Case: I-130
Client: Ghanaian
Location: Phoenix, AZ

Our client came to the United States on a valid B-2 visa from Ghana in 2004 to visit his aunt in Maryland. Later, he decided to stay in the United States, and did not leave. He worked illegally, and on June 2004, our client got picked up at work by immigration officers and was issued a Notice to Appear.

The Notice to Appear did not have a hearing date and time. He was told he would get a hearing notice in the mail. He never moved for the next two years, yet he never received any hearing notice. Our client thought that the immigration court just closed his case due to his young age at that time. Apparently his hearing was scheduled and since he did not show up, he was ordered removed in absentia.

More than three years later, he married his U.S. Citizen wife and moved to Arizona. They had two U.S. citizen children. After a few years raising their children, our client decided to work on his immigration status. He contacted our office and we found out through his A number that he already had a final order of removal, and thus could not apply for adjustment of status. So our office filed a Motion to Reopen with the Arlington Immigration Court in Virginia and the Court granted our Motion. We then filed a Motion to Change of Venue to Phoenix, Arizona and the Motion was granted as well.

Prior to filing the Motion to Reopen, our office filed an I-130 petition based on our client’s marriage to his U.S. citizen wife. The I-130 petition was filed on March 5, 2012.  Generally, if someone is a beneficiary of an I-130 petition while he or she is in removal proceedings, the USCIS schedules what’s called a Stokes interview, in which both husband and wife are interviewed separately for intensive questioning. This is to make sure the marriage is in good faith, and not entered into for the purpose of avoiding deportation.

The I-130 petition we filed though included various supporting documents which demonstrated the bona fide nature of our client’s marriage. We also emphasized the fact that they have been married for 5 years and have two U.S. citizen children. As a result, the USCIS approved the I-130 petition for our client without requesting an interview at the local office. The I-130 was actually approved the day before his scheduled Master Hearing in Phoenix.

Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our firm accompanied our client at his Phoenix hearing. The Judge and DHS attorney were informed of the I-130 approval, and they both took note of our intention to have the case terminated for CIS adjudication of his adjustment of status application.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status
CLIENT: Filipino
LOCATION: Houston, TX

Our client came to the United States in October 2011 with a B-2 visitor visa from the Philippines.  He married a U.S. Citizen in April 2012 and retained our office on May 3, 2012 for his petition and adjustment of status application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 petition and I-485 adjustment of status application on May 30, 2012.  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 over the phone. On August 13, 2012, our client was interviewed at the Houston, Texas USCIS office.  Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office accompanied our client as well.  On August 22, 2012, his green card application was approved.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status.
NATIONALITY: Indonesian
LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

The marriage-based green card approval we got recently was for an Indonesian client who came to the U.S. on a J-1 Visa in April 2008.  He came to the U.S. for business training, but his J-1 program subjected him to the two-year foreign residency requirement. In October 2011, our client married his U.S. Citizen wife.  He had to get a waiver of his two-year foreign residency requirement so he consulted with our office and later retained us on January 4, 2012.

As explained in a previous success story, our office worked on our client’s J-1 waiver.  Eventually, the Indonesian Embassy issued a No Objection Statement for our client, and sent this letter to the State Department’s Waiver Review Division.  On February 16, 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 of the two-year foreign residency requirement on March 7, 2012.

After we received the I-612 waiver, our firm prepared and filed the I-130 petition and I-485 adjustment of status application on April 24, 2012.  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 August 9, 2012, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland USCIS office.  We accompanied our client at his interview as well.  On August 10, 2012, his green card application was approved.

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CASE: G4 Son and Daughter I-360 and I-485
CLIENT: Filipino
LOCATION: Arlington Virginia

Our clients (son and daughter of their G4 visa holding mother – employee of an international organization) came to the US on G4 derivative visas in 2004. One came at the age of thirteen, and another at the age of nine. They have resided in Virginia ever since, on valid G4 status, as their mother worked for an international organization on a G4 visa also since 2004. They’ve heard of a process in which a G4 son or daughter can apply for permanent residency after meeting certain age and physical presence requirements, and having been here since 2004 on G4 visas, they consulted with attorneys. They retained our firm in March 2012 for their I-360 Special Immigrant Self-Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Green Card Application (Permanent Residency),

The I-360 sought to classify the self-petitioner as a special immigrant unmarried son or daughter of an international organization employee (their mother on a G4 visa) under INA § 203(b)(4).

INA 101(a)(27)(I)(i) defines such an alien as “an immigrant who is the unmarried son or daughter of an officer or employee, or of a former officer or employee, of an international organization described in paragraph (15)(G)(i), and who:

(I) While maintaining the status of a G4 nonimmigrant, has resided and been physical present in the United States for periods totaling at least one-half of the seven years before the date of application and for a period or periods aggregating at least seven years between the ages of five and 21 years
(II) Applies for adjustment of status no later than his or her twenty-fifth birthday…

The I-360 Self-Petition for G4 Sons and Daughters and their I-485 Adjustment of Status Green Card Applications were filed on March 7, 2012. The I-360 Self-Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application (Green Card / Permanent Resident) showed ample proof of their residency the past seven plus years, including school records for each year. The G4 visas and entry stamps were documented. We also had a letter from the international organization their mother worked at evidencing her employment with them on a G4 visa since 2004. We also emphasized on our brief the ages and dates relevant to the calculations involved in adjudicating these G4 special immigrant green card cases. Forms I-508 and I-566 were also submitted, as is required for G4 visa holders applying for adjustment of status. On July 16, 2012, the I-360 and I-485 were both approved. After spending the past eight years in the United States as G4 visa holders, they finally are now permanent residents of the United States.

