CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: Burkinabe

LOCATION: Brooklyn, OH

Our client came to the United States from Burkina Faso on a F-1 student visa in January 2008. He married a U.S. Citizen in April 2019 and retained our office on May 3, 2019 for his green card application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and Adjustment of Status Application on May 29, 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 January 30, 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: I-140 (Skilled Worker) / Schedule A 

EMPLOYER: Nursing / Rehabilitation Center

BENEFICIARY: Nepalese

LOCATION: Houston, TX

Our client’s beneficiary is a registered nurse from Nepal and licensed in the state of Texas. She came to the United States and currently works in the United States with her TPS (Temporary Protected Status).  Her current employer was willing to petition her for a third-preference employment immigrant visa petition (I-140). 

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 an Associate of nursing degree and has worked for the sponsor-employer. Our firm told her that her employer can petition her as a Registered Nurse under the schedule A category. Our office was retained on June 15, 2018 and started on her Prevailing Wage Request.

We filed the I-140 application on January 14, 2019 via premium processing. We included the job offer letter, the notice of filing, and other necessary supporting documents. However, on January 23, 2019, the USCIS issued Request for Evidence and asked our client to submit the copy of petitioner’s most recent tax return. Our office filed the response to USCIS on January 25, 2019.  Eventually, on February 7, 2019, the I-140 was approved. 

Once her I-140 petition was approved, she retained our office again and determined to file an adjustment of status application for her. On March 1, 2019, our office filed an I-485 adjustment of status application for our client. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices and fingerprint appointment came on time.

Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our client at via conference calls as well. On October 7, 2019, our client was interviewed at Houston Texas USCIS office. Eventually, on January 28, 2020, her green card application was approved.

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

EMPLOYER: Nursing / Rehabilitation Center

BENEFICIARY: Filipina Registered Nurse in the Philippines

LOCATION: Houston, TX

Our client is Filipina registered nurse who currently works in the Philippines. Her prospective 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 Texas Registered Nursing License. Our firm told her that her prospective employer can petition her as a Registered Nurse under the schedule A category. Our office was retained on December 31, 2018 and started on her Prevailing Wage Request.

We filed the I-140 application on May 15, 2019 via premium processing. We included the job offer letter, the notice of filing, and other necessary supporting documents. However, on June 24, 2019, the USCIS Texas Service Center issued Request for Evidence and requested our client to submit documents to show its “ability to pay” the proffered wage for this beneficiary. Our office filed Response to RFE on July 23, 2019.

Eventually, on January 17, 2020, our client’s I-140 petition was approved. Now, our client can file an immigrant visa application based on the approved I-140 petition when her priority dates become current.

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CASE: I-130 / I-485 Adjustment of Status

NATIONALITY: Chinese

LOCATION: Mountain View, CA

Our client was a citizen of China who came to the U.S. on a J-2 Visa in January 2012.  She came with her mother who came on a J-1 Visa for her research program in the United States. 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 March 2013. She would like to get a waiver because she has a U.S. citizen spouse who can file I-130 petition for her. She can file adjustment of status application along with her husband’s I-130 petition. However, because of her two-year foreign residency requirement, our client cannot adjust her status in the United States without the fulfillment of 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. In fact, our client turned 21 in March 2013.

Our firm was retained to do her J-2 waiver, and on February 20, 2019, 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 March 18, 2019, the DOS recommended to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) that our client be granted a waiver. On April 2, 2019, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for our client’s waiver request.

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 Adjustment of Status Application on April 15, 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 January 29, 2020, our client was interviewed at the Santa Clara California USCIS office.  The interview went well, and eventually, on the same day of the interview, her green card application was approved.

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CASE: I-751

APPLICANT: Chinese

LOCATION: Findlay, OH

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

She is from China and married a U.S. citizen in June 2016. Through her marriage, she obtained a 2-year conditional green card in April of 2017.  Her conditional residency terminated in April 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 17, 2018, and our office prepared an I-751 application for our client with other supplemental exhibits.

On February 4, 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.

Once the application was filed, the fingerprint notice was issued two weeks later. However, the USCIS issued the Request for Evidence (RFE) to demonstrate the bona fideness of our client’s marriage with her husband. We filed an extensive Response to RFE to the USCIS with more bona fide marital documents on December 23, 2019.  

As a result, on January 23, 2020, the USCIS approved our client’s I-751 application and our client received her 10-year green card which removed the conditions.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: Filipino

LOCATION: Des Moines, IA

Our client came to the United States from the Philippines on an H-4 visa in July 2014. He married a U.S. Citizen in October 2018 and retained our office on May 31, 2019 for his green card application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on August 1, 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 as well. On January 28, 2020, our client was interviewed at the Des Moines, Iowa USCIS office. Eventually, on the same day of the interview, his green card application was approved.

