CASE: I-751

APPLICANT: Canadian

LOCATION: Diamond, OH

Our client contacted our office in May 2020 regarding her I-751 application.

She is from Canada and she married his U.S. citizen spouse in January 2018. Through her marriage, she obtained a 2-year conditional green card in June 2018.  Her conditional residency terminated in June 2020.

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 May 11, 2020. 

On May 26, 2020, our office filed the I-751 application to the USCIS. Eventually, the USCIS issued a Request for Evidence (RFE). We filed an extensive Response to RFE to the USCIS with more bona fide marital documents on March 12, 2021.   

As a result, on April 8, 2021, the USCIS approved our client’s I-751 application and our client received her 10-year green card.

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

 NATIONALITY:  Canadian

 LOCATION: Overland Park, KS

Our client was a citizen of China (currently citizen of Canada) 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 wanted to get a waiver because she has a U.S. citizen spouse who can file I-130 petition for her. She can file an 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 waiver approval.

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 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.

Once her J-2 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 I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on January 27, 2020.  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 September 24, 2020, our client was interviewed at the Kansas City, MO USCIS office.  Eventually, on January 13, 2021, her green card application was approved.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: Canadian

LOCATION: Euless, TX

Our client came to the United States from Canada on a B-2 visitor’s visa in January 2020. She married a U.S. Citizen and retained our office for her green card application on February 5, 2020.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on February 19, 2020.  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 December 30, 2020, our client was interviewed at the Irving, TX USCIS office. On January 1, 2021, her green card application was approved.

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CASE: PERM Labor Certification    
EMPLOYER: Dental Group in Cleveland, OH
BENEFICIARY: Canadian Dentist

Our client is from Canada, currently working in the United States as an associate dentist on an H-1B status. His employer was willing to do an immigration petition for him, second-preference. Our client has a Doctor of Dental Medicine degree in the United States. After talking to our client, our firm concluded that his employer can petition him as an associate dentist. Based on our client’s education and professional background, he is eligible for EB-2 classification. 

Prior to filing PERM, our firm prepared the prevailing wage request, job order, advertisements, internal job posting, recruitment report, and all other steps which are important pre-PERM. PERM could be filed at least 60 days from the job posting date or 30 days from the last ad. On December 10, 2019, the prevailing wage request was filed.  After we obtained the Prevailing Wage determination, our office filed the job order on April 1, 2020.  On June 8, 2020, we promptly PERM. On December 16, 2020, the PERM Labor Certification was approved – an EB2 position for the Canadian beneficiary. Now the I-140 petition can be filed.

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CASE: I-485 Adjustment of Status

EMPLOYER: Physicians’ Office

BENEFICIARY: Canadian Nurse Practitioner

LOCATION: St. Louis, MO

Our client is a certified nurse practitioner. Her prospective employer was willing to petition her for a second-preference employment immigrant visa petition (I-140). Since she is a certified nurse practitioner, 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 Nurse Practitioner is included in Schedule A.

Our client has a Bachelors and Masters degree in nursing and is a Certified Nurse Practitioner. Our office was retained on August 12, 2019 and we filed the Prevailing Wage Determination immediately.

We filed the I-140 application on January 28, 2020 via premium processing. We included the job offer letter, notice of filing, employment letter, and other necessary supporting documents.

In our cover brief, we included the “ability to pay” argument and why nurse practitioners must fall under the Schedule A designation.  On February 5, 2020, the USCIS Nebraska Service Center issued a Request for Evidence and requested the Petitioner to submit its business existence documents such as IRS FEIN issuance letter, articles of incorporation, and business license. Our office filed the Response to RFE on February 13, 2020. On February 25, 2020, the USCIS Nebraska Service Center approved her EB-2 I-140 petition. 

Once the I-140 petition was approved, our client retained our office again for her and her husband’s I-485 adjustment of status applications. Our office filed the I-485 adjustment of status applications on May 25, 2020. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices and fingerprint appointment came on time.

Eventually, on November 6, 2020, the USCIS Nebraska Service Center approved our clients’ adjustment of status applications without an interview. They are now green card holders.

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CASE: N-400 (Citizenship / Naturalization)

APPLICANT: Canadian

LOCATION: Solon, 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 Canada and she obtained her green card in January 2009.

Her N-400 application was filed on June 23, 2020, with all supporting documents. Prior to her citizenship interview, our office prepared her via conference calls.  On October 16, 2020, our client appeared at the Cleveland, OH USCIS office for her naturalization interview. Our client answered all questions correctly and passed her naturalization and citizenship interview. Eventually, on the same day of her interview, her application was approved. 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: Canadian

LOCATION: Parma, OH

Our client came to the United States from Canada on a F-1 student visa to pursue his medical degree in the United States. He married a U.S. Citizen in July 2019 in Florida.  After they got married, our client’s wife got a job in DC and had to move. Our client was still in school in Ohio, so he had to stay in Ohio while his wife was in DC. Despite living apart, they maintained their marital relationship. 

