CASE: Adjustment of Status at Removal Proceeding
CLIENT: Sierra Leonean
LOCATION: Cleveland, OH (USCIS / EOIR)

Our client came from Sierra Leone in January 2011 as a visitor. She married her U.S. Citizen husband in September 2013. Her authorized stay period expired at the time of her marriage. Due to her overstay, our client was placed in removal proceedings in December 2013.  She retained our office in January 2014 for legal assistance in her removal proceedings representation and I-130 filing. 

On November 5, 2015, the USCIS Cleveland office denied our client’s I-130 petition not because of his current marriage, because of her first marriage to a US Citizen. Before and at the interview itself, extensive evidence of bona fide marriage covering 2 years of marriage were submitted. The couple was able to answer a majority of the questions in the two and half hour interview, and the grounds and discrepancies relied upon by the USCIS in denying the I-130 compared to the majority and relevance of the correctly answered questioned together with the extensive evidence was relatively minor. A majority of the questions were also about her first marriage. 

In response to this denial decision, we timely filed a Notice of Appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals from a decision of a USCIS officer on December 5. Eventually, on July 8, 2016, the BIA found that a remand is warranted for our client’s case.  As a result, on September 26, 2017, our client and her U.S. Citizen husband appeared at the USCIS Cleveland Field Office for another I-130 follow-up interview after this case was remanded to the USCIS. 

Even after the second interview, the I-130 remained pending without any issuance of an RFE or Notice of Intent to Deny. In the meantime, we filed Motions for Continuances for her Master Calendar hearings based on the pending I-130 petition. The Cleveland Immigration Court kept granting our Motions. The USCIS Cleveland Field Office finally approved our client’s I-130 petition on January 23, 2018. 

Once the I-130 petition is approved, our office prepared and filed the I-485 Adjustment of Status Application and other supporting documents to the Cleveland Immigration Court.

On April 8, 2021, Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu represented our client at her Individual Hearing for adjustment of status.  After the hearing, the Immigration Judge granted our client’s adjustment of status application.  Our client’s removal case was terminated simultaneously. Now, our client is a green card holder.   

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CASE: N-400 (Citizenship / Naturalization)

APPLICANT: Filipina

LOCATION: Mentor, OH

Our client contacted us in May 2020 to seek legal representation for her naturalization application. She came to the United States from the Philippines and obtained her green card in June 2010. 

Her N-400 application was filed on June 9, 2020. Prior to her citizenship interview, our office prepared her via conference calls.  On February 10, 2021, our client appeared at the Cleveland, OH USCIS office for her naturalization interview. Our client answered all questions correctly and passed her interview. On April 1, 2021, her application was approved. Her oath taking is scheduled in which she will become a naturalized U.S. Citizen.

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CASE: N-400 (Citizenship / Naturalization)

APPLICANT: German

LOCATION: Warner Robins, GA

Our client contacted us in March 2020 to seek legal representation for his naturalization application. He came to the United States from Germany and he obtained his green card in February 2013.

We filed his N-400 on June 16, 2020. Prior to his citizenship interview, our office prepared him via conference calls.  On March 16, 2021, our client appeared at the Montgomery Alabama USCIS office for his naturalization interview. Our client answered all questions correctly and passed his naturalization interview. On March 26, 2021, his application was approved. His oath taking is scheduled in which he will become a naturalized U.S. Citizen.

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CASE: I-130/I-485

NATIONALITY: Philippines

LOCATION: Richmond, TX

Our client came from the Philippines on a J-1 in September 2015 to work as a teacher. She was subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement. 

In June 2017, 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.

On December 3, 2018, the J-1 Waiver Application (Form DS-3035) was filed to the Department of State.  On June 12, 2019, our office sent our client’s apostilled materials to the Waiver Review Committee in Manila, Philippines.  The Waiver Review Committee forwarded the materials and favorable recommendation to the Philippine Embassy in D.C. who eventually issued a No Objection Statement.

On September 24, 2019, the Waiver Review Division issued a favorable recommendation based on the No Objection statement.  Eventually, on September 26, 2019, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for the waiver. 

