 from Kenya with an F-1 student visa.  Later, she married her U.S. citizen husband in July 2007. She retained our office on June 29, 2012 for her adjustment of status application.

Our office prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on July 9, 2012.  Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, fingerprint appointment, and work permits all came on time. Prior to the interview, Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office thoroughly prepared our client via conference calls for their USCIS adjustment of status interview.

On September 21, 2012, Attorney Yu accompanied our client and her husband at the Dallas USCIS office for her adjustment interview. The interview was extensive, and at the end of the interview, the USCIS officer scheduled another interview for them. The officer was suspicious regarding the bona fideness of our client’s marriage.

On October 24, 2012, Attorney Yu accompanied our client and her husband again at the Dallas USCIS office her second interview. The interview took two hours and the officer thoroughly asked our client and her husband about the bona fide nature of the marriage and some martial issues that the officer had suspicions on.

On January 10, 2013, 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 points out that the submitted documentation of Petitioner and Beneficiary does not establish a continual significant combining of financial responsibility for their marriage. Lastly, the NOID claimed there were several discrepancies in their testimonies during the interviews.

In response to the USCIS’s NOID, our office helped our clients draft an extensive affidavit. Multiple supporting documents  and a four-page affidavit from our client were all included as well as letters from their friends and neighbors, joint bank statements, joint insurance, utility bills, and several pictures of our client and his wife in several occasions with different people.  Several legal authorities were cited based on particular issues discussed, and on February 6, 2013, we filed the Response to NOID prior to the 30-day deadline.

However, for more than a year, our client and our office never received any kind of response or a decision from the USCIS Dallas Field Office. Our client had appeared for multiple Infopass appointments at the Dallas USCIS office and our office and our client had made several USCIS customer service center inquiries since it was out of processing time.

Our office also filed a written follow-up request directly to the USCIS Dallas Field Office in May 2014.

Finally, on July 2, 2014, 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: Fiancé Visa

PETITIONER: US Citizen in Ohio

BENEFICIARY: Nigerian Beneficiary in Spain

PETITION FILED: November 26, 2013

PETITION APPROVED: February 4, 2014

K-1 VISA APPROVED: June 20, 2014

Our client, a US Citizen Petitioner, met her Nigerian fiancé in March 2007 in Nigeria.  Over time, they started their relationship, and she went to Spain multiple times in 2012 and in 2013 after her fiancé moved to Spain.  When she visited his fiancé in July 2012, her fiancé proposed to her. Months after his proposal, she retained our firm to file a fiancé petition for him.

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 October 14, 2013. We helped her and her fiancé draft letters in support of the fiancé petition, and we filed the petition on November 26, 2013.

On February 4, 2014, the I-129F fiancé petition was approved. On June 20, 2014, our client’s fiancé appeared at the U.S. Embassy in Madrid, Spain for his K-1 visa interview. The interview went well, and on the same day, the U.S. Embassy issued his K-1 visa.

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CASE: Adjustment of Status (I-485) / BIA Motion to Reopen and Termination of Removal Proceedings with an Approved I-130 Petition

CLIENT: Peruvian

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client is from Peru who came to the U.S. on a B-2 visitor’s visa in July 2002 with his family. When he came to the United States, he was an only a minor.

Later, his father filed for asylum and withholding of removal, but the Immigration Judge in Cleveland denied all applications for relief in February 2010. Accordingly, our client’s asylum relief (our client was a derivate applicant of his father’s asylum application) was denied as well.

His father filed an appeal to the BIA, but in May 2012, the Board affirmed the Immigration Judge’s findings and dismissed the appeal. Unfortunately, our client’s father was deported soon after the BIA appeal was dismissed.

Our client remained in the United States despite the final order of removal. He was under order of supervision.

He married his current U.S. citizen wife in September 2012, and he inquired on whether he has any viable option for his immigration status.  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. Our client retained our office on September 11, 2012.

Once retained, our client’s wife filed the I-130 petition for our client on September 18, 2012. Our office prepared and filed the petition. The I-130 interview was scheduled and prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our clients at our office. On March 5, 2013, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, Ohio USCIS office. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office accompanied them as well. Eventually, on April 17, 2013, the I-130 petition was approved.