He retained our office on October 14, 2019 for his green card application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on November 13, 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. On August 26, 2020, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, Ohio USCIS office. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office also accompanied our clients. Eventually, on the same day of his interview, his green card application was approved.

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CASE: I-140 / National Interest Waiver

CLIENT: Chinese Born, Canadian Citizen

LOCATION: Hershey, PA

Our client contacted us about the possibility of doing a National Interest Waiver self-petition. She is a post-doctorate researcher born in China (but a Canadian Citizen) and she is an exceptional researcher and scientist in the field of biomedical research. 

Our client’s significant contributions have placed her at the pinnacle of her field. She has been focused on understanding neuronal development and neurodegenerative disease in various regions of the central nervous system. She has done this through optimizing cutting edge methodologies in molecular and stem cell biology and, through her unique training as a physician scientist, integrated these findings by translating them to laboratory models of various central nervous system diseases. Moreover, her research works were highly evaluated by reviewers of various journals and by colleagues and experts in the field.

Upon review of his credentials and qualifications, our office determined that he was definitely qualified for the National Interest Waiver (NIW) category. Being qualified for NIW is beneficial since you would not need an employer nor family member to petition for you for green card purposes. 

As a primer, NIW applicants must have a master’s or higher degree. While we prepared his case, the AAO set the new standards for NIW cases in Matter of Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. 884 (AAO 2016). Under the new standard, the petitioner must demonstrate that the foreign national’s proposed endeavor has both substantial merit and national importance. Next, it must be shown that he or she is well positioned to advance the proposed endeavor. Finally, the petitioner seeking the waiver needs to demonstrate that, on balance, it would be beneficial to the United States to waive the job offer and labor certification requirements. Id. 

Our office prepared a 20-page brief for our client’s NIW filing. Our client also obtained 10 letters of recommendation from her colleagues and internationally-recognized researchers. Our office also included her publication records, presentation records, and conference materials in the NIW application. We demonstrated that our client is one of the few elite researchers who have made significant and substantial contributions to her field of endeavor, that she is well positioned to advance the proposed endeavor, and it would be beneficial to the United States to waive the requirements of a job offer and thus of a labor certification for our client. 

Our office filed her I-140(NIW) petition to the USCIS Texas Service Center on July 18, 2019. Eventually, on April 30, 2020, the USCIS approved her I-140 petition without any Requests for Evidence.  She can file her adjustment of status application once her priority date becomes current.

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CASE: I-140 (EB-2 Category) / Schedule A / Premium Processing

EMPLOYER: Physicians’ Office

BENEFICIARY: Canadian Nurse Practitioner

LOCATION: St. Louis, MO

Our client is a certified nurse practitioner. Her prospective employer was willing to petition her for a second-preference employment immigrant visa petition (I-140). Since she is a certified nurse practitioner, 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 Nurse Practitioner is included in Schedule A.

Our client has a Bachelors and Masters degree in nursing and is a certified Nurse Practitioner. Our office was retained on August 12, 2019 and we filed the Prevailing Wage Determination immediately.

We filed the I-140 application on January 28, 2020 via premium processing. We included the job offer letter, the notice of filing, employment letter, and other necessary supporting documents.

In our cover brief, we included the “ability to pay” argument and why nurse practitioners must fall under the Schedule A designation.  However, on February 5, 2020, the USCIS Nebraska Service Center issued Request for Evidence and requested the Petitioner to submit its business existence documents such as IRS FEIN issuance letter, articles of incorporation, and business license. Our office filed Response to RFE to the USCIS along with supporting documents on February 13, 2020. Eventually, on February 25, 2020, the USCIS Nebraska Service Center approved her EB-2 I-140 petition. Since the priority date for Canadian national is current for the EB-2 category, she is eligible to file her adjustment of status application now.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status
CLIENT: Canadian
LOCATION: Garrettsville, Ohio

Our client came to the United States in December 2018 as a visitor from Canada.  She married her U.S. Citizen husband in March 2019 and retained our office in April 2019 for her adjustment of status application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485Adjustment of Status Application on May 6, 2019.  Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, fingerprint appointment, and work permit all came on time.  Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our clients at our office.  On October 3, 2019, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, Ohio USCIS. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu, Esq. accompanied them at the interview as well.  Eventually, on October 8, 2019, her green card application was approved.

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