CASE: PERM Labor Certification

EMPLOYER: Public School District

BENEFICIARY: Filipina High School Science Teacher

LOCATION: Casa Grande, AZ

Our client has a current employer that was willing to petition her for a third-preference petition (I-140).  She has a Bachelor’s degree in Education, a valid Arizona Teaching license, and has worked for her current employer since September 2015. Based on her education and credentials, our office determined that she is eligible for EB-3 classification.  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. 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 7, 2020. The ads were also done.  On April 16, 2020, we filed PERM. 

On September 24, 2020, the Department of Labor issued an 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 20, 2020.   

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

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CASE: I-751

APPLICANT: Iranian

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

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

He is from Iran and he  married a U.S. citizen in January 2018. He obtained a 2-year conditional green card in August 2018.  His conditional residency terminated in August 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 June 12, 2020. On June 23, 2020, our office filed the I-751 application to the USCIS. There was no RFE. On March 18, 2021, the USCIS approved our client’s I-751 application. He received his 10-year green card.

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CASE: I-751

APPLICANT: Cambodian

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client contacted our office in December of 2018 regarding her I-751 application.

She is from Cambodia and married a U.S. citizen in July 2016. Through her marriage, she obtained a 2-year conditional green card in February 2017.  Her conditional residency terminated in February 2019.

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 December 18, 2018.

On December 19, 2018, our office filed the  I-751 application to the USCIS. 

Mother later, the USCIS issued a Request for Evidence (RFE). We filed an extensive Response to RFE on January 5, 2021.  

Eventually, on March 16, 2021, the USCIS approved our client’s I-751.

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

NATIONALITY: Kenyan                                                                                                        

LOCATION: Somerset, NJ

Our client is from Kenya who came to the U.S. on a J-1 Visa in June 2019 to work as a camp counselor.  After she finished her J-1 program, she remained in the United States. In October 2020, our client married her current U.S. Citizen husband.  However, she was subject to the 2-year foreign residency requirement. She had to get a waiver first. 

She retained our office on November 2, 2020. Thereafter, our office prepared a waiver request through the No Objection Statement (NOS) from the Kenyan Embassy. Every country’s Embassy maintains different procedures on 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 the J-1 waiver.  

On November 10, 2020, 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 February 25, 2021, the Waiver Review Division issued a favorable recommendation based on the No Objection statement. On March 16, 2021, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for the waiver. 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: EB-3 I-140

EMPLOYER: Public School District

BENEFICIARY: Filipina Elementary School Teacher

LOCATION: Tucson, AZ

Our client has a current employer who was willing to petition her for a third-preference petition (I-140).  She has a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education, a valid Arizona Teaching license, and has worked for her current employer since July 2017. Based on our client’s education and work background, 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 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 April 8, 2019.  On August 7, 2019, we filed PERM. 

On January 7, 2020, the Department of Labor issued an 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 23, 2020.  Eventually, on June 16, 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 job offer letter, employer’s tax records, and other necessary supporting documents.

The I-140 Petition was filed on July 24, 2020, via regular processing service. We also filed her I-485 adjustment of status application simultaneously since her priority date was current. On January 22, 2021, the USCIS issued a Request for Evidence (RFE) for our client’s teaching license. Our office immediately filed the RFE response. Eventually, on March 18, 2021, the I-140 EB3 Petition for our Filipina client was approved..

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

EMPLOYER: Physician’s Office

BENEFICIARY: Nepalese Nurse Practitioner

LOCATION: Bridgeport, CT

Our client is a certified nurse practitioner. Her prospective employer was willing to petition her for a second-preference employment immigrant visa petition (I-140). Since she was a certified nurse practitioner, she was eligible for EB2 and “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 a Bachelors and Masters degree in nursing and is a certified Nurse Practitioner. Our office was retained and we filed the Prevailing Wage Determination.

We filed the I-140 application on March 4, 2021 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 17, 2021, without any Request for Evidence (RFE), the USCIS Nebraska Service Center approved her EB-2 I-140 petition. Since the priority date for Nepalese nationals is current for the EB-2 category, she is eligible to file her adjustment of status application now.

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CASE: N-400 (Citizenship / Naturalization)

APPLICANT: Guatemalan

LOCATION: Cincinnati, OH

Our client contacted us in August 2020 to seek legal representation for her naturalization application. She came to the United States from Guatemala and obtained her green card in November 2014. 

We filed her application on September 11, 2020. Prior to her citizenship interview, our office prepared her.  On January 7, 2021, our client appeared at the Cincinnati, OH USCIS office for her naturalization interview. Our client answered all questions correctly and passed her interview. On March 9, 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: Mexican

LOCATION: Springfield, OH

Our client contacted us in March 2020 to seek legal representation for his naturalization application. He came to the United States from Mexico and obtained his green card in March 2015 from our firm. 

We filed the application on March 11, 2020.  On February 9, 2021, our client appeared at the Cincinnati, OH USCIS office for his naturalization interview. Our client answered all questions correctly and passed his interview. On March 9, 2021, his application was approved.

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CASE: I-751

APPLICANT: Chinese

LOCATION: Kent, OH

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

She is from China and she married a U.S. citizen in May 2018. She obtained a 2-year conditional green card in September 2018.  Her conditional residency terminated in September 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 9, 2020, our office filed an I-751 application to the USCIS. On March 10, 2021, the USCIS approved our client’s I-751 application without any Request for Evidence (RFE). 

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CASE: I-751

APPLICANT: Indian

LOCATION: McKinney, TX

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 May 2017. Through his marriage, he obtained his 2-year conditional green card in January 2019. Thus, his conditional residency terminated in January 2021. 

To comply with immigration requirements, our client and his spouse had to file an I-751 Joint Petition to Remove Conditions. He retained our office.

On November 2, 2020, our office filed an I-751 application to the USCIS. On March 4, 2021, the USCIS approved our client’s I-751 application without any RFE.

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