CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: Nigerian

LOCATION: Middletown, PA

Our client came to the United States from Nigeria on a F-1 student visa. He married a U.S. Citizen in August 2019 and retained our office on September 12, 2019, for his green card application. Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on September 20, 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 via conference calls. On September 17, 2020, our client was interviewed at the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USCIS office. His green card application was approved on the same day.

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CASE: N-400 (Citizenship / Naturalization)

APPLICANT: Italian

LOCATION: Twinsburg, 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 Italy and he obtained his green card in March 2017 through marriage to his US Citizen spouse. He retained our office on February 17, 2020. 

His N-400 application was filed on March 5, 2020 with all supporting documents. Prior to his citizenship interview, our office prepared him via conference calls.  On September 9, 2020, our client appeared at the Cleveland, OH USCIS office for his naturalization interview. Our client answered all questions correctly and passed his naturalization and citizenship interview. 

Eventually, on September 14, 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: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: From Burkina Faso 

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client came to the United States from Burkina Faso on a F-1 student’s visa. He married a U.S. Citizen in December 2019 and retained our office on January 15, 2020 for his green card application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on February 13, 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 September 15, 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. Eventually, on the same day of the interview, his green card application was approved.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: Japanese

LOCATION: Lakewood, OH

Our client came to the United States from Japan on a F-1 student visa. She married a U.S. Citizen in December 2019 and retained our office on January 3, 2020, for her green card application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on January 27, 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 September 10, 2020, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, Ohio USCIS office. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office also accompanied our clients. On the same day of her interview, her green card application was approved.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: Pakistani

LOCATION: Broadview Heights, OH

Our client came to the United States from Pakistan on a F-1 student visa in early 1990s. In 1994, she was granted asylum; however, she never adjusted her status in the U.S. She married a U.S. Citizen in August 2018 and retained our office on January 20, 2020, for her green card application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on February 7, 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. On September 14, 2020, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, Ohio USCIS office. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office accompanied our clients. Her green card application was approved on the same day.

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CASE: N-400 (Citizenship / Naturalization)

APPLICANT: Indian

LOCATION: Lancaster, SC

Our client contacted us in June 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 June 2017 through marriage to his US Citizen spouse. 

His N-400 application was filed on June 12, 2020, with all supporting documents and a detailed cover brief. Prior to his citizenship interview, our office prepared him via conference calls.  On September 14, 2020, our client appeared at the Greer, SC USCIS office for his naturalization interview. Our client answered all questions correctly and passed his naturalization and citizenship interview. 

Eventually, his application was approved on the same day of the interview and he took his oath right away. He is now a naturalized U.S. Citizen.

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CASE: I-751

APPLICANT: Filipina

LOCATION: Birmingham, AL

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

She is from the Philippines and she married a U.S. citizen in July 2016. Through her marriage, she obtained her 2-year conditional green card in February of 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 January 18, 2019, and our office prepared an I-751 application for our client.

On February 6, 2019, our office filed the I-751 application to the USCIS. 

The receipt notice and fingerprint notice were issued, extending our client’s LPR status. The USCIS issued a Request for Evidence (RFE) and so we filed an extensive Response to RFE on July 21, 2020.  

On September 1, 2020, the USCIS approved our client’s I-751 application and our client received her 10-year green card.

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CASE: I-751

APPLICANT: Indian

LOCATION: Westlake, OH

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

She is from India and she married a U.S. citizen in April 2017. Through her marriage, she obtained a 2-year conditional green card in December 2017.  Her conditional residency terminated in December 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 September 12, 2019, and our office prepared an I-751 application for our client with all the required documents.

On September 20, 2019, our office filed an I-751 application to the USCIS with multiple affidavits from her friends and family members, joint bank statements, joint taxes, utility bills, insurance policies, and photos of our client and her husband to demonstrate the bona fideness of their marriage. 

After the application was filed, a receipt notice was issued and extended our client’s LPR status.  Eventually, on September 1, 2020, the USCIS approved our client’s I-751 application without any RFE.  Our client received her 10-year green card which removed the conditions.

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CASE: I-751

APPLICANT: Nigerian

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client contacted our office in July 2020 regarding his I-751 RFE Response. 

He is from Nigeria and he married a U.S. citizen in January 2016. Through his marriage, he obtained a 2-year conditional green card in May 2017.  His conditional residency terminated in May 2019.

To comply with immigration requirements, our client and his wife had to file an I-751 Joint Petition to Remove Conditions. He filed his I-751 application without an attorney.  

On July 27, 2020, the USCIS issued a Request for Evidence (RFE) to demonstrate the bona fideness of his marriage. He contacted our office and retained us for the RFE response. 

On August 7, 2020, our office filed an extensive RFE response to the USCIS with multiple affidavits from his friends and family members, joint bank statements, joint taxes, utility bills, insurance policies, and photos of our client and his wife to demonstrate the bona fideness of their marriage.

On September 1, 2020, the USCIS approved our client’s I-751 application and he received his 10-year green card. .

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CASE: J-1 Waiver of the Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement, Extreme Hardship

 NATIONALITY: Filipina

 LOCATION: Hobbs, NM

Our client came from the Philippines on a J-1 visa to work as a teacher. She was subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement. Our client would like to file her adjustment of status application along with her U.S. Citizen husband’s I-130 petition; however, due to the two-year foreign residency requirement, she had to obtain a waiver first.

Unlike our other J-1 clients, our client could not pursue her waiver under the No Objection Statement or Interest Government Agency (IGA). She was married in the Philippines and even though she got her divorce in the United States, the Philippines do not recognize divorces, only annulments, and annulments take five years in the Philippines. An option though to get a waiver without needing a No Objection Statement is through a showing of Exceptional Hardship. That’s what our client pursued as her husband had several hardships. 

According to 8 C.F.R. Section 212.7(c)(5), “an alien who is subject to the foreign residence requirement and who believes that compliance therewith would impose exceptional hardship upon her spouse or child who is a citizen of the United States… may apply for a waiver on Form I-612.” 

Some of the factors in analyzing extreme hardship are as follows: age of the subject, family ties in the U.S. and abroad, length and residency in the U.S., health / medical conditions, conditions in the country of removal – economic and political, financial status – business and occupation, position in / ties to the community. Matter of Anderson, 16 I&N Dec. 596 (BIA 1978). 

After she retained our firm, we prepared and filed a waiver request through the exceptional hardship basis. On April 11, 2019, the J-1 Waiver (Form DS-3035) Application was filed to the Department of State.  Thereafter, our office prepared an affidavit for our client, an extensive brief in support of our client’s J-1 waiver application, and other supporting documents. Our client provided us with extensive medical documents and doctor’s reports for her U.S. citizen husband’s medical conditions.  On April 12, 2019, our office filed the I-612 application to the USCIS and asked for them to issue and recommend this waiver based on the fact that our client’s husband would experience exceptional hardship if our client needs to go back to the Philippines for two years. 

On November 14, 2019, the USCIS issued a Request for Evidence (RFE) and requested our client to submit more hardship evidence. Our office prepared the response and filed an extensive Response to RFE to the USCIS on February 3, 2020. 

Eventually, the USCIS approved her I-612 waiver on August 31, 2020. Now that our client’s two-year foreign residency requirement is waived, she can file her adjustment of status application along with her husband’s I-130 petition in the United States. 

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