Once 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 December 4, 2019.  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 April 1, 2021, our client was interviewed at the Houston, Texas USCIS office.  The interview went well, and eventually, on April 2, 2021, her green card application was approved.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: British

LOCATION: Renton, WA

Our client came to the United States from the United Kingdom on a J-2 visa in September 1996. Since then, he has remained in the United States.  He married a U.S. Citizen in January 2018 and retained our office on January 23, 2019, for his green card application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on April 8, 2019.  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 March 31, 2021, our client was interviewed at the Seattle, WA USCIS office. Eventually, on the same day of his interview, his green card application was approved.

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CASE: I-751

APPLICANT: Chinese

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client contacted our office in June 2020 regarding her I-751 application.

She is from China and she married a U.S. citizen in August 2017. She obtained a 2-year conditional green card in August 2018. Her conditional residency terminated in August 2020.

To comply with immigration requirements, our client and her husband had to file an I-751 Joint Petition to Remove Conditions. She retained our office on June 30, 2020. On July 8, 2020, our office filed the I-751 application to the USCIS. There was no RFE. On March 24, 2021, the USCIS approved our client’s I-751 application. She received her 10-year green card.

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CASE: PERM Labor Certification

EMPLOYER: Rubber Production Company in Burbank, CA 

BENEFICIARY: Filipina Supply Chain Director in the Philippines

Our client has a prospective employer that was willing to petition her for a third-preference petition (I-140).  Our client has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and currently works in the Philippines. Based on our client’s education and background, our office determined that she is clearly eligible for EB-3 classification for her I-140 petition.  Our client eventually retained us in November 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 April 21, 2020.  On August 14, 2020, we promptly filed PERM. 

Eventually, on March 26, 2021, the PERM Labor Certification was approved – an EB3 position for the Filipina beneficiary. Our client can file the I-140 petition at any time.

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

NATIONALITY: Korean

LOCATION: Atlanta, GA

Our client is from South Korea who came to the U.S. on a J-1 Visa in August 2019 as an exchange student in Georgia. Her J-1 program made her subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement. She wanted to change her status to F-1 or H-1B. However, before she changes her status, she has to get a waiver for her two-year foreign residency requirement. 

Once retained, 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 Atlanta 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 November 23, 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 change her status in the U.S.

The Korean Consulate General in Atlanta 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 8, 2021, the Waiver Review Division issued a favorable recommendation based on the No Objection statement. Eventually, on March 22, 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 High School Math Teacher

LOCATION: Casa Grande, AZ

Our client has a current employer that was willing to petition her for a third-preference petition (I-140).  Our client has a Bachelor’s degree in Education, a valid Arizona Teaching license, and has worked for her current employer since August 2015. Based on her education and credentials, she is eligible for EB-3 classification for her I-140 petition.  Our client eventually retained us in September 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 only 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 February 10, 2020.  On April 20, 2020, we promptly filed PERM. 

On September 24, 2020, the Department of Labor issued an audit request. The DOL requested documents from the 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 October 16, 2020.   

Eventually, on March 22, 2021, the PERM Labor Certification was approved – an EB3 position for the Filipina beneficiary. Our client can file the I-140 petition at any time.

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CASE: PERM Labor Certification

EMPLOYER: Public School District

BENEFICIARY: Filipina High School Math Teacher

LOCATION: Casa Grande, AZ

Our client has a current employer that was willing to petition her for a third-preference petition (I-140).  Our client has a Bachelor’s degree in Education, a valid Arizona Teaching license, and has worked for her current employer since August 2015. Based on her education and credentials, our office determined that she is clearly eligible for EB-3 classification for her I-140 petition.  Our client eventually retained us in September 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 only 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 February 6, 2020.  On April 13, 2020, we promptly filed PERM. 

On September 24, 2020, the Department of Labor issued a request for audit. The DOL requested documents from the 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 October 16, 2020.   

Eventually, on March 22, 2021, the PERM Labor Certification was approved – an EB3 position for the Filipina beneficiary. Our client can file the I-140 petition at any time.

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