While the I-130 was pending, our office also filed a Request to Join in a Motion to Reopen and Terminate to the Cleveland DHS office on October 1, 2012. 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 2002, has no criminal record, was a minor at the time of the entry to the U.S., and has an approved I-130 petition.

As a result, the DHS office agreed to join in our Motion to Reopen and Terminate. The DHS filed the joint motion to the BIA in September 2013. Finally, the BIA ordered our client’s case to be reopened and terminated our client’s case on November 26, 2013. Once his case was terminated he retained our office again for his I-485 adjustment of status application.

Our firm prepared and filed the Adjustment of Status Application and the Employment Authorization Document on February 24, 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 client at our office. On June 24, 2014, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, OH USCIS.  Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office also accompanied our client as well. On the same day, his green card application was approved.

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

APPLICANT: Chinese

LOCATION: San Diego, CA

Our client contacted our office in early December of 2012 regarding her potential I-751 filing. She came to the United States from China in October 2010, after she married a U.S. Citizen (her ex-husband).

Through her marriage, she was able to obtain a 2-year conditional green card in March of 2011. Thus, her conditional residency terminated in March 2013.

Unfortunately, their marriage ended in December 2012. 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 December 19, 2012, our office filed the I-751 application with various supporting documents (over 24 exhibits and an affidavit over 5 pages) to demonstrate our client’s bona fide marriage with her ex-husband.  We also attached numerous notarized affidavits from our client’s friends.

However, on July 15, 2013, the USCIS issued a Request for Evidence (RFEs) to demonstrate the bona fideness of our client’s marriage with her ex-husband. We filed an extensive Response to RFE to the USCIS with more bona fide marital documents on September 19, 2013.

In January 2014, the USCIS scheduled an I-751 interview for our client.

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

On January 28, 2014, our client was interviewed for her I-751 application at the USCIS Chula Vista, CA Field Office.  Attorney Glen Sung Hee Yu from our office accompanied our client.  The interview was very extensive.  Nevertheless, the USCIS approved our client’s I-751 application on June 24, 2014. Now, she has her ten-year green card.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: Ghanaian

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client came to the United States in September 2001 with an A-2 visa (The A-2 diplomatic visa is a nonimmigrant visa which allows foreign accredited officials, not in the diplomatic category, to enter into the U.S. to engage in official activities of their government) from Ghana. Since then, she has maintained her A-2 status, finished her school, and she is currently working as a nurse in the United States.

She married a U.S. Citizen in July 2013 and retained our office on October 25, 2013 for her adjustment of status application. They were not living together but based on our conversation, the marriage was bona fide. The US Citizen lived in Ohio, the beneficiary lived in Maryland.

Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on November 8, 2013.  Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, fingerprint appointment, and work permits all came on time. We also requested that the interview be held in Cleveland Ohio.

Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our clients through conference calls. On June 9, 2014, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, Ohio USCIS.  Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office also accompanied our client as well. On June 23, 2014, her green card application was approved.

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CASE: I-751

APPLICANT: Surinamese

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

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

She is from Suriname and she married a U.S. citizen in 2011. Through her marriage, she obtained a 2-year conditional green card in May of 2012.  Her conditional residency terminated in May 2014.

To comply with immigration requirements, our client and her husband had to file an I-751 Joint Petition to Remove Conditions on her permanent residency. She retained our office on January 20, 2014 and our office prepared and filed an I-751 application with bona fide marriage evidence.

On February 4, 2014, our office filed an I-751 application to the USCIS with multiple affidavits from her friends and family members, joint insurance policies, joint tax records, joint property ownership document, and photos of our client and her husband to demonstrate the bona fideness of their marriage.

There was no RFE or interview request for our client’s I-751 application. As a result, on June 19, 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-751

APPLICANT: Italian

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

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

She is from Italy and she married a U.S. citizen in 2011. Through her marriage, she obtained a 2-year conditional green card in May of 2012.  Her conditional residency terminated in May 2014.

To comply with immigration requirements, our client and her husband had to file an I-751 Joint Petition to Remove Conditions on her permanent residency. She retained our office on February 27, 2014 and our office prepared an I-751 application with bona fide marriage evidence.

On March 6, 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 lease, and photos of our client and her husband to demonstrate the bona fideness of their marriage.

There was no RFE or interview request for our client’s I-751 application. As a result, on June 11, 2014, the USCIS approved our client’s I-751 application and our client received her 10-year green card.

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