CASE: H-1B Extension
PETITIONER: Hospital
BENEFICIARY: Physician, Filipino
LOCATION: Erie, Pennsylvania

Our client is a physician from the Philippines who currently works at a hospital in Erie, Pennsylvania with a valid H-1B visa.  His H-1B status was about to expire before he retained our office on July 21, 2011.  Our client sought legal assistance from us for his H-1B 3-year extension.

Once we were retained, our office promptly prepared his H-1B extension application.  The Labor Condition Application was filed and approved and eventually our office filed the H-1B extension application on August 12, 2011 to the USCIS Vermont Service Center. There was no Request for Evidence with the filing and the Petitioner did not opt for premium processing. The case was approved on January 6, 2012. The H-1B is good from September 22, 2011 to September 21, 2014.

FREE CONSULTATIONS

If you have any questions, please fill out the free consultation form below, and we will respond as soon as possible privately. 

For other H-1B success stories, please click here.

For other success stories, please click here.

Also feel free to contact our office anytime for free consultations.

{ 0 comments }

CASE: Adjustment of Status Based on Approved K-1 Visa
CLIENT: Korean
LOCATION: Dayton, OH

Our client came to the United States in June 2011 as a K-1 visa entrant from Korea.  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.

Our client contacted our office initially in the middle of August and consulted with us for her adjustment of status application. She retained our office on August 23, 2011.  Our firm quickly prepared and filed the I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on August 29, 2011 one week before her K-1 authorized stay period expired.  Things went smoothly and the receipt notices, and the fingerprint appointment all came on time.  Her work authorization card was issued on November 9, 2011.

It is not mandatory to have an adjustment of status interview for an applicant who entered on a K-1 visa.  However, the USCIS may require an interview to test the validity and bona fide nature of the marriage between the Petitioner and Beneficiary. The USCIS did not require an adjustment interview for our client.  On December 5, 2011, her green card application was approved.

FREE CONSULTATIONS

If you have any questions, please fill out the free consultation form below, and we will respond as soon as possible privately. 

For other marriage-based green card success stories, please click here.

For other success stories, please click here.

Also feel free to contact our office anytime for free consultations.

{ 0 comments }

CASE: H-1B Visa Petition – Response to Request for Evidence
PETITIONER: Indian Restaurant
BENEFICIARY: Nepali
LOCATION: Ohio
ISSUE: Specialty Occupation / Degree Issues

Our client is a large Indian restaurant in Ohio. The beneficiary is from Nepal who obtained a Master’s degree in the United States and worked for his employer under the OPT program.  The Petitioner-Employer filed an H-1B application on behalf of our client on July 10, 2011 by themselves.  However, the USCIS mailed a 5-page Request for Evidence to the Petitioner-Employer and requested Petitioner to submit additional evidence to establish that the proffered position to the beneficiary qualified as a “Specialty Occupation.” The USCIS requested the Petitioner to submit more evidence regarding whether similar businesses in the same industry require a degree or its equivalent for the proffered position.

The USCIS was skeptical and argued that the proffered “Operations Manager” position in Petitioner’s business did not qualify as a “Specialty Occupation”. They mentioned that the law clearly states that an H-1B classification may be granted to an alien who will perform services in a specialty occupation which requires theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge and attainment of a baccalaureate or higher degree or its equivalent as a minimum requirement for entry into the occupation in the United States, and who is qualified to perform services in the specialty occupation because she has attained a baccalaureate or higher degree or its equivalent in the specialty occupation.

The main issue for the client’s H-1B application was whether the “Operations Manager” position for this Indian Restaurant Petitioner required a bachelor’s degree or an equivalent to make this position a “specialty occupation.” Once Petitioner-Employer received the Request for Evidence (RFE) from the USCIS, our client retained us to prepare the response. We gathered supporting documents from both the Petitioner and Beneficiary and did research on the restaurant industry, focusing on similarly sized businesses, to demonstrate that a bachelor’s degree is commonly required for this position.

In the response brief, our office argued that the degree requirement is common to this industry in parallel positions among similar organizations.  We provided evidence that the position of Operations Manager is a common position required by similarly sized restaurants with similar annual incomes.  Also, we provided evidence that Petitioner’s competitors normally require degrees in a specific specialty for closely related positions like that of Operations Managers.  Moreover, our office asserted that the nature of the specific duties is so specialized and complex that knowledge required to perform the duties is usually associated with the attainment of a baccalaureate or higher degree in a specific specialty.

