CASE: Marriage-Based Green Card

CLIENT: Chinese

LOCATION: West Virginia

Our client came to the United States from China and currently teaches at an academic institution in West Virginia. She married her current husband, who is a green card holder, in August 2011.

Our client retained our office on March 19, 2013 for her I-130 petition and I-485 adjustment of status application. However, we could not file the I-130 / I-485 simultaneously because the Petitioner was a green card holder, not a U.S. citizen. At the time of the I-130 filing, the priority date for F2A category was not current, so our firm prepared and filed the I-130 petition on March 25, 2013.

While the I-130 petition was pending, the priority date for our client became current. So, our office prepared and filed an I-485 adjustment of status application, together with all necessary supporting documents, on August 27, 2013. 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 November 14, 2013, our client was interviewed at the Charleston, WV USCIS office. Eventually on November 21, 2013, her green card application was approved.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Green Card

CLIENT: Chinese

LOCATION: Cleveland, Ohio

Our client came to the United States in August 2009 with an F-1 Student Visa from China to pursue her Master’s degree in the United States. Later, she met her current U.S. Citizen husband and married him in April 2013.

Our client contacted our office and retained us on August 20, 2013 for her 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 September 5, 2013. 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 at our office. On November 21, 2013, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, Ohio USCIS office. Attorney JP Sarmiento accompanied them as well.  On November 21, 2013, her green card application was approved.

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Case: I-130/I-485
Applicant/Beneficiary – British
Location: Miami, FL

Our client entered the United States in August 2012 from the United Kingdom under the visa waiver program. He came here to visit Miami, FL. As a Visa Waiver Entrant, he was only authorized to remain in the United States for only 90 days.

Later, in December 2012, past the 90 day period, our client married his U.S. Citizen wife in the United States. Our client contacted our office, and he retained our office on January 8, 2013.

One main issue in his green card application through marriage was the fact that he 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 March 27, 2013.  Our office requested the CIS to exercise favorable discretion in granting adjustment of status. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, the fingerprint appointment, and the work permit all came on time.  Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our clients over conference call.

On October 28, 2013, our client was interviewed at the Miami, Florida USCIS Field Office.  Despite the visa waiver issue, the USCIS officer approved his green card application on November 8, 2013.

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CASE: I-751

APPLICANT: Spanish

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client contacted our office in early December 2012 regarding his I-751 application.

He is from Spain and he married a U.S. citizen in June 2010. Through his marriage, he obtained a 2-year conditional green card in April of 2011.  His conditional residency terminated in April 2013.

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 December 18, 2012 and our office prepared the I-751 application for our client with documents we requested from them.

On January 28, 2013, our office filed an I-751 application to the USCIS with multiple affidavits from his friends and family members, joint bank statements, utility bills, insurance policies, and photos of our client and his wife to demonstrate the bona fideness of their marriage.

After the application was filed, the fingerprint notice was issued two weeks later. There was no RFE issuance or interview request for our client’s I-751 application. As a result, on July 22, 2013, the USCIS approved our client’s I-751 application and our client received his 10-year green card.

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CASE: I-751

APPLICANT: Korean

LOCATION: Columbus, Ohio

Our client contacted our office in early May this year regarding her I-751 application.

She is from South Korea and married a U.S. citizen in March 2011. Through her marriage, she obtained a 2-year conditional green card in July of 2011.  Her conditional residency was terminated in July 2013.

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 May 13, 2013 and our office prepared an I-751 application for our client with bona fide marriage exhibits.

On June 3, 2013, our office filed an I-751 application to the USCIS with multiple affidavits from her friends and family members, joint bank statements, utility bills, insurance policies, and photos of our client and her husband to demonstrate the bona fideness of their marriage.

The fingerprint notice was issued two weeks later.

There was no RFE issuance or interview request for our client’s I-751 application. As a result, on October 4, 2013, the USCIS approved our client’s I-751 application and our client received her 10-year green card.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Green Card
CLIENT: Russian
LOCATION: Cleveland, Ohio

Our client came to the United States in June 2006 with a J-1 Exchange Visitor’s visa from Russia to do her training program in the United States. Her J-1 program did not subject to the INA Section 212(e) two-year foreign residency requirement. After she completed her J-1 program, she remained in the United States.

She married a U.S. Citizen in July 2013.  Our client retained our office on July 8, 2013 for her 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 14, 2013. 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 at our office. On October 31, 2013, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, Ohio USCIS office. Attorney Sung Hee  (Glen) Yu accompanied them as well.  On November 7, 2013, her green card application was approved.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: El Salvadorian

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client came to the United States in October 2006 with a B-2 visitors visa from El Salvador. After she got divorced, she married a U.S. Citizen in March 2012 and retained our office for her petition and adjustment of status application.

She also asked us to file her son’s (Petitioner’s step-son) adjustment of status application.

Once retained, our firm prepared and filed the I-130 petition and I-485 adjustment of status application on August 15, 2013. 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 at our office. On November 5, 2013, our clients were interviewed at the Cleveland, OH USCIS office. Our attorney accompanied them at their interview as well. On the same day, our client and her son’s green card applications were approved.

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CASE: I-751

APPLICANT: Tunisian

LOCATION: Washington, D.C.

Our client contacted our office in late December of last year regarding his I-751 application.

He is from Tunisia and married to a U.S. citizen. Through his marriage, he obtained a 2-year conditional green card in April 2011, also from our firm.  His conditional residency terminated in April 2013.

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 again on December 26, 2012 and our office prepared an I-751 application for our client with supporting documents.

On January 23, 2013, our office filed an I-751 application to the USCIS with multiple affidavits from her friends and family members, joint bank statements, utility bills, insurance policies, and photos of our client and his wife to demonstrate the bona fideness of their marriage.

The USCIS issued an RFE for our client’s I-751 application. Our office filed a Response to the RFE on September 6, 2013.  As a result, on October 30, 2013, the USCIS approved our client’s I-751 application and our client received his 10-year green card.

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CASE: Fiancé Visa

PETITIONER: US Citizen in Washington, D.C.

BENEFICIARY: Spanish

PETITION FILED: December 28, 2012

PETITION APPROVED: August 16, 2013

K-1 VISA APPROVED: October 28, 2013

Our client, a US Citizen Petitioner, met his Spanish fiancée in Washington D.C. in July 2011. They started their relationship, and he went to Spain in April 2012 after his fiancée went back to Spain.  When he visited his fiancée in April 2012, he proposed to her. Months 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 20, 2012. We helped him and his fiancée draft letters in support of the fiancé petition, and we filed the petition on December 28, 2012.

On August 16, 2013, the I-129F fiancée petition was approved. On October 28, 2013, our client’s fiancée appeared at the U.S. Embassy in Madrid, Spain 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: Jamaican
LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client came to the United States in September 2012 with a B-2 visitor’s visa from Jamaica.  She married a U.S. Citizen in April 2013 and retained our office on May 1, 2013 for her adjustment of status application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on July 22, 2013.  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 October 10, 2013, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, OH USCIS.  Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office accompanied our clients as well. On October 28, 2013, her green card application was approved.

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