Case: I-130/I-485
Applicant/Beneficiary – Korean
Location: Cleveland, OH

Our client entered the United States in June 2012 from South Korea under the visa waiver program. She came here to visit her U.S. citizen boyfriend (now her husband) during the summer. As a Visa Waiver Entrant, she was only authorized to remain in the United States for only 90 days.

Later, in August, our client and her U.S. citizen boyfriend married in the United States. Her husband contacted our office, and they retained our office on August 22, 2012.

One main issue in her green card application through marriage was the fact that she came to the United States under the visa waiver program. As our office wrote in our previous success story with a similar issue,  under the visa waiver program, citizens of certain countries can enter the U.S. for 90 days without a visa with the condition that the visitor waives his or her right to contest removal (other than on the basis of asylum).  The “no-contest” provision of the Visa Waiver Program is fundamental; if someone could enter under the VWP and then contest removability, it would defeat the whole purpose of the Program which is to make it easy for certain nationals to come to the United States to visit and then leave without all the red-tape involved in visa issuance.

Since our client resided in Cleveland, Ohio, her application had a better chance compared to states under the 9th Circuit (see Momeni v. Chertoff).  However, it was quite foreseeable that the USCIS field office will exercise its discretion to deny his application because of her visa waiver entry.

Our office filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on August 27, 2012.  Our office requested the CIS to exercise favorable discretion in granting adjustment of status and argued that the application was filed before her authorized period of stay expired.

Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, fingerprint appointment, and work permit all came on time. There was no Request for Evidence.

Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our clients. On December 10, 2012, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, Ohio USCIS Field Office.  We accompanied them at the interview as well.  Despite the visa waiver issue, the USCIS officer approved her green card application on the same day.  Now, our client is a green card holder.

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CASE: H-1B Visa Petition
PETITIONER: Healthcare staffing firm
BENEFICIARY: Pharmacist
ISSUES: Cap-Exempt, Research Organization, Off-Site Employment

Our client is one of the leading healthcare staffing firms in Northeast Ohio, serving the general staffing needs of regional hospitals and clinics.

They contacted our office in late of October to seek legal assistance from our office for their foreign employee.

The beneficiary is a licensed pharmacist who obtained his Doctor of Pharmacy degree in the United States. The proffered position for the Beneficiary is a Pharmacist. We showed that this is a “specialty occupation” because the minimum requirement for this position is a Doctor of Pharmacy Degree with a registered Pharmacist license.

Prior to our client contacting us, the numerical cap of H-1B visas for fiscal year 2013 was already reached. Our client was very disappointed and thought they would have to wait until April 1, 2013. Also, since the Petitioner is a staffing firm, their foreign employee will be placed at different hospitals (off-site employment issue). At that point our client thought it was impossible to file at this point.

We told our client that we can argue that they are qualified for some of the exemption provisions for the H-1B cap. We explained that we can argue the nonprofit exemption, as well as cite some CIS memorandums regarding eligibility for H-1B petitions despite off-site employment. We showed that the main reason for cap-exemption is that the foreign employee will be placed at two hospitals which are non-profit research organizations as defined in 8 C.F.R. 214.2(h)(19)(iii)(C).

Our office argued that this H-1B petition is exempted from the H-1B numerical limitations (cap-exempt) because the Petitioner will employ the beneficiary to perform job duties at non-profit research organizations (two hospitals) as defined in 8 C.F.R. 214(h)(19)(iii)(C) that directly and predominately furthers the normal, primary, or essential purpose, mission, objectives, or function of the qualifying institution (nonprofit research).

We also argued that these two hospitals are clearly qualified as non-profit research organizations as defined in 8 C.F.R. 214(h)(19)(iii)(C). These two organizations are primarily engaged in basic research and/or applied research. Moreover, the beneficiary’s job duties, which will be performed on-site at qualifying non-profit research organizations, will be similar to those performed by actual employees (Pharmacists) of the two hospitals in the furtherance of the qualifying entities’ mission.

Furthermore, we explained that the Petitioner will comply with the statutory and regulatory requirements of the H-1B non-immigrant classification for the placement of the beneficiary at the two hospitals during the period of employment.  We mentioned that the beneficiary will be paid higher than the prevailing wage for the pharmacist position by the Petitioner, and Petitioner-Employer will maintain an employer-employee relationship with the beneficiary. The Petitioner has the right to control the work of the beneficiary on a day-to-day basis as well. We explained that the Petitioner has a sole right to hire, pay, and has the ability to fire the beneficiary as well.

Once retained, our office filed the H-1B visa petition with various supporting documents on November 13, 2012 via premium processing. There were no Requests for Evidence during the processing of the H-1B. Eventually, our client’s H-1B application was approved on November 27, 2012. He can now work for his employer for three years on an H-1B status starting November 27, 2012.

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

NATIONALITY: Indonesian

LOCATION: Cleveland, Ohio

Our Indonesian client came to the U.S. on a J-1 Visa in July 2007.  He came to the U.S. for business training, and his J-1 visa made him subject to the two-year foreign resident requirement.