Our office filed a 9-page Response to RFE brief with 18 exhibits to the USCIS California Service Center on November 16, 2011.  Our client’s H-1B application was approved 12 days later on November 28, 2011.  Now our client can work for the Indian Restaurant employer on an H-1B status and he can work there for next three years, renewable for another 3.

FREE CONSULTATIONS

If you have any questions, please fill out the free consultation form below, and we will respond as soon as possible privately. 

For other H-1B success stories, please click here.

For other success stories, please click here.

Also feel free to contact our office anytime for free consultations.

{ 0 comments }

CASE: Change of Status from B1 / B2 to H-4
CLIENT: Filipina
LOCATION: Santa Clara, California

Our client was married to an H-1B visa holder working for Apple. They were married in the Philippines. She came here on a B1 / B2 visa for a business visit with the intention of returning back to the Philippines for work. She changed her mind while she was here and decided to remain with her husband. As a family dependent of an H-1B visa holder, our client can change her status from B1 / B2 to H-4. Our firm was retained and on October 4, 2011, we filed our client’s I-539 with all supporting documents to the USCIS in Dallas. There were no requests for evidence. On November 14, 2011, the Change of Status was approved. Our client is now on H-4 and is with her husband in Santa Clara California.

FREE CONSULTATIONS

If you have any questions, please fill out the free consultation form below, and we will respond as soon as possible privately. 

For other visa and non-immigrant status success stories, please click here.

For other success stories, please click here.

Also feel free to contact us anytime for free consultations.

{ 0 comments }

CASE: Adjustment of Status / J-1 Waiver
NATIONALITY: Philippines                                                                                                       �
LOCATION: Seattle, WA

Our client came from the Philippines on a J-1 Visa three years ago. However, upon completion of her J-1 program, she remained in the United States.  According to her DS-2019, she was subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement.   At the end of last year, she got married to her U.S. citizen husband and later on consulted with our firm for her adjustment of status (obtaining a green card). 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 asked us to help her obtain a waiver of the two-year foreign residency requirement.  Upon retention, our office promptly prepared a waiver request through a No Objection Statement (NOS) from the Philippine Embassy in the United States.

On January 18, 2011 the J-1 Waiver Application (Form DS-3035) was filed to the Department of State.  We also sent a request to the Washington 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 Consulate General for further authentication.  On March 8, 2011, the Consulate office in San Francisco 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. which eventually issued a No Objection Statement.  Throughout the process, we asked these government agencies to recommend a waiver for our client based on the fact that our client was eligible to adjust if she obtains a waiver.

On April 27, 2011, the Waiver Review Division issued a favorable recommendation based on the No Objection statement.  Eventually, on May 16, 2011, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for the waiver.

Once the waiver was issued, our office filed the I-130 Petition and I-485Adjustment of Status Application on May 18, 2011.  Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, fingerprint appointment, and work permits all came on time.  We thoroughly prepared our clients prior to the interview.   On August 17, 2011, our client was interviewed at the Seattle USCIS Field office.  Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu accompanied them at the interview as well. The Petitioner and Respondent were separated, but were prepared to answer questions and did well. Although the interview process was intensive and the USCIS went through further investigation for our client’s eligibility, on October 18, 2011, her green card application was finally approved.

From having the two-year foreign residency requirement, our firm effectively helped her get a J-1 waiver before she adjusted her status.  She did not have to go to the Philippines for 2 years before she got her permanent residency in the United States. She’s now a green card holder.

FREE CONSULTATIONS

If you have any questions, please fill out the free consultation form below, and we will respond as soon as possible privately. 

Please click here for further J-1 Waiver Success Stories and here for further marriage-based green card success stories.

For other success stories, please click here.

Also feel free to contact our office anytime for free consultations.

{ 5 comments }

Case: I-130/I-485
Issue: Visa Waiver Overstay
Applicant/Beneficiary – Argentinean
Location: Columbus, Ohio

Our client entered the United States in 2001 from Argentina under the visa waiver program.  When he entered the United States, he was a minor and came with his parents.  As a Visa Waiver Entrant, he was only authorized to remain in the United States for 90 days. However, he has remained in the United States ever since.

