CASE: Adjustment of Status Based on Approved K-1 Visa

CLIENT: Slovakian

LOCATION: Vermillion, OH

Our client came to the United States in April 2019 as a K-1 visa entrant from Slovakia.  Our client is the beneficiary of an approved I-129F petition. She came to the United States as a K-1 Fiancée of a U.S. Citizen whom she married within 90 days of her entry. By law, if you married your petitioner-fiancé within 90 days of your K-1 visa entry, you are eligible to apply for adjustment of status (green card) in the United States. She married in June of 2019. 

Our client contacted our office initially and consulted with us for her adjustment of status application. She retained our office on July 12, 2019.  After the retention, our firm quickly prepared and filed the I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on September 5, 2019. Things went smoothly and the receipt notices, and the fingerprint appointment all came on time.  

Thereafter, the USCIS scheduled an interview for our client’s adjustment of status application.  Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our clients at our office. On January 7, 2020, our clients were interviewed at the Cleveland, Ohio USCIS office. Eventually, on the same day of the interview, her green card application was approved.

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CASE: J-1 Waiver (No Objection Statement)

NATIONALITY: Philippines

LOCATION: Las Vegas, NV

Our client came from the Philippines on a J-1 in July 2017 to work as a teacher. According to her DS-2019, she was subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement. After her authorized stay period expired, she remained in the United States. 

In June 2019, 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.

Upon retention, our office promptly prepared a waiver request through a No Objection Statement (NOS) from the Philippine Embassy in the United States and eventually the EVP in the Philippines.

On July 19, 2019, the J-1 Waiver Application (Form DS-3035) was filed to the Department of State.  On September 10, 2019, our office sent our client’s materials to the Waiver Review Committee in Manila, Philippines.  Then, 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 December 12, 2019, the Waiver Review Division issued a favorable recommendation based on the No Objection statement.  Eventually, on December 23, 2019, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for the waiver. Now, our client can file for her adjustment status application along with her U.S. Citizen husband’s I-130 petition for her.

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CASE: J-2 Waiver of Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement Post-Divorce
NATIONALITY: Chinese
LOCATION: Hingham, MA

Our client is a citizen of China who came to the U.S. on a J-2 Visa in January 2015.  She came with her husband (now, her ex-husband) who held a J-1 Visa as an exchange visitor.  Both were subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement. 

Unfortunately, while they are residing in the United States, her marriage did not work out well. Eventually, she got divorced from her ex-husband in January 2016 in China. In September 2019, she married her U.S. citizen spouse. She wanted to file the waiver so that she can file adjustment of status along with her U.S. citizen spouse’s I-130 petition.

Our client contacted our office and retained our firm to do her J-2 waiver on October 16, 2019.  On October 21, 2019, the J-2 Waiver (DS-3035) 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 was divorced from the J-1 visa holder.  Eventually, on December 2, 2019, the DOS recommended to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) that our client be granted a waiver. Finally, the USCIS issued I-612 waiver approval notice on December 18, 2019.

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CASE: J-1 Waiver (No Objection Statement)

NATIONALITY: Philippines

LOCATION: Bell, CA

Our client came from the Philippines on a J-1 in September 2016 to work as a teacher. Based on her DS-2019, she was subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement. After her authorized stay period expired, she remained in the United States. 

In April 2019, 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.

Upon retention, our office promptly prepared a waiver request through a No Objection Statement (NOS) from the Philippine Embassy in the United States and eventually the EVP in the Philippines.

On June 25, 2019, the J-1 Waiver Application (Form DS-3035) was filed to the Department of State.  On September 10, 2019, our office sent our client’s materials to the Waiver Review Committee in Manila, Philippines.  Then, 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 December 9, 2019, the Waiver Review Division issued a favorable recommendation based on the No Objection statement.  Eventually, on December 19, 2019, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for the waiver. Now, our client can file for her adjustment status application along with her U.S. Citizen husband’s I-130 petition for her.

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

NATIONALITY: Korean                                                                                                           

LOCATION: Schaumburg IL

Our client is from South Korea who came to the U.S. on a J-1 Visa in February 2018.  Later, he married his current U.S. citizen wife and filed an adjustment of status application. At the time of his adjustment of status application filing, he did not know that he needed to get a waiver for his two-year foreign residency requirement.  After he found out that he needed a waiver for his adjustment of status case, he contacted our office. 

He retained our office on August 9, 2018 for his J-1 waiver case. Once retained, Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office promptly contacted the Korean Consulate General Office in Chicago to pursue the waiver for our client.  The Consulate office 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 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 August 14, 2019, 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 adjust in the United States if he obtains the waiver.

