CASE: Marriage Based I-130 petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status
CLIENT: Filipina
LOCATION: Houston, TX

Our client came to the United States in September 2010 with a B-2 visitor’s visa from the Philippines.

She later changed her status from B-2 to F-1 when she enrolled in school.

She then married a U.S. Citizen in March 2013 and retained our office on May 2, 2013 for her adjustment of status application.

Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and Adjustment of Status Application on May 21, 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 September 9, 2013, our client was interviewed at the Houston, Texas USCIS office.  Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office accompanied our clients as well. On the same day, her green card application was approved.

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CASE: I-751

APPLICANT: Ghanaian

LOCATION: Cleveland, Ohio

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

He is from Ghana, married to a U.S. citizen since August 2009. Through his marriage, he obtained a 2-year conditional green card in July of 2011.  His conditional residency terminated in July 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 May 14, 2013 and our office prepared an I-751 application for our client with other supplemental exhibits.

On June 7, 2013, our office filed an I-751 application to the USCIS with multiple affidavits from his friends and family members, joint tax filing records, a birth certificate of their child, joint bank statements, utility bills, insurance policies, and photos of our client and his wife to demonstrate the bona fideness of their marriage.

Once the application was filed, the fingerprint notice was issued two weeks later. There was no RFE issuance for our client’s I-751 application. On August 29, 2013, our client and his wife were requested to appear for an 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, the USCIS approved our client’s I-751 application and our client received his 10-year green card.

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CASE: I-130 and Consular Processing (Immigrant Visa) – Marriage-Petition

Our client is a U.S. citizen who married his wife in Tbilisi, Georgia in December 2012.  After the marriage, he came back to the United States and contacted our office in early January 2013 and retained us to bring his wife to the States.

Our office prepared and filed the I-130 to the USCIS in January 8, 2013. After the I-130 was filed, everything went smoothly, there were no requests for evidence, and the receipt notices came on time.

The I-130 Petition was approved on March 11, 2013.

After the I-130 approval, we filed the immigrant visa packets to the National Visa Center on May 24, 2013, who in turn forwarded our client’s materials to the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi, Georgia. An interview notice was set for the client at the US Embassy in Tbilisi, and we prepared her for the interview. On August 7, 2013, the interview was conducted.  Eventually, on August 30, 2013, the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi, Georgia approved and issued her immigrant visa.

With the approved Immigrant visa, our client’s wife can come to the United States immediately, and she will get her green card within two weeks of entry.

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CASE: I-751 / Response to RFE

APPLICANT: Filipina

LOCATION: Ohio

Our client contacted our office in the middle of March this year regarding a Response to RFE for her I-751 application filing. She is from the Philippines and got her 2-year conditional green card through her marriage to her U.S. citizen husband.  She obtained a 2-year conditional green card in June of 2010, and her conditional residency terminated in June 2012.

To comply with immigration requirements, our client and her husband filed an I-751 Joint Petition to Remove Conditions before June 2012. However, she did not have an attorney back then, and did not submit sufficient evidence to prove the bona fideness of her marriage to her U.S. citizen husband. As a result of that, on February 14, 2013, the USCIS issued a Request for Evidence (RFE) for our client’s I-751 filing.

After consulting, she retained our office on March 27, 2013.

We reviewed the CIS’ RFE letter and prepared our response.  On May 7, 2013, our office filed the Response to RFE 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.

After that, there was no interview request for our client’s I-751 application. Instead, on August 26, 2013, the USCIS approved our client’s I-751 application and our client received her 10-year green card which removed the condition.

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CASE: I-751

APPLICANT: Korean

LOCATION: Cleveland, Ohio

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

She is from South Korea and married a U.S. citizen in January 2010. Through her marriage with, she obtained a 2-year conditional green card in July of 2011.  Her conditional residency 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 April 17, 2013 and our office prepared an I-751 application for our client with other supplemental exhibits.

On May 2, 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.

Once 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 August 22, 2013, the USCIS approved our client’s I-751 application and our client received her 10-year green card which removed the conditions.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status
CLIENT: Indian
LOCATION: New York, NY

Our client came to the United States in 2007 with an H-1B work visa from India.  He married a U.S. Citizen in September 2012 and retained our office on March 4, 2013 for his adjustment of status application.

Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and Adjustment of Status Application on April 8, 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 August 22, 2013, our client was interviewed at the New York City, NY USCIS.  Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office accompanied our clients as well.

On August 23, 2013, his green card application was approved.

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CASE: I-129F Fiancée Petition and Fiancée Visa

PETITIONER: US Citizen in Washington, D.C.

BENEFICIARY: Spanish

PETITION FILED: December 28, 2012

PETITION APPROVED: August 16, 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. He proposed when he visited his fiancée in April 2012. 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.