Several years later, he married his U.S. citizen wife on March 25, 2011. One main issue in his green card application through marriage was the fact that he 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.

Our office filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on July 21, 2010.  Our office requested the CIS to exercise favorable discretion in granting adjustment of status despite the filing date falling beyond the expiration of the visa waiver. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, the fingerprint appointment, and the work permit all came on time. There was no Request for Evidence.  Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our clients. On October 14, 2011, our client was interviewed at the Columbus, Ohio USCIS Field Office.  We accompanied them at the interview as well.  Despite the visa waiver / overstay issue, the USCIS officer approved his green card application on the same day.  Now, our client is a green card holder.

FREE CONSULTATIONS

If you have any questions, please fill out the free consultation form below, and we will respond as soon as possible privately. 

For other visa waiver success stories, please click here.

For other success stories, please click here.

Also feel free to contact our office anytime for free consultations.

{ 0 comments }

CASE: H-1B Visa Petition (Change of Employer)
PETITIONER:  Hotel-Chain Company
BENEFICIARY: Hotel General Manager

Our client is the nation’s fastest-growing extended hotel stay chain company in Ohio. They contacted our office in early June to seek legal assistance from our office for their foreign employee.  The beneficiary is from Pakistan and has extensive work history in the United States as a General Manager in one of the leading brand hotels for 13 years.  This proffered position is a “specialty occupation” because the minimum requirement for this position are a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration / Hotel Management or equivalent.

The foreign beneficiary in this case already had his H-1B visa from his previous employer in a similar industry.  However, his H-1B visa was not expired yet, and he wanted to extend his H-1B status based on a change in employer.

Once retained, our office promptly filed the H-1B visa petition with various supporting documents on June 20, 2011 via regular processing.  Since this petition was based on a change in employer, it was exempted from the annual H-1B cap.  On August 12, 2011, the USCIS issued a Request for Evidence (RFE) regarding his past pay stubs to evidence his continued H-1B status. During the validity of his previous H-1B status, his previous employer was acquired but everything pertaining to his position, from the duties to the location to the salary, stayed the same. But he did not file an amendment of his H-1B.  In response to that issue, our office promptly filed a Response to the RFE on August 30, 2011 which included the paystubs from the previous two employers. We cited INA § 214(c)(9)(A)(ii) which states that “an amended H-1B petition shall not be required where the petitioning employer is involved in a corporate restructuring, including but not limited to a merger, acquisition, or consolidation, where a new corporate entity succeeds to the interests and obligations of the original petitioning employer and where the terms and conditions of employment remain the same but for the identity of the petitioner.”

Eventually, our client’s H-1B Petition was approved on September 20, 2011.  Moreover, the Beneficiary’s wife and minor son’s H-4 status was properly changed as well. Now the Beneficiary can continue working for his Petitioner-Employer as an H-1B visa holder until 2013.

FREE CONSULTATIONS

If you have any questions, please fill out the free consultation form below, and we will respond as soon as possible privately. 

For other H-1B success stories, please click here.

For other success stories, please click here.

Also feel free to contact our office for free consultations.

{ 0 comments }

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

Our client is a citizen of China who came to the U.S. on a J-2 Visa in 1996.  She came with her husband who held a J-1 Visa as a doctor.  Both were subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement.

Unfortunately, their marriage did not work out well and she got divorced from her ex-husband.  She lost her J-2 status in the United States and she was still subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement.  She could not change her status to other non-immigrant visas because of the requirement.

In August of this year, our client’s U.S. citizen son contacted our office.  He wanted us to help his mother obtain a waiver so that he can petition our client for a green card. Our firm was retained to do her J-2 waiver on August 12, 2011. On August 17, 2011 the J-2 Waiver 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.

On August 24, 2011, the DOS recommended to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) that our client be granted a waiver. The USCIS issued the I-612 waiver approval notice on September 16, 2011, less than a month from the date we filed the waiver.

Finally, after 15 years in the United States, our client can apply for her green card. Our client’s son can file an I-130 petition for our client and she can file an adjustment of status application (I-485) as well.

FREE CONSULTATIONS

If you have any questions, please fill out the free consultation form below, and we will respond as soon as possible privately. 