The Korean Consulate General in Chicago promptly 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 October 24, 2019, the Waiver Review Division issued a favorable recommendation based on the No Objection statement. Eventually, the USCIS has issued an I-612 approval notice on November 15, 2019. 

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CASE: J-1 Waiver (No Objection Statement)

NATIONALITY: Philippines

LOCATION: Williston, ND

Our client came to the United States as a J-1 exchange visa holder to work as s speech language pathologist. His current U.S. employer filed an I-140 petition in 2018 for him and this petition was approved by the USCIS. Our client and his family members filed their adjustment of status application in December 2018. However, it was not clear whether his program was subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement. His J-1 visa page clearly states that he is not subject to the requirement; though his wife’s J-2 visa page states that she is subject to the requirement. In order to clarify it, our office filed an advisory opinion request to the Department of State in January 2019. The DOS responded that our client is subject to the 2-year foreign residency requirement. 

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. Our client needs a waiver and sought for our legal assistance on this matter. 

Upon retention, our office promptly prepared a waiver request through a No Objection Statement (NOS) from the Philippine Embassy in the United States and eventually the EVP in the Philippines.

On May 9, 2019, the J-1 Waiver Application (Form DS-3035) was filed to the Department of State.  We also sent a request to the North Dakota State Government to get authentication for the necessary documents.  Later, these authenticated documents and No Objection Application (for the Philippines Government) were sent to the Philippines Consulate General in Chicago for further authentication.  On May 22, 2019, our office sent our client’s materials to the Waiver Review Committee in Manila, Philippines. Then, 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 the Waiver Review Division issued a favorable recommendation based on the No Objection statement.  Eventually, on October 31, 2019, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for the waiver.

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

NATIONALITY: Korean

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client is from South Korea who came to the U.S. on a J-1 Visa in 2018 to work as a researcher. His J-1 program made him subject to the two-year foreign residence requirement. He retained our office to seek legal assistance for his I-140 (National Interest Waiver Classification) and I-485 Adjustment of Status applications. Before we can file his I-485 application, he had to get a waiver of his two-year foreign residency requirement first.  

Once retained, our office promptly 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 Chicago 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 August 23, 2019, 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 file a National Interest Waiver petition and adjustment of status application.

The Korean Consulate General in Chicago 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 October 4, 2019, the Waiver Review Division issued a favorable recommendation based on the No Objection statement. Eventually, on October 11, 2019, the USCIS issued I-612 approval notice and waived our client’s 2 year foreign residency requirement.

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CASE: J-1 Waiver (No Objection Statement)

NATIONALITY: Philippines

LOCATION: Espanola, NM

Our client came from the Philippines on a J-1 visa in September 2015 to work as a teacher. According to her DS-2019, 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.

Upon retention, our office promptly prepared a waiver request through a No Objection Statement (NOS) from the Philippine Embassy in the United States and eventually the EVP in the Philippines.

On December 3, 2018, the J-1 Waiver Application (Form DS-3035) was filed to the Department of State.  We also sent a request to the New Mexico State Government to get authentication for the necessary documents.  Later, these authenticated documents and No Objection Application (for the Philippines Government) were sent to the Philippines Consulate General in Houston for further authentication.  On June 12, 2019, our office sent our client’s materials to the Waiver Review Committee in Manila, Philippines. Then, 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. Now, our client can file for her adjustment status application along with her U.S. Citizen husband’s I-130 petition for her.

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CASE: H-1B Visa Extension Petition
PETITIONER:  Architecture Company in Cleveland, OH
BENEFICIARY: Architectural Designer from China

Our client is a leading company in Architecture, Urban Design, Interior Design and Planning in Cleveland, OH. They contacted our office in April 2019 to seek legal assistance from our office for their foreign employee’s H-1B extension.  The beneficiary obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture. The proffered position for the Beneficiary is an Architectural Designer which qualifies as a specialty occupation. We argued that this proffered position is clearly a “specialty occupation” because the minimum requirements for this position are a Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture or its equivalent. Moreover, our office helped this employer’s I-140 case in 2018 and it was approved by the USCIS. 

Once retained, our office promptly filed the H-1B visa petition with various supporting documents on May 13, 2019 via the regular processing service. Eventually, our client’s H-1B application was approved on September 17, 2019.  His H-1B is good until September 2, 2022.

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

NATIONALITY: Chinese

LOCATION: Overland Park, KS

Our client was a citizen of China who came to the U.S. on a J-2 Visa in June 1996.  She came with her father who came on a J-1 Visa for his 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 December 2016. 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 December 2016.

Our firm was retained to do her J-2 waiver, and on August 13, 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 September 10, 2019, the DOS recommended to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) that our client be granted a waiver. On September 20, 2019, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for our client’s waiver request.

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