CASE: N-400 (Citizenship / Naturalization)

APPLICANT: Indian

LOCATION: New Philadelphia, OH

Our client contacted us in February 2020 to seek legal representation for his naturalization and citizenship N-400 application. He came to the United States from India and he obtained his green card in August 2016 through marriage to his US Citizen spouse. 

His N-400 application was filed on February 24, 2020. Prior to his citizenship interview, our office prepared him via conference calls.  On November 12, 2020, our client appeared at the Cleveland, OH USCIS office for his naturalization interview. Our client answered all questions correctly and passed his naturalization interview. OnNovember 18, 2020, 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-751

APPLICANT: Mexican

LOCATION: Medina, OH

Our client contacted our office in September of 2019 regarding his I-751 application.

He is from Mexico and he married a U.S. citizen. Through his marriage, he obtained a 2-year conditional green card in February of 2018. 

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 and we prepared the I-751 application.

On November 25, 2019, our office filed an I-751 application to the USCIS with multiple affidavits from his friends and family members, joint bank statements, utility bills, joint tax documents, birth certificate of their child, and photos of our client and his wife to demonstrate the bona fideness of their marriage.

Several months later, the USCIS scheduled an interview for our client and his wife. Our client and his wife were requested to appear for the interview at the USCIS Cleveland Field Office.  Prior to the interview, our office prepared them thoroughly via conference calls. Sung Hee Yu from our office accompanied them at the interview as well. The interview went well on November 13, 2020 and the USCIS approved our client’s I-751 application on the same day. 

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: Chinese

LOCATION: Brunswick, OH

Our client came to the United States from China on a F-1 student’s visa. He married a U.S. Citizen in January 2020 and retained our office on February 11, 2020 for his green card application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on February 19, 2020.  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 as well. On November 9, 2020, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, Ohio USCIS office. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu, Esq. from our office accompanied our clients as well. On the same day of the interview, his green card application was approved.

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CASE: I-485 Adjustment of Status

EMPLOYER: Physicians’ Office

BENEFICIARY: Canadian Nurse Practitioner

LOCATION: St. Louis, MO

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 is a certified nurse practitioner, 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 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 on August 12, 2019 and we filed the Prevailing Wage Determination immediately.

We filed the I-140 application on January 28, 2020 via premium processing. We included the job offer letter, 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 February 5, 2020, the USCIS Nebraska Service Center issued a Request for Evidence and requested the Petitioner to submit its business existence documents such as IRS FEIN issuance letter, articles of incorporation, and business license. Our office filed the Response to RFE on February 13, 2020. On February 25, 2020, the USCIS Nebraska Service Center approved her EB-2 I-140 petition. 

Once the I-140 petition was approved, our client retained our office again for her and her husband’s I-485 adjustment of status applications. Our office filed the I-485 adjustment of status applications on May 25, 2020. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices and fingerprint appointment came on time.

Eventually, on November 6, 2020, the USCIS Nebraska Service Center approved our clients’ adjustment of status applications without an interview. They are now green card holders.

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

 NATIONALITY: Indonesian

 LOCATION: Washington DC

Our Indonesian client came to the U.S. on a J-1 Visa in September 2016.  He came to the U.S. for his research program, and his J-1 visa made him subject to the two-year foreign resident requirement.  His research and higher education enhanced his interest in the field, and he would like to further his future research and development projects.  However, since most of these will take a longer time, he anticipated that most employers will eventually wish to petition him for an alternate form of visa such as an H-1B. But due to the two-year foreign residency requirement, he had to obtain a waiver first before he could change his current status in the United States. 

After he retained our firm, we prepared and filed a waiver request through the No Objection Statement (NOS) from the Indonesian Embassy in the United States.  Our office contacted the Indonesian Embassy in Washington D.C. to make sure we knew all the updated requirements needed for their office to issue a no objection statement.  The Embassy requested nine different documents including a statement of reason for the waiver, the applicant’s resume, a copy of his valid Indonesian passport, and a copy of Form DS-3035.

On June 5, 2020, the J-1 Waiver (Form DS-3035) Application was filed to the Department of State.  We also sent a request to the Indonesian Embassy to issue a No Objection Statement and recommend this waiver based on the fact that our client would have been eligible to file a change of status application but for the waiver.

The Indonesian Embassy eventually issued a No Objection Statement for our client, and sent this letter to the State Department’s Waiver Review Division.  On October 28, 2020, the Waiver Review Division issued a favorable recommendation based on the No Objection statement. The CIS then issued a receipt and an I-612 approval notice on November 2, 2020.  Now that our client’s two-year foreign residency requirement is waived, he can be a beneficiary of other non-immigrant visas in the United States without having to going back to Indonesia for 2 years.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: Nigerian

LOCATION: Parma, OH

Our client came to the United States from Nigeria with a B-2 visitor’s visa in September 2017. She married a U.S. Citizen in April 2019 and retained our office for her green card application on June 20, 2019.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on September 10, 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 as well. On February 18, 2020, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, Ohio USCIS office. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office also accompanied our clients. The interview was very intense and lasted more than 2 hours. Nevertheless, on November 3, 2020, her green card application was approved.