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

Our client came to the United States in August 2009 with an F-1 Student visa from Ethiopia.  She married a U.S. Citizen in December 2011 and retained our office on March 31, 2012 for her adjustment of status application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on April 13, 2012.  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 July 24, 2012, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, Ohio USCIS.  On July 26, 2012, her green card application was approved.

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CASE: Termination of Removal Proceedings with an Approved I-130 Petition / I-485 Adjustment of Status
CLIENT: Ghanaian
LOCATION: Cleveland, Ohio (EOIR) / Columbus, Ohio (USCIS)

Our client is a Ghanaian citizen who came to the U.S. on an F-1 Student Visa in August 2003 to study at a college in West Virginia.  He married his ex-wife in 2007, but their marriage ended sometime in 2011.  At the latter part of his previous marriage, his ex-wife, a U.S. Citizen, filed an I-130 petition for him, but later she withdrew the petition as their marriage was not working out at that time. The I-130 petition and our client’s I-485 application were denied, and a Notice to Appear was issued. Our client was placed into removal proceeding.

Our client then married his current U.S. Citizen wife in August 2011, and he retained our office on August 29, 2011. Once retained, our office immediately filed an I-130 Petition with bona fide marriage evidence on September 2, 2011.  While the I-130 petition was pending, our client appeared at the Cleveland Immigration Court on October 19, 2011 for his initial master calendar hearing.  Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office represented him at the hearing, did pleadings, and sought adjustment of status relief upon approval of the I-130 petition.

Our client’s I-130 interview was held on March 26, 2012 at the Columbus USCIS Filed Office.  Prior to the interview, our office thoroughly prepared our client and his wife for the interview at our office. Attorney Yu also accompanied them for their interview. The interview lasted one hour, but the I-130 petition was eventually approved on the same day.

After the I-130 was approved, our office filed a request to join in a Motion to terminate proceedings with the I-485 application and supporting documents. The DHS counsel in Cleveland agreed to terminate our client’s proceedings. Ultimately, the Immigration Judge granted the Motion to terminate without prejudice.

After his removal proceedings were terminated, our client retained us again for his I-485 adjustment of status application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on May 14, 2012. 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 July 13, 2012, our client was interviewed at the Columbus USCIS office. Two days later, his I-485 application was approved.  After eight years in the United States, our client is finally a green card holder.

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CASE: I-751 / Waiver of the Joint Waiver Requirement
APPLICANT : Swedish
LOCATION: Ohio

Our client contacted our office in early January of this year regarding his potential I-751 filing. He is from Sweden and married a U.S. citizen in November 2009. Through his marriage with a U.S. citizen spouse, he obtained a 2-year conditional green card in April of 2010. Therefore, his conditional residency terminated in April 2012.

Unfortunately, their marriage ended in December 2011. Thus, our client could not file I-751 application jointly with his ex-wife. After the consultation, we advised that we can help him file the I-751 application with a waiver of the joint filing requirement. 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.

On January 26, 2012, our office filed the I-751 application with various supporting documents (over 20 exhibits and an affidavit over 3 pages) to demonstrate our client’s bona fide marriage with his ex-wife.  On July 12, 2012, the USCIS approved our request for the removal of conditions on his permanent resident status without even an interview. Now, he has her ten-year green card.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status
CLIENT: Filipina
LOCATION: Chicago, IL

Our client came to the United States in January 1994 with an H-1B visa from the Philippines. Although her authorized stay expired on December 29, 1994, she remained in the United States. She married a U.S. Citizen in January 2011 and retained our office a few months later.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and Adjustment of Status Application on April 17, 2012.  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 call. On July 11, 2012, our client was interviewed at the Chicago, IL USCIS.  We accompanied our client at her interview as well.  On the same day, her green card application was approved.

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Case: I-130/I-485
Applicant/Beneficiary – Indian
Location: Cleveland, Ohio

Our client entered the United States in May 2011 from India with B-2 visitor visa. He married a U.S. citizen in October 2011 and retained our office on October 31, 2011 for his adjustment of status application.

Our office filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on November 9, 2011.  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 January 26, 2012, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, OH USCIS.

On February 29, 2012, the USCIS issued a Request for Evidence (RFE) for our client. The CIS requested more documents that will demonstrate the bona fide nature of our client’s marital relationship with his wife.  In response to that, our office filed a Response to RFE on April 24, 2012.  We submitted several notarized affidavits from Petitioner’s ex-husband, family, mutual friends and neighbors. Eventually, on June 28, 2012, 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: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status
CLIENT: Swedish
LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client came to the United States in June 2009 with an F-1 Student visa from Sweden.  He married a U.S. Citizen in March 2012 and retained our office on March 27, 2012 for his adjustment of status application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on April 11, 2012.  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 June 28, 2012, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, OH USCIS.  On the same day, his green card application was approved.

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