In June 2012, our client married his U.S. Citizen wife and he wanted to apply for permanent residency. However, due to the two-year foreign residency requirement, he had to obtain a waiver first.

After he retained our firm, we prepared and filed a waiver request through a 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 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 July 10, 2012 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 marriage based adjustment 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 August 16, 2012, 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 19, 2012.  Now that our client’s two-year foreign residency requirement is waived, he can file for adjustment of status application with his wife’s I-130 petition.

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CASE: E-1 Extension (I-129)
NATIONALITY: Filipino
LOCATION: California

Our client and his family members came from the Philippines on an E-1 Treaty Trader Visa in 2006.  Since then, our client and his family members have consistently maintained their status.

Our client has invested significant money into his incorporated business, which is located in California. Our client’s position within the company is of the same capacity when the initial E-1 was granted and the business continues to be actively engaged in its services. Our client contacted our office early this year, and retained us to get legal assistance for his E-1 extension.

Upon retention, we prepared the extension application and collected supporting documents for the E-1 extension.  We also prepared a brief that explained that our client’s business has continuously grown for last several years with attached supporting documents. We submitted a company support letter, invoices, tax records, purchase orders, photos of business premises, business account bank statements, and bills of lading.  We submitted the application to the USCIS on July 12, 2012.

However, on August 14, 2012, the USCIS issued a Request for Evidence (RFE) regarding our client’s extension application.

In response to the RFE, our office submitted an explanatory cover letter with supporting evidence of the application which included a certificate of incorporation, stock ownership certificates, business lease agreement, financial statements, evidence of substantial international trade and evidence that the company is bona fide enterprise.

Eventually, the USCIS approved the I-129 petition and our client’s E-1 extension on November 14, 2012.  Our client’s E-1 status is extended until December 2014.

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CASE: Change of Status from F-1 to E-1 Derivative
CLIENT: Korean
LOCATION: Dayton, Ohio

Our client was a F-1 student and had an OPT when she contacted our office. In July of this year, she married an E-1 visa holder who worked in the Dayton Ohio area. Rather than remaining an F-1 visa holder, our client wanted to change her status from F-1 to E-1. E derivatives can apply for a work permit, and maintain it as long as your spouse maintains status.

As a family dependent of an E-1 visa holder, our client can change status from F-1 to E-1 derivative.

Our firm was retained and on September 6, 2012, and we filed our client’s I-539 with all supporting documents to the USCIS in Dallas on September 17, 2012. There were no requests for evidence. On November 8, 2012, the Change of Status was approved. Our client is now on E-1 and is with her husband in Dayton, Ohio. She can now file and will get a work permit.

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The impact of Hurricane Sandy on the people up and down the East Coast was massive. It has already been a few days since the people in New York and New Jersey experienced the storm but the effects are still felt— including those involved in immigration applications and removal proceedings.

Just like when other severe hurricanes troubled the states in the U.S.—storms such as Hurricane Katrina—the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have once again issued widespread information on dealing with immigration consequences of the storm. Thus far, basic information is available regarding U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) plans; virtually nothing has been said about Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

On November 2, the USCIS announced the provision of services and relief to those who were affected by the recent storm. Still depending on the circumstance, this announcement would give benefits or considerations in terms of expediting the process of employment authorization documents and extensions of certain non-immigrant status designations. Those who also failed to submit evidence or attend an appointment because of the storm will also be given significant consideration by the USCIS.

So those individuals who failed to meet the deadlines of the submission of materials required after their receipt of the Request for Evidence (RFEs) or Notices of Intent to Deny will have a 30-day extension. But only those whose deadlines indicate the date between October 26th and November 26th are going to be given this leeway. However, the USCIS still stresses that the burden remains on the applicant to provide some proof that Hurricane Sandy indeed impacted them so bad that they were unable to meet the deadlines and submit the required materials or evidence.
Source: ImmigrationImpact.Com

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CASE: H-1B Visa Petition

PETITIONER:  Capital Investment Company in Georgia

BENEFICIARY: Lithuanian International Compliance Manager

Our client is a Capital Investment Company in Georgia which owns local and international travel clubs and sells memberships. They contacted our office in late April of 2012 to seek legal assistance for its foreign beneficiary’s H-1B visa petition.

The beneficiary is Lithuanian and obtained her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in International Law in Lithuania. She has worked for different companies in the United States on an H-1B visa and got an offer from our client. The proffered position for the Beneficiary was for an International Compliance Manager which we argued qualified as a specialty occupation. We argued that the minimum requirement for this position is a Bachelor’s Degree in International Law/Relations or its equivalent.

Upon retention, our firm prepared and eventually filed the H-1B visa petition with various supporting documents on May 1, 2012 via premium processing. However, the USCIS Vermont Service Center issued a Request for Evidence (RFE) on July 13, 2012.

