CASE: PERM Labor Certification    
EMPLOYER: Culture Center / Culture School
BENEFICIARY: Chinese
LOCATION: St. Paul, MN

Our client is from China, who is currently staying in the United States on F-2 status. She has a prospective employer who was willing to do an immigration petition for her, third-preference. Our client has a Bachelor’s degree in Arts Education. After talking to our client, our firm concluded that her employer can petition her as an Early Childhood Creative Programs Director. Based on our client’s education, professional and working background, our office determined that she is eligible for EB-3 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 April 16, 2015, the prevailing wage request was filed.  After we obtained the foreign degree evaluation report and Prevailing Wage determination, our office filed the job order on August 11, 2015.  On October 27, 2015, we promptly filed PERM.  Eventually, on March 28, 2016, the PERM Labor Certification was approved – an EB3 position for the Chinese beneficiary. Now our client can file an I-140 petition.

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CASE: N-400 (Citizenship / Naturalization)

APPLICANT: Chinese

LOCATION:  Cleveland, OH

Our client contacted us in August 2015 to seek legal representation for her naturalization and citizenship N-400 application. She came to the United States from China and obtained her green card in December 2006 through her family petition. She retained our office on August 24, 2015.

The N-400 application was filed on September 17, 2015 with all supporting documents. Prior to her citizenship interview, our office prepared her in our office. On March 29, 2016, our client appeared at the Cleveland, OH USCIS office for her naturalization interview. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office accompanied our client as well. Our client answered all questions correctly and passed her naturalization and citizenship interview. Eventually, her application was approved on April 11, 2016. Her oath taking is scheduled in which she will become a naturalized U.S. Citizen.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: Pakistani

LOCATION: Philadelphia, PA

Our client came to the United States when he was a minor as an H-4 visa holder. Later, he changed his status from H-4 to F-1 once he was enrolled in college. After he completed his undergraduate degree, he got a job and was petitioned for his H-1B status in the United States. In August 2015, he married a U.S. Citizen and retained our office for his petition and adjustment of status application.

Once retained, our firm prepared and filed the I-130 petition and I-485 adjustment of status application on December 11, 2015. 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 via conference calls. On March 10, 2016, our clients were interviewed at the Philadelphia Pennsylvania USCIS office. However, after the interview, the USCIS issued a Request for Evidence (RFE) and asked our client to submit more bona fide marital documents with his wife.  Our office prepared and filed the Response to RFE on March 21, 2016. Eventually, on April 11, 2016, the USCIS approved our client’s case. Now he is a green card holder.

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CASE: Adjustment of Status (I-485) based on First Preference Approved I-130
CLIENT: US Citizen Petitioner Mother; Chinese Beneficiary Daughter in Ohio
LOCATION: Cleveland, Ohio

Our client retained us to file her adjustment of status application (I-485) based on an approved I-130 petition which was filed for her by her US Citizen mother in February 2008. Our client is from China and has maintained her status in the United States. She was working as a controller under a valid H-1B status.

In October 2015, she was eligible to file her adjustment of status application. Our firm prepared and filed the I-485 adjustment of status application on October 23, 2015. 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 client at our office. On March 17, 2016, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, Ohio USCIS office. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office also accompanied our client. The interview went well, and her application was approved on March 21, 2016. Now, she is a green card holder.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: Filipino

LOCATION: Newark, NJ

Our client came to the United States in January 2007 on a B-2 visitor’s visa from the Philippines. He remained in US past the expiration of his I-94. Later, he married a U.S. Citizen in May 2015 and retained our office for his petition and adjustment of status application.

Once retained, our firm prepared and filed the I-130 petition and I-485 adjustment of status application on July 20, 2015. 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 via conference calls. On April 7, 2016, our clients were interviewed at the Newark, New Jersey USCIS office. After the interview, our client’s green card application was approved.

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CASE: H-1B Change of Employer

PETITIONER: E-Commerce Company

BENEFICIARY: Korean Staff Accountant

LOCATION: Los Angeles, CA

Our client is a specialized E-commerce company which oversees multiple e-commerce websites and marketplaces. They contacted our office in early March 2016 to seek legal assistance from our office for their foreign employee. The beneficiary is from South Korea and obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. The proffered position for the Beneficiary is a Staff Accountant which qualifies as a specialty occupation. This proffered position is clearly a “specialty occupation” because the minimum requirements for this position are a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting / Business Administration or its equivalent.  

The foreign beneficiary in this case already had her H-1B visa from her previous employer.  However, her H-1B visa was not expired yet, and she wanted to extend her H-1B status on the change of employer basis.

