CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: Canadian

LOCATION: Parma, OH

Our client came to the United States from Canada on a F-1 student visa to pursue his medical degree in the United States. He married a U.S. Citizen in July 2019 in Florida.  After they got married, our client’s wife got a job in DC and had to move. Our client was still in school in Ohio, so he had to stay in Ohio while his wife was in DC. Despite living apart, they maintained their marital relationship. 

He retained our office on October 14, 2019 for his green card application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on November 13, 2019.  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 via conference calls. On August 26, 2020, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, Ohio USCIS office. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office also accompanied our clients. Eventually, on the same day of his interview, his green card application was approved.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: Nigerian

LOCATION: Euclid, OH

Our client came to the United States from Nigeria on a F-1 student’s visa. He married a U.S. Citizen in July 2019 and retained our office on August 28, 2019 for his green card application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on October 10, 2019.  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 24, 2020, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, Ohio USCIS office. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu, Esq. from our office accompanied our clients as well. Eventually, on August 25, 2020, his green card application was approved.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: Venezuelan

LOCATION: Lakewood, OH

Our client came from Venezuela and came to the U.S. as a J-1 researcher. Her J-1 status made her subject to the two-year foreign resident requirement. Our client would like to file her adjustment of status application along with her U.S. Citizen husband’s I-130 petition; however, due to the two-year foreign residency requirement, she had to obtain a waiver first.

Unlike our other J-1 clients, our client could not pursue his waiver under the No Objection Statement or Interest Government Agency (IGA). Our client also received government funding for her programs which made her case pretty much impossible for the No Objection Statement or IGA waiver route. Our client, though, would like to pursue her J-1 waiver based on exceptional hardship. 

According to 8 C.F.R. Section 212.7(c)(5), “an alien who is subject to the foreign residence requirement and who believes that compliance therewith would impose exceptional hardship upon her spouse or child who is a citizen of the United States… may apply for a waiver on Form I-612.” 

Some of the factors in analyzing extreme hardship are as follows: age of the subject, family ties in the U.S. and abroad, length and residency in the U.S., health / medical conditions, conditions in the country of removal – economic and political, financial status – business and occupation, position in / ties to the community. Matter of Anderson, 16 I&N Dec. 596 (BIA 1978). 

After she retained our firm, we prepared and filed a waiver request through the exceptional hardship basis. On March 15, 2018, the J-1 Waiver (Form DS-3035) Application was filed to the Department of State.  Thereafter, our office prepared an affidavit for our client, an extensive brief in support for our client’s J-1 waiver application, and other supporting documents. Our client provided us with extensive medical documents and doctor’s reports for her U.S. citizen husband’s medical conditions.  On March 20, 2018, our office filed an I-612 application to the USCIS and asked for them to issue and recommend this waiver based on the fact that our client’s husband would experience exceptional hardship if our client needs to go back to Venezuela for two years. Eventually, the USCIS approved his I-612 waiver on August 19, 2019.  

After her J-1 waiver was approved, our client retained our office again for her adjustment of status application. Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on October 1, 2019.  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 24, 2020, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland Ohio USCIS office.  Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu, Esq. from our office also accompanied our clients. The interview went well, and eventually, on August 25, 2020, her green card application was approved.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: Ivorian

LOCATION: Streetsboro, OH

Our client came to the United States from Ivory Coast on a F-1 student’s visa. He married a U.S. Citizen in July 2019 and retained our office on August 28, 2019 for his green card application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on October September 20, 2019.  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 21, 2020, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, Ohio USCIS office. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu, Esq. from our office accompanied our clients as well. Eventually, on the same day of the interview, his green card application was approved.

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Case: I-130/I-485
Applicant/Beneficiary – British
Location: Parma, OH

Our client entered the United States in April 2019 from the United Kingdom under the visa waiver program. As a Visa Waiver Entrant, she was only authorized to remain in the United States only for 90 days.  She has a  U.S. citizen husband whom she married in August 2018. After she last entered the United States in April 2019, she had not left. 

In June 2019, they contacted our office to consult about the adjustment of status process. After the consultation, they retained our office on June 6, 2019.  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.   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 July 20, 2019.  Our office requested the CIS to exercise favorable discretion in granting adjustment of status. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, fingerprint appointment, and the work permit all came on time. Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our clients at our office. On July 27, 2020, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, Ohio USCIS Field Office.  Attorney Sung Hee (Glen)Yu, Esq. accompanied our clients. Eventually, the USCIS approved her adjustment of status application on August 13, 2020.  She is now a green card holder. 

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

 CLIENT: US Citizen Petitioner Husband; Chinese Beneficiary Wife in China

 LOCATION: Petitioner: Cleveland, Ohio; Beneficiary: China

 I-130 FILED: October 10, 2017

 I-130 APPROVED: March 4, 2019

 IV APPROVED: August 5, 2020

Our client retained us to bring his wife over from China. He was born and raised in China, but was naturalized in the United States.

On October 10, 2017, our firm filed the I-130 Petition to the CIS. On March 4, 2019, the I-130 Petition was approved. We then started the immigrant visa processing phase of trying to get his wife over to the United States.

