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

Our client came to the United States in September 2008 with an H-2 temporary work visa from the Philippines. She eventually overstayed her visa and remained in the United States. She married a U.S. Citizen in October 2011 and retained our office on November 8, 2011 for her adjustment of status application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and Adjustment of Status Application on November 21, 2011.  Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, fingerprint appointment, and work permits all came on time. There was no Request for Evidence.  Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our clients. On January 26, 2012, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, Ohio USCIS office.  We accompanied them at the interview as well.  On the same day, her green card application was approved.

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CASE: N-400 (Citizenship / Naturalization)
APPLICANT: Canadian
LOCATION: Cleveland, Ohio

Our client came to the United States from Canada when she was 14 years old as a permanent resident. She has studied and worked in the United States as a green card holder, but did not naturalize as a U.S. Citizen.  Our client contacted us in early October 2011 and she retained our office for her naturalization application.  Our client was concerned about her numerous trips to Canada for the last five years, with some almost lasting six months.  Although she went to Canada back and forth, she has never left the United States more than 180 days continuously. She also resided in the United States for a least half of the past five years. Thus, her travel record should not be a problem for her naturalization application.

Her N-400 application was filed on October 20, 2011 with all necessary supporting documents.
Our office prepared her before her interview, and also accompanied her on January 5, 2012 at the Cleveland CIS office.  Our client answered all questions correctly and passed her citizenship interview.   Eventually, her N-400 was approved on January 23, 2012. Her oath taking is scheduled soon in which she will be a U.S. Citizen.

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

Our client is from Kenya who came to the U.S. on a J-1 Visa in 2004.  She was later on placed in removal proceedings and she retained our office for legal representation. We filed her I-360 self-petition which was since considered prima facie approvable and is now awaiting adjudication.   However, even if she gets the approved I-360 petition, she will not be able to adjust her status unless she gets a waiver of the 2-year foreign residence requirement, which she had from her J-1 program.

Our office filed a J-1 waiver request through a No Objection Statement (NOS) from the Kenyan Embassy in the United States.  As mentioned in a previous success story, every country’s Embassy maintains different procedures and policies with regard to the J-1 No Objection Statement. Our office contacted the Kenyan Embassy in D.C. to request a no objection statement. The Embassy requested several documents including a statement of reason for the waiver, a clearance letter from the J-1 program sponsor, clearance certificate from the HELB and KSCE in Kenya, and a letter of reason for obtaining the J-1 waiver, among others.

On November 21, 2011 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 pending approval of the I-360 petition.

On January 3, 2012 the Kenyan Embassy issued a No Objection Statement for our client, who also sent this letter to the State Department’s Waiver Review Division.  On January 23, 2012, the Waiver Review Division issued a favorable recommendation based on the No Objection statement. The CIS has receipted the fee and has issued an I-612 approval.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status
CLIENT: Canadian
LOCATION: Baltimore, MD

Our client came to the United States in March 2011 as a visitor from Canada.  She married her U.S. Citizen wife in April 2011 and retained our office on September 9, 2011 for her adjustment of status application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and Adjustment of Status Application on September 26, 2011.  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 January 12, 2012, our client was interviewed at the Baltimore, Maryland USCIS office.  Our attorney accompanied them at the interview as well.  On January 17, 2012, her green card application was approved.

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CASE: N-400 Citizenship / Naturalization
APPLICANT: South African
LOCATION: Ohio

Our client contacted us in October 2011.  She came to the United States from South Africa with an immigrant visa in 2007 through marriage to her U.S. citizen husband and became a permanent resident.  She retained our office for her naturalization application. The main issue of her naturalization case was the long, over six-month trip that she had within the past three years. According to the INA §316(b) and 8 C.F.R. §316.5.(c)(1)(i), an absence between 6 months and 1 year from the United States raises a rebuttable presumption that continuity of residence has been interrupted. That would be an issue in naturalization cases, where continuity of residence is essential. Applicants with this issue should rebut that presumption.

Our client was out of the United States for almost a year. Our client was in South Africa during that time due to her husband’s enrollment in a Ph.D. program. In our brief, we cited Li v. Chertoff, 490 F.Supp.2d 130 (D. Mass. 2007), which held that in cases where an applicant left the country to study abroad after they became a permanent resident, the courts have ruled that such study does not result in abandonment of residency. We asked the CIS to also apply this to respondent, even though it was her husband who studied abroad.

