CASE: H-1B Visa Petition

PETITIONER: IT Consulting Company in Jacksonville, FL

BENEFICIARY: Indian Systems Analyst in India

Our client is an IT Consulting Company located in Jacksonville, FL.  They contacted our office in the middle of February this year to seek legal assistance for a possible H-1B petition for their potential foreign employee.

The beneficiary obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science in India. The Beneficiary is currently residing at India. The proffered position for the Beneficiary is a Systems Analyst which we argued qualifies as a specialty occupation.

Upon retention, our office prepared and eventually filed the H-1B visa petition with various supporting documents on March 31, 2015 via regular processing. This H-1B petition was selected after the lottery.

Without any RFEs, our client’s H-1B petition was approved on August 17, 2015. Now, the beneficiary can apply for an H-1B visa at the U.S. Embassy in India, and upon the issuance of the visa, he can work for the Petitioner from October 1, 2015 for three years.

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CASE: J-1 Waiver (No Objection Statement)

NATIONALITY: Philippines

LOCATION: South Carolina

Our client came from the Philippines on a J-1 in July 2008 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 April 2011, 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 September 21, the J-1 Waiver Application (Form DS-3035) was filed to the Department of State.  We also sent a request to the South Carolina State Government to get authentication for the necessary documents.  Later, these authenticated documents and No Objection Application (for the Philippine Government) were sent to the Philippine Embassy in D.C. for further authentication.  On November 20, 2012, 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 June 29, 2015, the Waiver Review Division issued a favorable recommendation based on the No Objection statement.  Eventually, on August 12, 2015, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for the waiver. Now, our client can file for her I-485 adjustment status application along with her U.S. Citizen husband’s I-130 petition for her.

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CASE: H-1B Visa Petition

PETITIONER:  Dental Clinic

BENEFICIARY: Korean Dentist in Cleveland, OH

Our client is a dental clinic located in Cleveland, Ohio.  They contacted our office in early March of this year to seek legal assistance for a possible H-1B petition for their foreign employee.

The beneficiary obtained his Doctor of Dental Medicine in the United States. Moreover, he is a licensed dentist in the state of Ohio. The proffered position for the Beneficiary is an associate dentist which clearly qualifies as a specialty occupation.

Upon retention, our office prepared and eventually filed the H-1B visa petition with various supporting documents on March 31, 2015 via regular processing. This H-1B petition was selected in the lottery. Our client’s H-1B application was approved on July 21, 2015.

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CASE: F-1 Reinstatement / Response to RFE

CLIENT: Beninese

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client has been on F-1 status for many years and has studied in the United States. However, in 2011, he was arrested by an immigration officer while at a bus station to New York and was told that his F-1 status was terminated. Our client went back to his home country for the Spring Semester of 2010 due to his family’s medical emergency. Prior to his departur from the U.S., he consulted with the school’s international student officer and was advised that he could go and come back without any problem. Nevertheless, unbeknownst to him, his F-1 status was terminated by the school.

Our client immediately talked to his school’s ISO officer right after his “arrest” incident. The school’s ISO apologized to our client and told him that they will take care of the mistake. Our client went with his schooling and never encountered the issue again for the next few years. He even graduated his school and applied for the OPT which was later approved by the USCIS.

In 2014, our client decided to take another program, but he was informed by the International Student Officer that his “terminated F-1” status was never resolved, and that he would not be eligible for further studies until he gets his F-1 status reinstated.  Our client immediately prepared necessary documents for the reinstatement, and filed an F-1 reinstatement request to the USCIS. However, on May 11, 2015, the USCIS issued a Request for Evidence. After the issuance of RFE, our client contacted our office and retained us on May 21, 2015.

Once retained, we helped our client obtain supporting documents for the F-1 reinstatement and prepared a response brief for the RFE. We fully explained why he had to go back to Benin, the circumstance of his F-1 termination, his financial ability to pursue his studies in the U.S., and reasons for his studies. On June 3, 2015, we filed the Response to RFE for his F-1 reinstatement with an extensive response brief and numerous supporting documents.

On June 27, 2015, the F-1 reinstatement was approved. Our client’s F-1 student is now valid and he now has retained valid non-immigrant status.

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CASE: J-1 Waiver of Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement, IGA

NATIONALITY: Ukrainian

LOCATION: Indiana

Our client is from Ukraine who came to the U.S. on a J-1 Visa in June 2003 to pursue his research program.  He has been extending his J-1 status since then.  In 2014, our client departed to Ukraine and his prospective-employer (university) contacted him to work as a Consultant. His prospective employer plans to file an H-1B petition for our client as his research project was of interest to a federal governmental agency (Department of Defense). However, he cannot get his H-1B visa unless he gets a waiver of the 2-year foreign residency requirement. Moreover, the Ukrainian Embassy does not intend to issue a No Objection statement for our client’s possible J-1 visa waiver.

