CASE: I-485 based on Approved I-140 (EB-3 Skilled worker)

 APPLICANT: Filipina

 LOCATION: Champaign, IL

Our client is a rehabilitation aide from the Philippines, who is currently working at a rehabilitation center in Champaign who did an I-140 for her. The priority date is May 1, 2019.

In August 2020, she contacted our office and retained us for an I-485 adjustment of status application for her and her immediate family members (husband and two daughters). Our office filed the I-485 adjustment of status application for our clients on October 1, 2020. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices and fingerprint appointment came on time. Eventually, on July 8, 2021, their green card applications were approved without an interview.

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CASE: N-336 (Citizenship / Naturalization / Request for a Hearing on a Decision in Naturalization Proceedings)
APPLICANT: St Lucian
LOCATION: New Haven, CT

Our client filed an N-400 application in September 2019 to the USCIS. She came to the United States from St. Lucia and obtained her green card in May 2012.  However, in February 2021, the USCIS denied her naturalization application and stated that our client failed to respond to a Request for Evidence regarding her taxes. The USCIS informed her that if she believes that she can overcome the grounds for the denial, she can submit a request for a hearing on Form N-336 within 30 calendar days of the issuance of the denial decision.  She retained our office and sought for legal assistance of her N-336 application.

The N-336 application was filed on March 9, 2021 with all supporting documents including our client’s tax records.  Our office prepared her before her N-336 interview which was held on May 27, 2021 at the Hartford, CT CIS office. Eventually, on July 7, 2021, her N-336 application was approved. Her oath taking will take place and she becomes a naturalized U.S. Citizen.

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CASE: I-751

APPLICANT: Indian

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client contacted our office in September of 2020 regarding his I-751 application.

He is from India and he married a U.S. citizen in July 2018. He obtained his 2-year conditional green card in December 2018. His conditional residency terminated in December 2020.

To comply with immigration requirements, our client and his wife had to file an I-751 Joint Petition to Remove Conditions. He retained our office on October 2, 2020. On October 13, 2020, our office filed the I-751 application to the USCIS. There was no RFE. On July 8, 2021, the USCIS approved the case and he received her 10-year green card.

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CASE: I-140 (EB-3 Category) / Schedule A 

EMPLOYER: Nursing / Rehabilitation Center

BENEFICIARY: Korean Registered Nurse 

LOCATION: Santa Ana, CA

Our client is  Korean registered nurse who currently works as a under an OPT. Her current employer was willing to petition her for a third-preference employment immigrant visa petition (I-140) as a registered nurse. 

Since she is a registered nurse, she is 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 Professional Nurses is included in Schedule A.

Our client has a nursing degree and has a California Registered Nurse License. Our firm told her that her current employer can petition her as a Registered Nurse under the schedule A category. Our office was retained on January 29, 2021 and we started on her Prevailing Wage Request.

We filed the I-140 application on June 29, 2021 via premium processing. We included the job offer letter, the notice of filing, and other necessary supporting documents.  Without any issuance of a Request for Evidence (RFE), on July 13, 2021, the I-140 was approved. Now, our client can file an adjustment of status application based on the approved I-140 petition.

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CASE: EB-3 I-140

EMPLOYER: Rehabilitation Center in Katy, TX 

BENEFICIARY: Filipina Patient Guest and Front Desk Service Manager in the Philippines

Our client has a prospective employer that is willing to petition for a third-preference I-140.  Our client has a Bachelor’s degree in Tourism Management and currently works in the Philippines Based on our client’s education and work background, our office determined that she is eligible for EB-3 classification for her I-140 petition.  Our client eventually retained us on February 14, 2019.

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, the job order was filed on June 5, 2019.  On August 15, 2019, we promptly filed PERM. 

However, on January 15, 2020, 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 January 21, 2020.   Eventually, on June 12, 2020, the PERM Labor Certification was approved – an EB3 position for the Filipina beneficiary. 

We then proceeded with the I-140 Petition filing. We submitted the “ability to pay” letter for the I-140 petition application. We included the beneficiary’s degree, past experience letter, job offer letter, employer’s tax records, and other necessary supporting documents.

The I-140 Petition was filed on December 4, 2020 via regular processing service. Eventually, on July 1, 2021, the I-140 EB3 Petition for our Filipina client was approved without any Request for Evidence (RFE).

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CASE: J-2 Waiver of Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement Post-Divorce
NATIONALITY: Indian
LOCATION: Petaluma, CA

Our client is a citizen of India who came to the U.S. on a J-2 Visa in April 2012.  She came with her husband who held a J-1 Visa as a researcher.  Both were subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement. 