Once retained, our office promptly filed the H-1B visa petition with various supporting documents on March 28, 2016 via premium processing service.  Since this petition was based on a change of employer, this petition was exempted from the annual cap of the H-1B.  Thus, we could file prior to April 1.  There were no Requests for Evidence during the processing of the H-1B.  Eventually, our client’s H-1B Petition was approved on April 6, 2016.  Now the Beneficiary can work for her Petitioner-Employer as an H-1B visa holder and she can work there for next three years.

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CASE: I-485 based on Approved I-140 (EB-2)

APPLICANT: Canadian Citizen who was born in China

LOCATION: South Dakota

Our client is an associate professor from Canada (Chinese national), who is currently working at the University in South Dakota who was willing to petition her for a second-preference petition (I-140).  She has maintained her status as an H-1B visa holder in the United States.  She had an approved I-140 petition which was filed by her current employer and this I-140 petition’s priority date was June 1, 2012.

Once her priority date became current, she contacted our office and retained us for her I-485 adjustment of status application. Our office filed an I-485 adjustment of status application for our client on July 13, 2015. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices and fingerprint appointment came on time.

Although there was a simple RFE request from the USCIS (they requested our client’s expired passport pages), on March 31, 2016, the USCIS Nebraska Service Center approved our client’s adjustment of status application. She is now a green card holder.

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CASE: J-1 Waiver of Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement, No Objection Statement 

NATIONALITY: Kenyan                                                                                                        

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client is from Kenya who came to the U.S. on a J-1 Visa in June 2013 to work as a camp counselor.  After she finished her J-1 program, she remained in the United States. In April 2014, our client married her current U.S. Citizen husband.  However, she could not adjust her status unless she got a waiver for the 2-year foreign residency program.  When she came to the United States in 2013, her program mad her subject to the 2-year foreign residency program.

She retained our office on January 5, 2016. Thereafter, our office prepared a waiver request through a No Objection Statement (NOS) from the Kenyan Embassy in the United States. Every country’s Embassy maintains different procedures and policies with regard to the J-1 No Objection Statement waiver.  Our office contacted the Kenyan Embassy in D.C. to pursue the waiver for our client.  The Embassy requested several documents including a statement of reason for the waiver, the clearance letter from J-1 program sponsor, Clearance certificate from HELB and KSCE in Kenya, and a letter of reason for obtaining J-1 waiver. 

On January 19, 2016, the J-1 Waiver (Form DS-3035) Application was filed to the Department of State.  We also sent a request to the Kenyan Embassy to issue a No Objection Statement and recommend this waiver based on the fact that our client is eligible to adjust based on her marriage to her spouse.

Eventually, the Kenyan Embassy issued a No Objection Statement for our client, and sent this letter to the State Department’s Waiver Review Division.  On March 9, 2016, the Waiver Review Division issued a favorable recommendation based on the No Objection statement. On March 31, 2016, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for the waiver of our client’s two-year foreign residency requirement. Now, our client can file an I-485 adjustment of status application along with her husband’s I-130 petition.

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CASE: I-140 (EB-2 Category) / Schedule A / Premium Processing

EMPLOYER: Nursing Care Facility

BENEFICIARY: Filipino

LOCATION: Beneficiary: Philippines / Petitioner: Houston, TX

The beneficiary 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 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 Master’s Degree in Nursing. 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 February 26, 2016 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.

However, on March 10, 2016, the USCIS Texas Service Center issued Request for Evidence (RFE) and requested our client to submit his prospective employer’s most recent tax return record and his degree evaluation report. Our office prepared the response and filed the Response to RFE on March 14, 2016. Eventually, on March 25, 2016, the USCIS Texas Service Center approved his EB-2 I-140 petition. Now, with the approved EB-2 I-140 petition (priority date for EB2 Philippine nationals is current), he can file an immigrant visa in the Philippines.

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CASE: I-140 (EB-2 Category) / Schedule A / Premium Processing

EMPLOYER: Physician’s Office

BENEFICIARY: Taiwanese

LOCATION: Brooklyn, NY

Our client is a family nurse practitioner. Her current employer was willing to petition her for a second-preference employment immigrant visa petition (I-140). Since she was a family nurse practitioner, he was eligible for “Schedule A” classification.

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 first going to the DOL for a labor certification. 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. The position of Nurse Practitioner is included in Schedule A.

Our client has Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in nursing and is a certified Nurse Practitioner. Our office was retained on December 17, 2015 and we filed the Prevailing Wage Determination immediately.

We filed the I-140 application on March 17, 2016 via premium processing. We included the 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 nurse practitioners must fall under the Schedule A designation.  On March 25, 2016, without any Request for Evidence (RFE), the USCIS Nebraska Service Center approved her EB-2 I-140 petition. Since the priority date for a Taiwanese national is current for the EB-2 category, she is eligible to file her adjustment of status application now.

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