CASE: I-130 (Petition for Mother) and Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: Korean

LOCATION: Akron, OH

Our client retained us to petition for his mother for her green card. Our client was born and raised in South Korea, but was naturalized in the United States in 2015. He contacted our office in late April of 2017 and discussed with us the green card process. After consultation, he retained our office on April 26, 2017.

Once retained, our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and Adjustment of Status Applications on May 17, 2017 for his mother.  Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, fingerprint appointment, and a work permit all came on time. Eventually, on January 5, 2018, our client’s mother’s adjustment of status applications was approved. Now, she is a green card holder.

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CASE: PERM Labor Certification / Audit Response

EMPLOYER: Wastewater Management Company

BENEFICIARY: Indian Chief Financial Officer

LOCATION: Missouri

Our client’s current employer was willing to petition her for a second-preference petition (I-140).  Our client has a Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA) in the United States and work experience. Based on our client’s educational, professional and work background, our office determined that she is clearly eligible for EB-2 classification for her I-140 petition.  Our client eventually retained us in August 2016.

Prior to filing PERM, our firm prepared the prevailing wage request, job order, advertisements, internal job posting, recruitment report, and all other steps which are important pre-PERM filing. Take note that the PERM application could be filed at least 60 days from the job posting date or 30 days from the last ad. Within a week from our retention, the prevailing wage request was filed.  After we obtained the PW determination, our office filed the job order on January 10, 2017.  On May 3, 2017, we promptly filed PERM.

However, on July 28, 2017, the Department of Labor issued a request for audit. The DOL requested documents from Petitioner to determine whether the recruitment process was done properly. In response to the Audit request, our office prepared the response to Audit brief along with Employer’s declaration, notice of filing, and recruitment documentation on August 8, 2017.  

Eventually, on January 9, 2018, the PERM Labor Certification was approved – an EB2 position for the Indian beneficiary. Now, our client can file the I-140.

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CASE: J-2 Waiver of Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement Post-Divorce
NATIONALITY: Chinese
LOCATION: China

Our client is a citizen of China who came to the U.S. on a J-2 Visa in April 2016.  She came with her husband who held a J-1 Visa as an exchange visitor.  Both were subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement.

Unfortunately, while they are residing in the United States, her marriage did not work out well. Eventually, she got divorced from her ex-husband in July 2017 in China. Our client has a U.S. citizen fiancé who would like to file I-129F fiancé visa for her, but could not be approved unless she fulfills two year foreign residency requirement or obtains a waiver.

Our client contacted our office and retained our firm to do her J-2 waiver on July 31, 2017. On August 2, 2017, the J-2 Waiver (DS-3035) 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.  Eventually, on August 21, 2017, the DOS recommended to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) that our client be granted a waiver. Finally, the USCIS issued I-612 waiver approval notice on January 4, 2018.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

NATIONALITY: Indian                                                                                                      

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client is from India who came to the U.S. on a B-2 visitor’s visa. In April 2016, our client married his current U.S. citizen wife.  He retained our office in February 2017 for his green card application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on February 8, 2017.  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 23, 2017, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland Ohio USCIS office.  Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu also accompanied our clients. In July 2017, the USCIS issued a Request for Evidence and requested our client to submit certified court records for his dismissed criminal case. Our client submitted the certified court disposition to the USCIS Cleveland Field Office on September 28, 2017. Eventually, on December 22, 2017, his green card application was approved.

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CASE:  Immigrant Visa / I-601A Hardship Waiver of Inadmissibility

APPLICANT / BENEFICIARY: Filipino

LOCATION: California / Manila, Philippines (Visa Interview)

Our client came to the United States from the Philippines in 2002 on a C1/D visa (Crewman). He remained in the United States after his entry in 2002. He married his U.S. citizen wife in 2009. His U.S. Citizen wife filed an I-130 petition for him in November 2009. This I-130 petition was approved on April 13, 2010.

However, our client cannot file for adjustment of status application due to his ground of inadmissibility (crewman entry and overstay). He needed a waiver of inadmissibility to become a green card holder.

Under current law, immediate relatives of U.S. citizens who are not eligible to adjust status in the United States must travel abroad and obtain an immigrant visa. Individuals who have accrued more than 180 days of unlawful presence while in the United States must obtain a waiver of inadmissibility to overcome the unlawful presence bars under section 212(a)(9)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act before they can return to the United States

In 2013, the USCIS announced of new policy called the provisional unlawful presence waiver. Beginning March 4, 2013, certain immigrant visa applicants who are spouses, children and parents of U.S. citizens (immediate relatives) can apply for provisional unlawful presence waivers before they leave the United States. The provisional unlawful presence waiver process allows individuals, who only need a waiver of inadmissibility for unlawful presence, to apply for a waiver in the United States.

The new process is expected to shorten the time U.S. citizens are separated from their immediate relatives while those family members are obtaining immigrant visas to become lawful permanent residents of the United States.