The USCIS argued that the offered position does not qualify as a “specialty occupation.” They claimed that the business was new and that a Bachelor’s degree was not required for this position.  They claimed that the beneficiary’s position is not specialized and complex enough to be qualified as a specialty occupation as the law requires.

In response to the RFE, our office argued in an 6-page response brief with 15 exhibits that the nature of the specific duties are so specialized and complex that knowledge required to perform the duties is usually associated with the attainment of a Bachelor’s degree.  Moreover, we argued that the degree requirement is common to the industry in parallel positions among similar organizations.

Our office filed the response to the USCIS Vermont Service Center on October 1, 2012. Our client’s H-1B application was approved 15 days later on October 15, 2012. Now the Beneficiary can work for the Petitioner on an H-1B status until March 31, 2015.

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CASE: Change of Status / I-539
NATIONALITY: Filipina
LOCATION: Hawaii
DATE FILED: August 9, 2012
DATE APPROVED: October 5, 2012

Our client came from the Philippines on an H-4 visa (Dependent of H-1B). She was about to turn 20 years old, and wanted to attend a college in the U.S. Her father was still on an H-1B in Cleveland, but the job was not as secure as it was before. If he loses his job, our client will also lose her H4 status.

Her family contacted us. As parents, they wanted the best for their daughter, regardless of what happens to them in the future. Should the family lose their status, they just want to make sure their daughter continues in the States and attend college. They had relatives in Hawaii and they wanted her to stay with them as she goes to college. So they contacted us to get legal assistance for her change of status from H-4 to F-1.

Upon retention, we went into detail with their reasons for requesting a change of status. We made sure all addresses, contact information, and dates on their statements were complete and accurate. We made sure the SEVIS fees were paid and we obtained the I-20 document from our client. We prepared a brief that explained our client’s financial ability to go to school in the U.S.

The application was supported by corroborating evidence as exhibits to the application to avoid a possible Request for Evidence from the CIS. Our firm filed the I-539 Extension Application on August 9, 2012. On October 5, 2012, her change of status application was approved by the USCIS with no Requests for Evidence. Now she can stay in the United States and go to college, regardless of what happens to her parents’ situation.

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CASE: I-129F Fiancé Petition and Fiancé Visa
PETITIONER: US Citizen in Cleveland, OH
BENEFICIARY: Guyanese
PETITION FILED: May 21, 2012
VISA APPROVED: October 11, 2012

Our client, a US Citizen Petitioner, met her Guyanese fiancé in Barbados last year. A few months after she came back to the States, she retained our firm to get a visa for her fiancé.

We informed her of all supporting documents we would need, helped her and her fiancé draft a letter in support of the fiancé petition, and filed the petition on May 21, 2012.

On August 17, 2012, the I-129F fiancé petition was approved. Our client’s fiancé was then scheduled for a fiancé immigrant visa interview in early October 2012 at the US Embassy in Georgetown, Guyana. We prepared all forms and supporting documents for his interview and sent them by international mail to Guyana. He was also prepared prior to the interview.

On October 11, 2012, our client passed his fiancé visa interview. He would be reunited with our client in the U.S. soon and would get married within 90 days of his entry. From there he can apply for his green card.

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CASE: J-1 Waiver of the Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement, No Objection Statement
NATIONALITY: Nepalese
LOCATION: Maryland
FILED: August 24, 2012
APPROVED: October 15, 2012

Our Nepalese client came to the U.S. on a J-1 Visa in August 2006. She came to the U.S. for hospitality training, and her J-1 visa made her subject to the two-year foreign resident requirement.

Upon the completion of her program in 2007, she went back to Nepal and came back to the United States with a Q-1 visa. She did not fully fulfill her 2 year foreign residency requirement in Nepal.

In May 2009, our client married his U.S. Citizen husband and she wanted to apply for permanent residency. Her husband filed an I-130 petition, and this was approved by the USCIS in February 2011. However, due to the two-year foreign residency requirement, she had to obtain a waiver first before she file the adjustment of status application. Either that or she has to go back to Nepal and finish her two-year requirement..

After she retained our firm, we prepared and filed a waiver request through a No Objection Statement (NOS) from the Nepalese Embassy in the United States. Our office contacted the Nepalese Embassy in Washington D.C. to make sure we had all the requirements needed for their office to issue a no objection statement. The Embassy requested numerous documents including a statement of reason for the waiver, the applicant’s resume, a copy of her valid Indonesian passport, the approved copy of I-130 notice, a copy of DS-2019, and a copy of Third Party Bar Code Page

On August 24, 2012 the J-1 Waiver (Form DS-3035) Application was filed to the Department of State. We also sent a request to the Nepalese 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 marriage based adjustment of status application but for the waiver.

The Nepalese Embassy eventually issued a No Objection Statement for our client, and sent this letter to the State Department’s Waiver Review Division. On September 24, 2012, 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 October 15, 2012. Now that our client’s two-year foreign residency requirement is waived, she can file her green card / adjustment of status application with the approved I-130 petition.

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