Eventually, she got divorced from her ex-husband in November 2020. Our client wanted to change her status in the U.S; however, she cannot do it unless she fulfills the two year foreign residency requirement or obtains a waiver.

She retained our firm to do her J-2 waiver. On November 2, 2020, 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 May 24, 2021, the DOS recommended to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) that our client be granted a waiver. The USCIS issued the I-612 waiver approval notice on July 2, 2021.

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CASE:  Joint Motion to Reopen / Adjustment of Status at the EOIR
CLIENT: Pakistani
LOCATION: Chicago, IL

Our client is a Pakistan citizen who currently resides Chicago, IL with her US citizen husband.  Our client entered to the United States with a valid L-2 visa in November 2000.  She was granted withholding of removal in July 2006 by the Philadelphia Immigration Court.  She has remained in the United States thereafter. 

In 2018, our client marred her U.S. citizen husband. However, for her to get a green card, her case should first be reopened in the Immigration Court for her to apply for adjustment of status either with the Court, or with the CIS should proceedings be terminated after reopening. 

In February 2018, our client contacted our office and sought legal assistance for her immigration matters.  After thorough consultation, our client retained us on February 21, 2018.  Upon the retention, we first prepared and filed her husband’s I-130 petition for her. We filed the I-130 petition to the USCIS on March 7, 2018, and the USCIS approved the I-130 in October 2018. Once the I-130 petition was approved, we filed a Request to Join in a Motion to Reopen to USICE-DHS office in Philadelphia.  Our cover brief explained how she got her withholding of removal status, approval of I-130, and her prima facie eligibility to apply for adjustment of status. 

The DHS office in Philadelphia finally agreed to join in the Motion to Reopen and an assigned counsel signed on the Motion. In October 2019, the Motion to Reopen was granted by the Philadelphia Immigration Court and our office immediately filed a Change of Venue Motion to move our client’s case from Philadelphia to Chicago.  

Once her case was moved to the Chicago Immigration Court, our office prepared and filed the I-485 Adjustment of Status Application and other supporting documents. 

On July 9, 2021, Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu represented our client at her Individual Hearing for adjustment of status at the Chicago Immigration Court.  After the hearing, the Immigration Judge granted our client’s adjustment of status relief.  Our client’s removal proceeding is terminated simultaneously. Now, our client is a green card holder.  

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CASE: N-400 (Citizenship / Naturalization)

APPLICANT: Nigerian

LOCATION: Attleboro, MA

Our client contacted us in March 2021 to seek legal representation for her naturalization application. She came to the United States from Nigeria and obtained her green card in March 2016.  

Her N-400 application was filed on April 9, 2021 with all supporting documents. Prior to her citizenship interview, our office prepared her via phone call.  On June 29, 2021, our client appeared at the Boston, MA CIS office. Our client answered all questions correctly and passed her naturalization interview. On the same day of her interview, her application was approved. Her oath taking is scheduled in which she will become a naturalized U.S. Citizen.

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

NATIONALITY: Korean

LOCATION: St. Paul, MN

Our client is from South Korea who came to the U.S. on a J-1 Visa. He entered in August 2018 to work as a researcher. His J-1 program made him subject to the two-year foreign residence requirement. In September 2020, he married his LPR spouse. He retained our office to seek legal assistance for his I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status applications. However, before we file his I-485 application, he had to get a waiver of his two-year foreign residency requirement. 

Upon retention, our office prepared and filed a waiver request through the No Objection Statement (NOS) from the Korean Embassy in the United States.

Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office contacted the Korean Consulate General Office in Chicago to pursue the waiver for our client.  The Consulate 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 the 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 September 30, 2020, 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 file an adjustment of status application based on his wife’s I-130 petition. 

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 March 19, 2021, the Waiver Review Division issued a favorable recommendation based on the No Objection statement. Eventually, on July 1, 2021, the USCIS issued I-612 approval notice and waived our client’s 2 year foreign residency requirement.

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CASE: PERM Labor Certification

EMPLOYER: Public School District

BENEFICIARY: Filipina Elementary Special Education Teacher

LOCATION: Mohave Valley, AZ

Our client has a current employer that was willing to do an EB2 Petition.  Our client has a Bachelor’s degree in Education, a valid Arizona Teaching license, and has more than 5 years of experience as a Special Education Teacher. Based on our client’s education and work background, our office determined that she is eligible for EB-2 classification for her I-140 petition.  Our client eventually retained us in May 2020.  

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 October 15, 2020.  On January 8, 2021, we promptly filed PERM. 

Eventually, on July 6, 2021, the PERM Labor Certification was approved without any audit – an EB2 position for the Filipina beneficiary. Our client can file the I-140 petition at any time. 

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