On January 17, 2020, we filed the immigrant visa packets to the National Visa Center who in turn forwarded our client’s materials to the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou, China. An interview notice was set for our client’s spouse at the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou, and we prepared her for her interview. On August 5, 2020, the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou, China approved and issued her immigrant visa.

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

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CASE: Marriage-Based Green Card (Same Sex Marriage Case)

CLIENT: Filipino

LOCATION: Philadelphia, PA

Our client came to the United States from the Philippines on a J-1 exchange visitor’s visa. He got his J-1 waiver for his two-year foreign residency requirementl.  In May 2018, he married his U.S. Citizen same-sex spouse in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 

On June 26, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court held that restricting U.S. federal interpretation of “marriage” and “spouse” to apply only to heterosexual unions, by Section 3 of the defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), is unconstitutional under the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment. United States v. Windsor, 570 U.S. ___ (2013). After Windsor decision, the USCIS implemented a new policy that the USCIS officer must review immigration via petitions filed on behalf of a same-sex spouse in the same manner as those filed on behalf of an opposite-sex spouse. As long as a same-sex couple is married in a U.S. state that recognizes same-sex marriage, their marriage shall be considered a valid marriage under the immigration law. 

They married in Pennsylvania where same-sex marriages iares recognized. Our client contacted our office and retained us in April 2019 for his 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 July 3, 2019. 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 via conference calls. On July 29, 2020, our client was interviewed at the Philadelphia, PA USCIS office. The interview went well and his green card application was approved on the same day.

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CASE: I-130 RFE Response

LOCATION: Petitioner: Selma, AL; Beneficiaries: India

Our client is a US permanent resident who married an Indian lady in India.  Thereafter, he filed an I-130 petition on behalf of his wife for her immigrant visa. He filed the  I-130 in March 2018 by himself; however, the USCIS issued a RFE in late December 2019. The RFE request for bona fide evidence between his (the petitioner) and his EX-wife, as well as his current wife. Upon the issuance of the RFE, our client contacted our firm and sought our legal assistance.  He retained our office immediately, and our office started to work on the Response to RFE for his wife.    

Our office filed the Response to RFE on March 10, 2020.  In the Response brief, our office fully explained that the marriage between our client and his wife, as well as his ex-wife, are bona fide. We also submitted a substantial amount of bona fide marital evidence for both marriages. Also, we explained that the Petitioner’s previous marriage with his US citizen ex-wife was not entered into for the purpose of evading immigration laws. 

Eventually, on June 17, 2020, the USCIS approved our client’s I-130 petition for his wife in India. Now, he can start consular processing for his wife’s immigrant visa. 

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CASE: I-130 / I-485

NATIONALITY: Philippines

LOCATION: Salinas, CA

Our client came from the Philippines on a J-1 in September 2013 to work as a teacher. Based on her visa and DS-2019, she was subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement. Later, she got married to her U.S. citizen husband and consulted with our firm for her J-1 visa waiver prior to applying for adjustment of status. If someone is subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement, he or she cannot get a green card in the United States until he or she fulfills the requirement or obtains a waiver.

Upon retention, our office prepared a waiver request through a No Objection Statement (NOS) from the Philippine Embassy in the United States through the EVP in the Philippines.

On June 8, 2018, the J-1 Waiver Application (Form DS-3035) was filed to the Department of State.  We then prepared the documents for the NOS request to the EVP. On July 27, 2018, our office sent our NOS application to the Waiver Review Committee in Manila, Philippines.  Then, the Waiver Review Committee granted the No Objection Statement and forwarded the materials and favorable recommendation to the Philippine Embassy in D.C. who eventually issued the official No Objection Statement to the Department of State.

On September 13, 2018, the Waiver Review Division issued a favorable recommendation based on the No Objection statement.  Eventually, on October 11, 2018, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for the waiver. 

Once her J-1 waiver was approved, our client retained our office again for her adjustment of status application. Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on February 1, 2019.  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 January 15, 2020, our client was interviewed at the Santa Clara, CA USCIS office.  

However, on May 1, 2020, the USCIS issued a Request for Evidence (RFE) and requested our client to submit a certified disposition of court and police documents record regarding her previous misdemeanor criminal record. Our office filed the Response to RFE to the USCIS on May 26, 2020. Eventually, on June 9, 2020, the USCIS approved our client’s I-485 adjustment of status application. Now, she is a green card holder. 

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Case: I-130/I-485

Potential Issue: Response to Notice of Intent to Deny

Client: Filipina

Location: Broadview, IL

Our client entered the United States from the Philippines. Later, she married her U.S. citizen husband and they filed an I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application to the USCIS. In February 2019, they appeared at the adjustment of status interview at the USCIS Chicago Field Office. However, on March 27, 2020, 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 pointed out that the submitted documentation of Petitioner and Beneficiary does not establish a bona fide nature of their marriage. 

Our office contacted our office and retained our office on April 10, 2020. In response to the USCIS’s NOID, our office included multiple supporting documents including, joint bank account statements, a joint tax return record, a joint cell-phone bill, and several pictures of our client and her husband in several occasions with different people.  Several legal authorities were cited based on particular issues discussed, and on April 23, 2020, we filed the Response to NOID prior to the 30-day deadline.

Finally, on May 5, 2020, 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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