CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: Filipina

LOCATION: New Mexico

Our client came to the United States from the Philippines on a J-1 exchange visitor’s visa in March 2010. Later, she changed her status from J-1 to H-1B. She was not subject to the 2-year foreign residency requirement (INA Section 212(e)) according to her J-1 visa.

She married a U.S. Citizen in June 2015 and retained our office on June 29, 2015 for her green card application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on August 11, 2015.  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 November 3, 2015, our client was interviewed at Albuquerque, New Mexico USCIS office. Eventually, on the same day of the interview, her green card application was approved.

If you have any questions, feel free to call our office at (216) 573-3712 or email JP Sarmiento at jp@sarmientoimmigration.com for FREE consultations.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Green Card

CLIENT: Nigerian

LOCATION: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Our client came to the United States from Nigeria on an F-1 student’s visa in August 2012. He married a U.S. Citizen in October 2014 and retained our office on November 16, 2014 for his green card application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on May 26, 2015.  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 October 21, 2015, our client was interviewed at the Pittsburgh Pennsylvania USCIS office. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu 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

Potential Issue: Response to Notice of Intent to Deny

Client: Filipina

Location: Cleveland, Ohio

Our client entered the United States in May 2005 from the Philippines with a B-2 visitor visa.  She overstayed and married a U.S. citizen in December 2014. She retained our office on January 5, 2015 for her adjustment of status application.

Our office prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on January 16, 2015.  Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, fingerprint appointment, and work permits all came on time. Prior to the interview, our office thoroughly prepared our clients at our office for their USCIS adjustment of status interview.

On April 13, 2015, our client and her husband appeared at the Cleveland, Ohio USCIS office for her adjustment interview. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office accompanied our client and her husband at their interview. The interview was extensive and at the end of the interview, the officer claimed that he was suspicious regarding the bona fideness of our client’s marriage.

On August 21, 2015, 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 was not bona fide.  Moreover, the NOID pointed out that the submitted documentation of Petitioner and Beneficiary does not establish a bona fide marriage.

In response to the USCIS’s NOID, our office included multiple supporting documents including, joint bank account statements, a joint car purchase agreement, joint utility bills, joint insurance, 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 September 16, 2015, we filed the Response to NOID prior to the 30-day deadline.

Finally, on October 9, 2015, 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: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

NATIONALITY: Philippines

LOCATION: California

Our client came from the Philippines on a J-1 in September 2007 to work as a trainee. According to her DS-2019, she was subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement. After her authorized stay expired, she remained in the United States.

In March 2014, she got married to her U.S. citizen husband and later on 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 promptly prepared a waiver request through a No Objection Statement (NOS) from the Philippine Embassy in the United States and eventually the EVP in the Philippines.

On August 29, 2014, the J-1 Waiver Application (Form DS-3035) was filed to the Department of State.  We also sent a request to the California State Government to get authentication for the necessary documents.  Later, these authenticated documents and No Objection Application (for the Philippine Government) were sent to the Philippines Consulate General in San Francisco for further authentication.  On November 4, 2014, our office sent our client’s materials to the Waiver Review Committee in Manila, Philippines.  The Waiver Review Committee then forwarded the materials and favorable recommendation to the Philippine Embassy in D.C. who eventually issued a No Objection Statement.

On March 9, 2015, the Waiver Review Division issued a favorable recommendation based on the No Objection statement.  Eventually, on April 6, 2015, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice.

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 May 19, 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 through conference calls. On October 7, 2015, our client was interviewed at the Santa Clara, California USCIS office.  The interview went well, and eventually, on the same day of the interview, her green card application was approved.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

NATIONALITY:  Kenyan

LOCATION: Maryland

Our client came to the U.S. on a J-1 Visa in August 2004 from Kenya.  She came to the U.S. for her study, and her J-1 visa made her subject to the two-year foreign resident requirement. After her J-1 status expired, she has remained in the United States. She married her U.S. citizen husband in 2006.  Our client’s husband intended to do an I-130 petition for her and our client wanted to file an adjustment of status application. However, due to the two-year foreign residency requirement, she had to obtain a waiver first.

Our client could not pursue her waiver under the No Objection Statement or Interested Government Agency (IGA) routes. Our client, though, would like to pursue her J-1 waiver based on the exceptional hardship standard. Our client’s U.S. citizen son had some medical hardships.