The brief and her N-400 application were filed on October 21, 2011 with all necessary supporting documents. Our office prepared her for her interview, and also accompanied her on January 5, 2012 at the Cleveland CIS office. Our client answered all questions correctly and passed her citizenship interview. Her N-400 was approved on January 19, 2012. Her oath taking is scheduled soon where she will become a U.S. Citizen.

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CASE: Asylee Adjustment of Status
CLIENT: Chinese
LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client came to the United States in October 2010 after she was granted derivative asylum status as the spouse of a person granted asylum.  Her husband was granted asylum in November 2008, and thereafter, our client came to the United States as derivative asylee.

Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, an asylee may apply for lawful permanent resident status after he or she has been physically present in the United States for a period of one year after the date he or she was granted asylum status.  Around October 2011, one year after she entered the United States, our client contacted our office and sought legal assistance for her adjustment of status.  Our office was retained on October 17, 2011, and we prepared and filed her I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on October 28, 2011.  Everything went smoothly and the receipt notice and fingerprint appointment all came on time.  On January 12, 2012, the USCIS approved our client’s Adjustment of Status application. She’s now a permanent resident of the United States.

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CASE: H-1B Visa Petition – Response to Request for Evidence
PETITIONER: Software Distributor
BENEFICIARY: Nepali
LOCATION: Omaha, Nebraska
ISSUE: Specialty Occupation / Degree Issues

Our client is a nationwide stocking wholesaler of voice, data, and outside plant products in Nebraska. The beneficiary is from Nepal who obtained a Master’s degree in the United States and worked for his previous employer under an H-1B.  The Petitioner-Employer filed an H-1B application (Change of employer) on behalf of our client on November 2.  However, on December 1, 2011, the USCIS issued a 5-page Request for Evidence to the Petitioner-Employer and requested Petitioner to submit additional evidence to establish that the proffered position to the beneficiary qualified as a “Specialty Occupation.”

The USCIS was skeptical and argued that the proffered “Web Developer” position in Petitioner’s business did not qualify as a “Specialty Occupation”. The main issue for the client’s H-1B application was whether the “Web/Software Developer” position for the Petitioner required a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent to make this position a “specialty occupation.”

After Petitioner-Employer received the Request for Evidence (RFE) from the USCIS, our client consulted with our firm and eventually retained us to prepare the response. We gathered supporting documents from both the Petitioner and Beneficiary and did research on their industry, focusing on similarly sized businesses, to demonstrate that a bachelor’s degree is commonly required for this position.

In the response brief, our office argued that the degree requirement is common to this industry in parallel positions among similar organizations.  We provided evidence that the position of Web/Software Developer is a common position required by similarly sized software developer or distributor companies with similar annual incomes. We provided evidence that Petitioner’s competitors normally require degrees in a specific specialty for closely related positions like that of Web/Software developers.  Moreover, our office asserted that the nature of the specific duties is so specialized and complex that knowledge required to perform the duties is usually associated with the attainment of a baccalaureate or higher degree in a specific specialty.

Our office filed a 9-page Response to RFE brief with 13 exhibits to the USCIS California Service Center on December 28, 2011.  On January 11, 2011 our client’s H-1B petition was approved.  Now our client can work for the petitioner on an H-1B status for the next 3 years.

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CASE: B-2 Visa Extension / I-539
NATIONALITY: Filipino
LOCATION: Cleveland, Ohio

Our clients came from the Philippines on B-2 visitor visas. They came to the United States in early June of 2011 to attend a Math competition in Las Vegas Nevada. Their visas were single entry ones good for only a month, but their tourist status upon entry was good for six months. .  They wanted to visit their grandmother from Ohio so after the competition, they visited her in Ohio. They consulted with our firm about a week before the expiration of their B-2 status. They wanted to extend their visit for six months to spend more time with their grandmother.

Upon retention, we went into detail with their reasons for requesting extension. We made sure all addresses, contact information, and dates on their statements were complete and accurate. We made sure all their plans were supported by corroborating evidence as exhibits to the application to avoid a possible Request for Evidence from the CIS.  Our office submitted letters from family members in the United States and financial statements from the Philippines. We also submitted school ties from the Philippines as proof of their intention to retain. We also submitted return tickets prior to the expiration of the requested extension. Our firm filed the I-539 Extension Application on December 1, 2011, a day before the expiration of their status. On January 9, 2012, their B-2 status extensions were approved with no Requests for Evidence.  Now they can stay in the United States for six more months with their grandmother.