For other J2 waiver success stories, please click here.

For other success stories, please click here.

Should you have questions, feel free to contact our office for free consultations.

{ 0 comments }

CASE: B-2 Visa Extension / I-539
NATIONALITY: Korean
LOCATION: Cleveland, Ohio

Our client is a Korean national who came to the U.S. on a B-2 visitor visa. She wanted to visit her daughter who is studying in the United States. She consulted with our firm a few weeks before the expiration of her B-2 status. She wanted to extend her visit for six months to visit her sister and be with her daughter for a longer time.  We explained that the CIS has been more stringent on visitor status extensions.

Upon retention, we went into detail with her reasons for requesting extension. Her daughter was entering her senior year in high school, and our client wanted to be there as her daughter chooses a college and prepares for applications. We made sure all addresses, contact information, and dates on her statements were complete and accurate. We made sure all her plans were supported by corroborating evidence as exhibits to the application to avoid a possible Request for Evidence from the CIS.  Our office submitted letters from family members in the United States, an employment verification letter for her husband in South Korea, as well as financial documents from Korea. We filed the I-539 Extension Application on July 26, 2011 and her B-2 status extension was approved on August 11, 2011 with no Requests for Evidence.

FREE CONSULTATIONS

If you have any questions, please fill out the free consultation form below, and we will respond as soon as possible privately. 

For other B-2 Extension success stories, please click here.

For other success stories, please click here.

Also feel free to contact our office anytime for free consultations.

{ 0 comments }

CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status
CLIENT: Albanian
LOCATION: Chicago / Washington DC
ISSUES: J-1 2-Year Foreign Residency Requirement

Our client came to the United States in February 2001 with a J-1 visa. He was only 16 years old at that time. He was on an exchange visitor program and lived with his host parents in New Hampshire. As he went to college, he was able to switch to an F-1 visa. He moved to Chicago and later on met her future wife while in college. They got married in December 2009.

He had spoken to several lawyers to pursue adjustment of status, but was turned back to due to the tough policy of Albania when it came to no objection statements. Upon consulting with us, we told him we can try obtaining the no objection statement, and in case that does not work, go for the interested government agency route. He retained our firm on January 2010.

We initially filed the waiver through the no objection statement. We were in contact with the Albanian Embassy in DC. The officer claimed that they’re policy in the Embassy was to not issue no objection statements, and that the only way was through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Albania. The officer stated that they have not issued no objection statements since 2006.

We thus tried the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Albania. After several months waiting for their decision, they too stated that they do not issue no objection statements.

And so we filed another waiver, requesting the Department of State to be an interested government agency. We explained in detail our client’s history, the fact that he came here when he was only 16, and that he was able to change status to F-1 in April 2002. We pointed out that the change of status was approved despite his submission of his I-94 and visa page copy which both indicated that he was subject to the 2-year foreign residency requirement. We explained that it would be unfair to have the couple be separated for something that was not his fault. If he did not waive his 2-year requirement and the change of status was still approved, he should not be penalized later on now that he is married to his spouse.

On February 2011, the Department of State issued a finding that the applicant was not subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement (despite the IAP-66 and Visa indicating he was) and that it was not necessary to process a waiver for his case anymore.

After filing the applications and accompanying our client to their interview in Chicago for the I-130 (Petition) and I-485 (Green Card Application), the CIS finally approved his green card on August 13, 2011. He had to wait a few more months because they moved to Washington D.C., but finally they got it.

10 years since our client entered the U.S. on a J-1 Visa with a 2-year foreign residency requirement as a 16-year old exchange student, after having to go through the tough policy by the Albanian Embassy regarding their non-issuance of no objection statements, our client finally has his green card. He had been waiting to go back home to visit his family. He had been telling us that his mom was sick and he wanted to visit her. But prior to the green card issuance, even if an advance parole travel document, we could not let him leave as he might be subject to a bar and not be able to come back. After 10 years of not being able to visit his family, he finally is able to come back.

FREE CONSULTATIONS

If you have any questions, please fill out the free consultation form below, and we will respond as soon as possible privately. 

Please click here for more marriage-based green card success stories. Also click here and here for our J waiver success stories.

For other success stories, click here.

Also feel free to contact our office anytime for free consultations.

{ 0 comments }