INA § 212(i) provides for a discretionary waiver of the entry without inspection inadmissibility ground. To qualify for the waiver, the alien must establish that his or her US Citizen spouse would suffer extreme hardship if the alien were denied admission. INA § 212(i)(1). In addition to the equities presented, the USCIS may consider the nature of the inadmissibility ground.

There is a seminal BIA case that deals with this waiver.  In Matter of Cervantes, 22 I & N Dec. 560 (BIA 1999), the BIA identified the factors to be considered in determining whether a qualifying relative would suffer extreme hardship if the alien were denied admission.  Those factors include: the presence of LPR or USC family ties both within and outside the United States; the conditions in the country to which the qualifying relative would relocate and the extent of the qualifying relative’s ties to that country; the financial impact of departure from the United States; and significant conditions of health, particularly when tied to the unavailability of suitable medical care in the country to which the qualifying relative would relocate.

In 2013, our client filed his first I-601A application to USCIS. However, USCIS denied it because his case does not demonstrate that his U.S. citizen wife will not suffer “extreme hardship.” He contacted our office in June 2016 and retained our office on July 6, 2016 for the re-file of I-601A application.

Our client’s I-601A application had a good chance since our client’s U.S. Citizen wife suffers from a great degree of hardship. We argued that if he was removed from the United States, extreme hardship to his wife is clearly foreseeable and evident. She would not be able to take care of her own needs and the bulk of their family chores, most importantly taking care of their child. Also, it would be extremely difficult for her to get the same level of economic stability in the Philippines in case she joins our client there.

In our brief, we also argued that our client and his wife have maintained strong family ties in the United States, that his wife will have difficulty in finding the same level of employment in the Philippines, and that his U.S. citizen children and his wife will face extreme emotional difficulties if he is removed.

On October 13, 2016, we filed the I-601A waiver application which included the brief in support, and documents that demonstrated hardship to his wife if he is removed from the United States. Eventually, his I-601A waiver was approved on February 21, 2017.

Once his I-601A waiver was approved, he retained our office again for his immigrant visa processing. Our office prepared and filed his immigrant visa application on July 6, 2017. In October 2017, the U.S. Embassy in Manila, Philippines informed our office that they scheduled an immigrant visa interview for our client. Our client went back to the Philippines to appear at his interview on November 27, 2017. On November 27, 2017, our client appeared at his immigrant visa interview at the Embassy. Eventually, on December 22, 2017, and the U.S. Embassy approved his immigrant visa.

Now, our client successfully came back to the United States with an approved immigrant visa and he will get his green card in a mail within two months.

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CASE: I-485 Adjustment of Status / I-140 (EB-2 Category) / Schedule A

EMPLOYER: Nursing Care Facility

BENEFICIARY: Filipina

LOCATION: Houston, TX

Our client is in the United States with an H-1B visa and has been working as a nurse instructor. Her prospective employer-sponsor was willing to petition her for a second-preference employment immigrant visa petition (I-140). Since she has a registered nurse license and the proffered position for her is a nurse manager at the nursing care facility, the petitioner wanted to try going for a “Schedule A” classification. They also wanted to do EB2 (requiring at least a Masters degree or Bachelors degree + 5 yrs experience).

The Department of Labor (DOL) maintains a schedule of occupations in its regulations, Schedule A included, for which the individual permanent labor certification procedure is not required. The schedule of pre-certified occupations is referred to as Schedule A, and is included in DOL regulations at 20 CFR 656.10. Based on an occupation’s inclusion on Schedule A, an employer may file an immigrant visa petition (I-140) directly with the (USCIS) without having to file a Labor Certification with the Department of Labor. Usually, prior to filing I-140 petitions (EB-2 or EB-3 category), the employer must file a Labor Certification to the Department of Labor. However, for Schedule A cases, the employer does not have to go through the labor certification process. We argued that the position of Health Services Manager should be classified under Schedule A. We argued that it falls under the broad spectrum of “professional nurse” occupations. We also argued that the job description has excerpts that fall under “professional nurse” and that the description justifies the requirements also of Bachelor’s degree in nursing and five years of related experiences.

Our client has a Bachelor’s degree in nursing and 5 years of experience as a nurse instructor. She also has a registered nursing license in the state of Texas. Our office was retained and we started on the Prevailing Wage Determination filing and other related matters.

Once the prevailing wage was determined, we filed the I-140 application on March 27, 2017 via premium processing. We included a job offer letter, the notice of filing, employment letter, and other necessary supporting documents. In our cover brief, we included the “ability to pay” argument and why the nurse manager position falls under a Schedule A and EB2 designation. Eventually, on April 7, 2017, the USCIS Texas Service Center approved her EB-2 I-140 petition.

Once her I-140 petition was approved, she retained our office again and determined to file an adjustment of status application. On May 1, 2017, our office filed an I-485 adjustment of status application for our client. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices and fingerprint appointment came on time.

Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our client at via conference calls as well. On December 22, 2017, our client was interviewed at Houston Texas USCIS office. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office also accompanied our client as well. Eventually, on the same day of her interview, her green card application was approved.

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CASE: N-400 (Citizenship / Naturalization)

APPLICANT: German

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client contacted us in June 2017 to seek legal representation for her naturalization and citizenship N-400 application. She came to the United States from Germany and obtained her green card in July 1982.