The Department of State rules have stated that the J-1 visa holder (who is subject to a 2 year foreign residency require) need not work directly for the requested interested government agency, but if the exchange visitor is working on a project that is of interest to a government agency and that agency has determined that the visitor’s departure for two years to fulfill the foreign residence requirement will be detrimental to the agency’s interest, that agency may request an interested government agency waiver.

Once retained, our office prepared a waiver request through the IGA route. On November 19, 2014, the J-1 Waiver (Form DS-3035) Application was filed to the Department of State.  We also included letters from his prospective employer to the federal governmental agency and asked them to be an interested government agency based on the research project that our client was involved in.

Eventually, on May 8, 2015, the Waiver Review Division issued a favorable recommendation based on the IGA letter. On June 5, 2015, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for the waiver of our client’s two-year foreign residency requirement. Now, our client can get an H-1B visa to work on his research in the United States.

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

NATIONALITY:Kenyan                                                                                                        

LOCATION: Atlanta, GA

Our client is from Kenya who came to the U.S. on a J-1 Visa in August 1998 to pursue his master’s degree.  After he finished his J-1 program, he remained in the United States.

In October 2013, our client married his current U.S. citizen wife. However, he initially can’t adjust status unless he got a waiver for the 2-year foreign residency program.  When he came to the United States in 1998, his program was clearly subject to the 2-year foreign residency program.

Thereafter, our office prepared a waiver request through the No Objection Statement (NOS) from the Kenyan Embassy in the United States. Every country’s Embassy maintains different procedures and policies with regards to the J-1 No Objection Statement waiver.  Our office contacted the Kenyan Embassy in D.C. to pursue the waiver application 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 J-1 waiver. 

On March 13, 2015, 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 his marriage to U.S. citizen 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 May 13, 2015, the Waiver Review Division issued a favorable recommendation based on the No Objection statement. On June 4, 2015, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for the waiver of our client’s two-year foreign residency requirement. Now, our client can file an I-485 adjustment of status application along with his wife’s I-130 petition. 

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

NATIONALITY: Chinese

LOCATION: California

Our client was a citizen of China who came to the U.S. on a J-2 Visa in October 2007.  He came with his 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.

After our client came to the United States, he completed his high school and was admitted to a University to pursue his bachelor’s degree. He went back to China and got his F-1 student visa at the U.S. Embassy in China and came back to the United States with his F-1 student visa.

He turned 21 in 2010. This year, his employer filed an I-129 petition for our client’s H-1B visa. However, because of her two-year foreign residency requirement, our client cannot change his 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. Our client turned 21 in July 2010.

Our firm was retained to do his J-2 waiver, and on March 12, 2015, 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 April 11, 2015 the DOS recommended to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) that our client be granted a waiver.  On May 22, 2015, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for our client’s waiver request.

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CASE: H-1B Change of Employer

PETITIONER: Architectural Design Company

BENEFICIARY: Turkish Architect

LOCATION: New York, NY

Our client is an architectural design firm headquartered in New York City. They contacted our office in March 2015 to seek assistance from our office for their foreign employee. The beneficiary is from Turkey and she obtained her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in architecture. The proffered position for the Beneficiary is an architect which we argued qualifies as a specialty occupation.

The foreign beneficiary in this case already had her H-1B from her previous employer which was in a similar industry.  Her H-1B status was not yet expired, and she wanted to extend her H-1B status on a change of employer basis.

After retention, our office promptly filed the H-1B visa petition with various supporting documents on March 24, 2015 via regular processing.  Since this petition was based on a change of employer, this petition was exempt from the annual cap of the H-1B.  There were no Requests for Evidence during the processing of the H-1B.  Eventually, our client’s H-1B Petition was approved on May 25, 2015.  Now the Beneficiary can work for her Petitioner-Employer as an H-1B visa holder and she can work there for the next three years.

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

NATIONALITY: Chinese

LOCATION: Pittsburgh, PA

Our client was a citizen of China who came to the U.S. on a J-2 Visa in March 2007.  He came with his 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.

After our client came to the United States, he completed his high school and was admitted to a University to pursue his bachelor’s degree. He went back to China and got his F-1 student visa at the U.S. Embassy in China and came back to the United States with his F-1 student visa.

He turned 21 in 2011. This year, his employer filed an I-129 petition for our client’s H-1B visa. However, because of her two-year foreign residency requirement, our client cannot change his 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 2011.

Our firm was retained to do his J-2 waiver, and on March 25, 2015, 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 April 27, 2015 the DOS recommended to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) that our client be granted a waiver.  On May 21, 2015, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for our client’s waiver request.

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CASE: J-1 Waiver (No Objection Statement)

NATIONALITY: Philippines

LOCATION: California

Our client came from the Philippines on a J-1 in September 2007 to work as a trainee. 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 December 2012, 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 9, 2015, the J-1 Waiver Application (Form DS-3035) was filed to the Department of State.  We also sent a request to the California 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 San Francisco for further authentication.  On February 16, 2015, 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 April 16, 2015, the Waiver Review Division issued a favorable recommendation based on the No Objection statement.  Eventually, on May 19, 2015, 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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