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CASE: I-751

APPLICANT: Italian

LOCATION: Twinsburg, OH

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

He is from Italy and he married a U.S. citizen. Through his marriage, he obtained a 2-year conditional green card in March of 2017. Thus, his conditional residency terminated in March 2019. 

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 our office prepared an I-751 application for our client with other supplemental exhibits.

On December 24, 2018, 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 two daughters, and photos of our client and his wife to demonstrate the bona fideness of their marriage.

In December 2019, the USCIS scheduled an interview for our client and his wife. On January 23, 2020, our client and her husband 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 and also accompanied them at the interview as well. The interview went well, and as a result, on January 24, 2020, the USCIS approved our client’s I-751 application.

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CASE: N-400 (Citizenship / Naturalization)

APPLICANT: Korean

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client contacted us in July 2019 to seek legal representation for her naturalization and citizenship N-400 application. She came to the United States from South Korea and obtained her green card in November 2010 through her marriage to her current U.S. citizen husband. 

Once retained, her N-400 application was filed on September 4, 2019 with all supporting documents. Prior to her citizenship interview, our office prepared her at our office.  On November 18, 2019, our client appeared at the Cleveland, Ohio USCIS office for her naturalization interview. Our client answered all questions correctly and passed her naturalization and citizenship interview. Eventually, her application was approved on January 22, 2020. Her oath taking is scheduled in which she will become a naturalized U.S. Citizen.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status
CLIENT: Nigerian
LOCATION: Lithonia, GA 

Our client is from Nigeria who came to the U.S. on a J-1 Visa in October 2018 to pursue his student internship in New Mexico.  After he finished his J-1 program, he remained in the United States. In April 2018, our client married his current U.S. citizen wife. However, he will not be able to adjust his status unless he gets a waiver of the 2-year foreign residency program.  When he came to the United States in 2018, his program was subject to the 2-year foreign residency program. 

Thereafter, our office promptly prepared for filing a waiver request through a No Objection Statement (NOS) from the Nigerian Embassy in the United States. Every country’s Embassy maintains different procedures and policies with regard to the J-1 No Objection Statement waiver.  Our office promptly contacted the Nigerian 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, and a letter of reason for obtaining J-1 waiver.  

On April 18, 2019, the J-1 Waiver (Form DS-3035) Application was filed to the Department of State.  We also sent a request to the Nigerian Embassy to issue a No Objection Statement and recommend this waiver based on the fact that our client is eligible to adjust based on his marriage to U.S. citizen spouse. 

Eventually, the Nigerian Embassy issued a No Objection Statement for our client, and sent this letter to the State Department’s Waiver Review Division.  On June 28, 2019, the Waiver Review Division issued a favorable recommendation based on the No Objection statement. On July 30, 2019, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for the waiver of our client’s two-year foreign residency requirement. 

Once his J-1 waiver was approved, he retained our office on July 31, 2019 for his adjustment of status application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and Adjustment of Status Application on September 19, 2019.  Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, the fingerprint appointment, and the work permit all came on time. Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our client via conference calls. On January 21, 2020, our client was interviewed at the Atlanta, Georgia USCIS Field Office. Eventually, on January 24, 2020, his green card application was approved. 

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CASE: I-130 and Consular Processing (Immigrant Visa)

 CLIENT: US Citizen Petitioner Son; Pakistani Beneficiary Parents in Pakistan

 LOCATION: Petitioner: Ohio; Beneficiary: Pakistan

 I-130 FILED: March 9, 2018

 I-130 APPROVED: October 18, 2018

 IV APPROVED: January 13, 2020

Our client retained us to bring his parents over from Pakistan. He was born and raised in Pakistan, but was naturalized in the United States.

On March 9, 2018, our firm filed the I-130 Petitions to the CIS. There were no Requests for Evidence throughout the pendency of the petition. On October 18, 2018, the I-130 Petitions were approved. We then started the immigrant visa processing phase of trying to get his parents over to the United States.

On July 3, 2019, we filed the immigrant visa packets to the National Visa Center who in turn forwarded our client’s materials to the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan. An interview notice was set for our client’s parents at the U.S. Embassy in Pakistan, and we prepared them for their interview. On January 13, 2020, the U.S. Embassy in Pakistan approved and issued their immigrant visa.

With the approved immigrant visa, our client’s parents can come to the United States immediately, and they will get their green cards within two months of entry.

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