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CASE: I-751

APPLICANT: Chinese

LOCATION: Cleveland Heights, OH

Our client contacted our office in December of 2019 regarding her I-751 application.

She is from China and shemarried a U.S. citizen. Through her marriage, she obtained a 2-year conditional green card in February 2018. Her conditional residency terminated in February 2020. 

To comply with immigration requirements, our client and her spouse had to file an I-751 Joint Petition to Remove Conditions. She retained our office, and our office prepared an I-751 application for our client.

On December 23, 2019, our office filed an I-751 application to the USCIS with multiple affidavits from her friends and family members, joint bank statements, utility bills, joint tax documents, and photos of our client and her spouse to demonstrate the bona fideness of their marriage.

Once the application was filed, the fingerprint arty@sarmientoimmigration.comnotice was issued two weeks later. Eventually, on October 28, 2020, the USCIS approved our client’s I-751 application without any RFE. 

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CASE: J-2 Waiver of Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement / Over 21-year-old dependent child

NATIONALITY: Filipina

LOCATION: Roswell, NM

Our client is a citizen of the Philippines who came to the U.S. on a J-2 Visa in August 2017.  She came with her mother who came on a J-1 Visa. Both were subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement, meaning they had to go back to their home country for two-years before they can apply for permanent residency or some non-immigrant visa such as the H, L, and O visas.

She turned 21 in July 2020.  She wanted to file her I-485 adjustment of status application with her U.S. citizen spouse’s I-130 petition. However, because of her two-year foreign residency requirement, our client cannot adjust her status in the United States without fulfilling the two-year requirement or the waiver. 

Although J-2 dependents cannot independently apply for a waiver, in cases where a J-2 child reaches 21, the Waiver Review Division may consider requests for waivers on behalf of the J-2 dependent.  The Department of State’s policy allows for that process in instances where the J-2 dependent obtains a divorce form the J-1 principal, the J-1 principal dies, or in cases where the J-2 dependent turns 21, which is our client’s case. Our client turned 21 in July 2020.

Our firm was retained to do her J-2 waiver and on July 10, 2020, the J-2 Waiver application (Form DS-3035 and supporting documents) 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 reached the age of 21 and was not a dependent of a J-1 visa holder anymore.  Eventually, on October 7, 2020, the DOS recommended to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) that our client be granted a waiver.  On October 28, 2020, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice.

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CASE: I-130/I-485

NATIONALITY: Kenyan                                                                                                        

LOCATION: Northfield, 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 due to her J-1 2-year foreign residency requirement. 

She retained our office on January 5, 2016. Thereafter, our office filed a waiver request through a No Objection Statement (NOS) from the Kenyan Embassy. Every country’s Embassy maintains different procedures with regards 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 the J-1 program sponsor, Clearance certificate from HELB and KSCE in Kenya, and a letter of reason for obtaining the 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. 

Once her J-1 waiver was approved, our client retained our office again in June 2019 for her adjustment of status application. Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on February 17, 2020.  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 October 30, 2020, 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 eventually, on the same day of the interview, her green card application was approved.

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CASE: EB-3 I-485
EMPLOYER:  Plastic Manufacturing Company in Solon, OH
BENEFICIARY: Nigerian Project Engineer

Our client is from Nigeria. His current employer was willing to do an immigration petition for him, third-preference. Our client has a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering. After talking to our client, our firm concluded that his employer can petition him as a Project Engineer. Based on our client’s education and work background, our office determined that he 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. PERM could be filed at least 60 days from the job posting date or 30 days from the last ad. On February 20, 2019, the prevailing wage request was filed.  After we obtained the Prevailing Wage determination, our office filed the job order on June 11, 2019.  On September 3, 2019, we promptly filed PERM.  Eventually, on December 18, 2019, the PERM Labor Certification was approved – an EB3 position for the Nigerian 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 December 30, 2019 via regular processing. On March 25, 2020, the USCIS issued a Request for Evidence (RFE) for the I-140 petition and requested our client to submit evidence to verify beneficiary’s special skills on the PERM application. Our office prepared and filed the Response to RFE to the USCIS on April 1, 2020.  On April 27, 2020, the I-140 EB3 Petition for our Nigerian client was approved. 

When we filed his I-140 petition, he concurrently filed his I-485 adjustment of status application. On October 16, 2020, the USCIS Nebraska Service Center approved our client’s adjustment of status application without an interview. He is now a permanent resident.  

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