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CASE: H-1B Visa Petition
PETITIONER:  Online Grocery Store in Washington, D.C.
BENEFICIARY: Singaporean Business Development Director

Our client is an online grocery business and is one of the first D.C-based businesses to present a selection of locally and seasonally sourced products on a user-friendly website, combining a simple ordering process with a highly professional, same-day delivery service. They contacted our office in late July of 2011 to seek legal assistance and we met them at our Washington DC satellite office prior to retention.

The beneficiary obtained his Bachelors degree in Economics in the United States and completed his Masters degree in Georgetown University. The proffered position for the Beneficiary was for a business development director which we argued qualified as a specialty occupation.  We proffered that the minimum requirement for this position is a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics or its equivalent.

Once retained, our firm prepared and eventually filed the H-1B visa petition with various supporting documents on September 27, 2011 via premium processing service.  The USCIS Vermont Service Center then issued a Request for Evidence (RFE) on October 13, 2011.  The USCIS argued that the proffered position does not qualify as a “specialty occupation.” They claimed that the business was too small, with only 6 employees, and that a Bachelors degree was not required for this position for “grocery” businesses. In response to the RFE, our office asserted in an 8-page response brief with 23 exhibits that the nature of the specific duties are so specialized and complex that knowledge required to perform the duties is usually associated with the attainment of a Bachelors degree.  Moreover, we argued that the degree requirement is common to the industry in parallel positions among similar organizations. We explained that running an online grocery business is more complex than running a small convenience store or small grocery, especially since our client specialized in high-end products.

Our office filed the response to the USCIS Vermont Service Center on January 6, 2012.  Our client’s H-1B application was approved 11 days later on January 17, 2012.  Now the Beneficiary can work for the Petitioner on an H-1B status until September 30, 2014.

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

Our client is from South Korea who came to the U.S. on a J-1 Visa two years ago.  With Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu’s assistance, this client got his I-140 self-petition (National Interest Waiver Category) in August 2011.  He came to the U.S. to work as a visiting professor.  After he received his approved I-140, but before he filed his I-485 adjustment of status application, he went back to Korea and had a J-1 visa interview.  At the interview, the Consulate officer informed him that he is now subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement since his program code is now subject to the requirement in the new skills list.  Thus, unless he fulfills the requirement in Korea or obtains a waiver, he is not able to adjust his status in the United States..

Before he had a visa interview, to clarify the uncertainty, our office checked with the State Department by filing an advisory opinion request.  According to the Department of State, “if you are not sure whether the two year foreign residence applies to you, you may make a written request for an advisory opinion for the applicability of the residence requirement to your situation.”  Our office promptly filed this advisory opinion request on August 24, 2011 to the Waiver Review Division of the Department of State.

Unfortunately, the decision of the Department of State stated that our client is subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement. After our office received this decision from the Department of State, Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu prepared and filed a waiver request through the No Objection Statement (NOS) from the Korean Embassy in the United States.

Attorney Yu contacted the Korean Consulate General Office in Chicago to pursue the waiver for our client.  The Consulate office requested six different documents including a statement of reason for the waiver, the applicant’s resume, a J-1 visa waiver confirmation application, and a letter of reason for obtaining J-1 waiver.  Most of those documents needed to be written in Korean, so Attorney Yu, a Korean himself, assisted our client in completing those documents.

On October 11, 2011 the J-1 Waiver (Form DS-3035) Application was filed to the Department of State.  We also sent a request to the Korean Embassy to issue a No Objection Statement and recommend this waiver based on the fact that our client is eligible to adjust with an approved I-140 if he obtains the waiver.

The Korean Consulate General in Chicago forwarded our client’s documents to the Korean Embassy in DC.  After that, the Korean Embassy issued a No Objection Statement for our client, and sent this letter to the State Department’s Waiver Review Division.  On December 2, 2011, the Waiver Review Division issued a favorable recommendation based on the No Objection statement. The CIS then issued an I-612 approval notice on January 12, 2012. Now, our client can file his adjustment of status application along with the approved I-140 petition and I-612 J-1 waiver approval.

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