After retention, her N-400 application was filed on October 10, 2017 with all supporting documents. Prior to her citizenship interview, our office prepared her via conference calls.  On December 19, 2017, our client appeared at the Cleveland, OH USCIS office for her naturalization interview. Our client answered all questions correctly and passed her naturalization and citizenship interview. Eventually, her application was approved on December 27, 2017. Her oath taking is scheduled in which she will become a naturalized U.S. Citizen.

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CASE: PERM Labor Certification    
EMPLOYER: Dental Group in Cleveland, OH
BENEFICIARY: Korean Dentist

Our client is from South Korea, who is currently working in the United States as an associate dentist under H-1B status. Her current employer was willing to do an immigration petition for her, second-preference. Our client has a Doctor of Dental Medicine degree in the United States. After talking to our client, our firm concluded that her employer can petition her as an associate dentist. Based on our client’s educational, professional and working backgrounds, our office determined that she is clearly eligible for EB-2 classification.

Prior to filing PERM, our firm prepared the prevailing wage request, job order, advertisements, internal job posting, recruitment report, and all other steps which are important pre-PERM filing. Take note that PERM could be filed at least 60 days from the job posting date or 30 days from the last ad. On February 10, 2017, the prevailing wage request was filed.  After we obtained the Prevailing Wage determination, our office filed the job order on May 16, 2017.  On August 4, 2017, we promptly filed PERM.  Eventually, on December 21, 2017, the PERM Labor Certification was approved – an EB2 position for the Korean beneficiary. Now our client can file the I-140 petition.

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CASE: Immigrant Visa / I-140 (EB-2 Category) / Schedule A

EMPLOYER: Nursing Care Facility

BENEFICIARY: Filipino Nurse Manager in the Philippines

LOCATION: Manila, Philippines

Our client is in the Philippines. His prospective employer-sponsor was willing to petition him for a second-preference employment immigrant visa petition (I-140). Since he has a registered nurse license and the proffered position for him was a nurse manager at the nursing care facility, the petitioner wanted to try going for a “Schedule A” classification. They also wanted to do EB2 (requiring at least a Masters degree or Bachelors degree + 5 yrs experience).

The Department of Labor (DOL) maintains a schedule of occupations in its regulations, Schedule A included, for which the individual permanent labor certification procedure is not required. The schedule of pre-certified occupations is referred to as Schedule A, and is included in DOL regulations at 20 CFR 656.10. Based on an occupation’s inclusion on Schedule A, an employer may file an immigrant visa petition (I-140) directly with the (USCIS) without having to file a Labor Certification with the Department of Labor. Usually, prior to filing I-140 petitions (EB-2 or EB-3 category), the employer must file a Labor Certification to the Department of Labor. However, for Schedule A cases, the employer does not have to go through the labor certification process. We argued that the position of Health Services Manager should be classified under Schedule A. We argued that it falls under the broad spectrum of “professional nurse” occupations. We also argued that the job description has excerpts that fall under “professional nurse” and that the description justifies the requirements also of Bachelor’s degree in nursing and five years of related experiences.

Our client has a Bachelor’s degree in nursing and 5 years of experience as a registered nurse. He also has a registered nursing license in the state of Texas. Our office was retained and we started on the Prevailing Wage Determination filing and other related matters.

Once the prevailing wage was determined, we filed the I-140 application on March 6, 2017 via premium processing. We included a job offer letter, the notice of filing, employment letter, and other necessary supporting documents. In our cover brief, we included the “ability to pay” argument and why the nurse manager position falls under a Schedule A and EB2 designation.

Eventually, on March 21, 2017, the USCIS Texas Service Center approved his EB-2 I-140 petition.

After the approval of the I-140 petition, our client retained us again for his immigrant visa processing. Once we were retained, our office filed the immigrant visa packets to the National Visa Center on May 10, 2017, who in turn forwarded the client’s materials to the U.S. Embassy in Manila, Philippines. An interview notice was set for the client at the U.S. Embassy in Philippines. On December 18, 2017, our client appeared at the U.S. Embassy in Manila, Philippines. Eventually, on December 27, 2017, the Immigrant Visa was issued for our client.

With the approved Immigrant Visa, our client can come to the United States immediately, and he will get his green card within two months of entry.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

NATIONALITY: Korean                                                                                                        

LOCATION: Sarasota, FL

Our client is from South Korea who came to the U.S. on an O-1 visa. He is an internationally well-known musician and was working with the Cleveland Orchestra when he contacted our office.  In June 2015, our client married his current U.S. citizen wife.  He retained our office for his green card application in September 2016.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on September 28, 2016.  Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, fingerprint appointment, and work permits all came on time.

In January 2017, he moved to Sarasota, FL to join his wife who was working there. In November 2017, his interview was scheduled. Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our clients via conference calls. On December 14, 2017, our client was interviewed at the Tampa Florida USCIS office. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office also accompanied our clients as well. Eventually, on the same day of his interview, his green card application was approved.

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