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 exceptional 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 he retained our firm, we prepared and filed a waiver request through the exceptional hardship basis. On July 23, 2014 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 of 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 son’s medical condition.  On October 15, 2014, 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 son would experience exceptional hardship if our client needed to go back to Kenya for two years.

Eventually, the Department of State recommended a waiver for our client on January 14, 2015. Subsequently, the USCIS approved her I-612 waiver on January 26, 2015. Once the J-1 waiver was issued, our client retained our office again on February 5, 2015 for her adjustment of status application.

Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on February 27, 2015. 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 September 24, 2015, our client was interviewed at the Baltimore, Maryland USCIS office. Eventually, on September 30, 2015, her green card was approved.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: Ghanaian

LOCATION: Columbus, Ohio

Our client came to the United States from Ghana on a B-2 Visitor’s visa in December 2005. After his authorization of stay period expired, he remained in the United States.  He married a U.S. Citizen in February 2014 and retained our office on April 1, 2015 for his green card application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on April 10, 2015.  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 September 1, 2015, our client was interviewed at the , Ohio USCIS office. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu, Esq. from our office accompanied our clients as well. Eventually, on September 21, 2015, his green card application was approved.

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Case: I-130/I-485

Applicant/Beneficiary – Japanese

Location: Cleveland, Ohio

Our client entered the United States in April 2015 from Japan under the visa waiver program. She came here to visit her U.S. citizen boyfriend (now her husband) for a couple of months. As a Visa Waiver Entrant, she was only authorized to remain in the United States for 90 days.

Later, in June 2015, our client and her U.S. citizen boyfriend married in the United States. Her husband contacted our office, and they retained us on June 26, 2015.

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 6, 2015.  Our office requested the CIS to exercise favorable discretion in granting adjustment of status. 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 at our office. On September 18, 2015, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, Ohio USCIS Field Office. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office accompanied our clients as well. Despite the visa waiver issue, on the same day of the interview, the USCIS approved her green card application.  Now, our client is a green card holder.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: Peruvian

LOCATION: Dallas, TX

Our client came to the United States in July 2009 with a B-2 Visitor’s visa from Peru. Later, she married a U.S. Citizen in June 2014 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 September 22, 2014. 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 through conference calls. On September 15, 2015, our clients were interviewed at the Dallas (Irving), Texas USCIS office. On the same day, our client and her son’s green card applications were approved.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: Guatemalan

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client came to the United States from Guatemala on a B-2 Visitor’s visa in September 2003. She has remained in the United State since then.  She married a U.S. Citizen in December 2006 and has maintained her marital relationship with her husband.  She contacted our office in May of this year and sought legal assistance for her green card application. Eventually, she retained our office on May 18, 2015 for her green card application.  Once retained, our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on June 5, 2015.  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 September 11, 2015, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, Ohio USCIS office. Attorney JP Sarmiento from our office accompanied our clients as well.  The interview went well, and on September 11, 2015, her green card application was approved.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Green Card / J-2 Waiver of Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement Post-Divorce

NATIONALITY: Russian

LOCATION: Virginia

Our client is a citizen of Russia who initially came to the U.S. on a J-2 Visa in February 1995. He came with his ex-wife who held a J-1 Visa as a visiting researcher. Both were subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement. Later, both of them started to work at International Governmental Organizations in the United States under G-4 visas. However, they were still subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement.

Unfortunately, their marriage did not work out and he eventually got divorced from his ex-wife. He remained in the United States and has continuously worked for his employer under the G-4 visa.

In September 2011, our client married his U.S. citizen wife. She wanted to file an I-130 petition for him, but he could not file for adjustment of status application because of the two-year foreign residency requirement.

He contacted our office, and our firm was retained to do his J-2 waiver on February 12, 2014.

On February 19, 2014 the J-2 Waiver was filed to the Department of State. We also sent a request to the DOS to be an interested government agency and recommend this waiver based on the fact that our client was divorced from the J-1 visa holder.

On March 17, 2014, the DOS sent a recommendation to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) for our client be granted a waiver. On April 1, 2014, the USCIS issued the I-612 waiver approval.

After he obtained the waiver of his 2 year foreign residency requirement, he retained our office again for his adjustment of status application. Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on September 30, 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 via conference calls. On May 5, 2015, our client was interviewed at the Fairfax, Virginia USCIS office. Eventually, on September 8, 2015, his green card was approved.

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