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CASE: Termination of Removal Proceedings with an Approved I-130 Petition
CLIENT: Kenyan
LOCATION: Chicago, IL (EOIR) / Durham, NC (USCIS)

Our client is from Kenya who came to the U.S. on an F-1 Student Visa in August 2007. While in the United States, she failed to maintain her F-1 status due to family’s issues in Kenya. Because of her overstay, she was placed in removal proceedings in Chicago, IL.

Our client married her Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) husband in September 2010 in Wisconsin. Soon after, they moved to the Raleigh, NC area.

Her husband filed an I-130 petition for her after they got married. Eventually, our client’s I-130 petition was approved in February 2012 after their I-130 interview at the USCIS Durham Field Office.  Glen Yu from our office accompanied them at the interview.

Her individual hearing was scheduled on August 13, 2013 at the Chicago Immigration Court as well.

In June 2013, our office filed a written request to administratively close our client’s removal proceedings to the DHS Chicago Office.  In a written brief, our office fully explained that our client’s case is not DHS’s priority for deportation and explained that our client has an I-130 approval, no criminal records, has paid taxes, and has family ties in the United States. Our office attached an I-485 application along with the brief, and its supporting documents as well.

After review, the DHS counsel in Chicago contacted our office and was willing to terminate our client’s removal proceedings. The DHS counsel filed a Joint Motion to Terminate on August 2, 2013 to the Chicago Immigration Court. Eventually, the Immigration Judge granted the Motion to terminate without prejudice on August 12, 2013, a day before the Individual Hearing Now, she can file her I-485 adjustment of status application to USCIS to obtain her green card when her husband naturalizes early next year.

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CASE: I-129F Fiancé Petition and Fiancé Visa
PETITIONER: US Citizen in St. Louis, MO
BENEFICIARY: Filipino
PETITION FILED: November 8, 2012
PETITION APPROVED: June 3, 2013
VISA APPROVED: July 31, 2013

Our client, a US Citizen Petitioner, met her Filipino fiancé in the Philippines in 2008 and 2010. Her fiancé also visited our client in the United States in 2010 and 2012. When he visited our client in May 2012, he proposed to our client. Months after his proposal, our client retained retained our firm to file a fiancé petition for him.

After retention, we told our client about the necessary supporting documents to demonstrate the bona fide nature of their relationship. Our client retained our office on September 26, 2012. We helped her and her fiancé draft letters in support of the fiancé petition, and we filed the petition on November 8, 2012.

There were no requests for evidence, and eventually, on June 3, 2013, the I-129F fiancé petition was approved. On July 31, 2013, the beneficiary appeared at the U.S. Embassy in Manila, Philippines for her fiancé visa interview.  The interview went well, and her fiancé (K-1) visa was approved on the same day. She will come to the United States and will marry to her fiancé within 90 days of her entry to the United States.

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Case: Immigrant Visa with With Request for Expedited Processing
Client: Syrian
Location: Petitioner: Toledo, OH / Beneficiary: Damascus, Syria

Our client is a U.S. citizen who married his wife in Damascus, Syria in December 2012. After their marriage in Syria, the U.S. citizen husband came back to the United States, and immediately filed an I-130 petition for his wife. He prepared and filed the I-130 himself on February 8, 2013.

The petition was pending when our client contacted our office in the middle of March. Due to the political unrest and violence going on in Syria, his wife’s residence was part of a huge area that was bombed. Multiple deaths transpired and houses got burned, fortunately our client’s wife was one of the few who survived. There were also shots fired by random militia, and it was very pertinent in Syria due to the country’s political turmoil.

Our client was desperate to see his wife and was worried for her safety. So, he wanted to bring her here as soon as he can. He retained our office on March 15, 2013 and we immediately worked on a detailed brief to request expedited processing of our client’s I-130 petition.

According to USCIS standards, all expedited requests are reviewed on a case-by-case basis, and are granted at the discretion of the Director. The burden is on the applicant or petitioner to demonstrate that one or more of the expeditious request criteria have been met. The criteria are as follows:

• Severe financial loss to company or individual
• Extreme emergent situation
• Humanitarian situation
• Nonprofit status of requesting organization in furtherance of the cultural and social interests of the United States
• Department of Defense or National Interest Situation (Note: Request must come from official United States Government entity and state that delay will be detrimental to our Government)
• USCIS error
• Compelling interest of USCIS

In this case, we argued that there was an extreme emergent situation, a humanitarian situation, and a compelling interest by USCIS.  We fully explained the nature of the attack, her situation after the attack, and submitted supporting documents such as pictures of her residence and area.  We sent this request to the USCIS on March 18, 2013.  Eventually, the I-130 was processed quickly and was approved on April 10, 2013.

After the I-130 was approved, we prepared the immigrant visa packet for our client’s wife and our client went to Amman, Jordan for his wife’s Immigrant Visa Interview.  The interview was held on July 17, 2013 at the U.S. Embassy in Amman, Jordan. They went to the interview together, and on the same day, the U.S. Embassy in Syria approved and issued her immigrant visa.

With the approved Immigrant visa, our client’s wife came to the United States last week, and she will eventually get her green card in a mail.

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