CASE:   Immigrant Visa / I-601A Hardship Waiver of Inadmissibility

APPLICANT / BENEFICIARY: Mexican

LOCATION: Dayton, Ohio / Ciudad Juarez, Mexico (Visa Interview)

Our client came to the United States from Mexico in 2009 without inspection and admission. He married his U.S. citizen wife in November 2011. With our firm’s legal assistance, his U.S. Citizen wife filed an I-130 petition for him in April 2016. This I-130 petition was approved on August 11, 2016.

However, our client cannot file for adjustment of status application due to his ground of inadmissibility (entry without inspection and admission). He needs a waiver of inadmissibility to become a green card holder.

Under current law, immediate relatives of U.S. citizens who are not eligible to adjust status in the United States must travel abroad and obtain an immigrant visa. Individuals who have accrued more than 180 days of unlawful presence while in the United States must obtain a waiver of inadmissibility to overcome the unlawful presence bars under section 212(a)(9)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act before they can return to the United States

In 2013, the USCIS announced of new policy called the provisional unlawful presence waiver. Beginning March 4, 2013, certain immigrant visa applicants who are spouses, children and parents of U.S. citizens (immediate relatives) can apply for provisional unlawful presence waivers before they leave the United States. The provisional unlawful presence waiver process allows individuals, who only need a waiver of inadmissibility for unlawful presence, to apply for a waiver in the United States.

The new process is expected to shorten the time U.S. citizens are separated from their immediate relatives while those family members are obtaining immigrant visas to become lawful permanent residents of the United States.

INA § 212(i) provides for a discretionary waiver of the entry without inspection inadmissibility ground. To qualify for the waiver, the alien must establish that his or her US Citizen spouse would suffer extreme hardship if the alien were denied admission. INA § 212(i)(1). In addition to the equities presented, the USCIS may consider the nature of the inadmissibility ground.

There is a seminal BIA case that deals with this waiver.  In Matter of Cervantes, 22 I & N Dec. 560 (BIA 1999), the BIA identified the factors to be considered in determining whether a qualifying relative would suffer extreme hardship if the alien were denied admission.  Those factors include: the presence of LPR or USC family ties both within and outside the United States; the conditions in the country to which the qualifying relative would relocate and the extent of the qualifying relative’s ties to that country; the financial impact of departure from the United States; and significant conditions of health, particularly when tied to the unavailability of suitable medical care in the country to which the qualifying relative would relocate.

Our client’s I-601A application had a good chance since our client’s U.S. Citizen wife suffers from a great degree of medical hardship. In the I-601A brief and supporting documents, our office included extensive medical reports of his wife.  We argued that if he was removed from the United States, extreme hardship to his wife is clearly foreseeable and evident. His wife has ongoing medical hardships and she would not be able to take care of her own needs and the bulk of their family chores, most importantly taking care of their child. Also, it would be extremely difficult for her to get the same level of therapy and satisfactory access to medical services in Mexico in case she joins our client there.

In our brief, we also argued that our client and his wife have maintained strong family ties in the United States, that his wife will have difficulty in finding the same level of employment in Mexico, and that his U.S. citizen child and his wife will face extreme emotional difficulties if he is removed.

On October 17, 2016, we filed the I-601A waiver application which included the brief in support, his wife’s extensive medical examination records, and other documents that demonstrated hardship to his wife if he is removed from the United States. Eventually, his I-601A waiver was approved on March 14, 2017. 

Once his I-601A waiver was approved, he retained our office again for his immigrant visa processing. Our office prepared and filed his immigrant visa application on January 15, 2019. In January 2020, the U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico informed our office that they scheduled an immigrant visa interview for our client. Our client went back to Mexico to appear at his interview on January 29, 2020. On January 29, 2020, our client appeared at his immigrant visa interview at the Consulate, and the Consulate officer approved his immigrant visa on the same day.

Now, our client successfully came back to the United States with an approved immigrant visa and he will get his green card in a mail within two months. 

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CASE:   Immigrant Visa / I-601A Hardship Waiver of Inadmissibility

APPLICANT / BENEFICIARY: Mexican

LOCATION: Dayton, Ohio / Ciudad Juarez, Mexico (Visa Interview)

Our client came to the United States from Mexico in April 2007 illegally without inspection and admission. He married his U.S. citizen wife in April 2016. After they got married, his U.S. Citizen wife filed an I-130 petition for him in June 2016. This I-130 petition was approved on July 29, 2016.

However, our client cannot file for adjustment of status application due to his ground of inadmissibility (entry without inspection and admission). He needs a waiver of inadmissibility to become a green card holder.

Under current law, immediate relatives of U.S. citizens who are not eligible to adjust status in the United States must travel abroad and obtain an immigrant visa. Individuals who have accrued more than 180 days of unlawful presence while in the United States must obtain a waiver of inadmissibility to overcome the unlawful presence bars under section 212(a)(9)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act before they can return to the United States

In 2013, the USCIS announced of new policy called the provisional unlawful presence waiver. Beginning March 4, 2013, certain immigrant visa applicants who are spouses, children and parents of U.S. citizens (immediate relatives) can apply for provisional unlawful presence waivers before they leave the United States. The provisional unlawful presence waiver process allows individuals, who only need a waiver of inadmissibility for unlawful presence, to apply for a waiver in the United States.

The new process is expected to shorten the time U.S. citizens are separated from their immediate relatives while those family members are obtaining immigrant visas to become lawful permanent residents of the United States.

INA § 212(i) provides for a discretionary waiver of the entry without inspection inadmissibility ground. To qualify for the waiver, the alien must establish that his or her US Citizen spouse would suffer extreme hardship if the alien were denied admission. INA § 212(i)(1). In addition to the equities presented, the USCIS may consider the nature of the inadmissibility ground.

There is a seminal BIA case that deals with this waiver.  In Matter of Cervantes, 22 I & N Dec. 560 (BIA 1999), the BIA identified the factors to be considered in determining whether a qualifying relative would suffer extreme hardship if the alien were denied admission.  Those factors include: the presence of LPR or USC family ties both within and outside the United States; the conditions in the country to which the qualifying relative would relocate and the extent of the qualifying relative’s ties to that country; the financial impact of departure from the United States; and significant conditions of health, particularly when tied to the unavailability of suitable medical care in the country to which the qualifying relative would relocate.

Our client’s I-601A application had a good chance since our client’s U.S. Citizen wife suffers from a great degree of medical hardship. In the I-601A brief and supporting documents, our office included extensive medical reports of his wife.  We argued that if he was removed from the United States, extreme hardship to his wife is clearly foreseeable and evident. His wife has ongoing medical hardships and she would not be able to take care of her own needs and the bulk of their family chores, most importantly taking care of their child. Also, it would be extremely difficult for her to get the same level of therapy and satisfactory access to medical services in Mexico in case she joins our client there.

In our brief, we also argued that our client and his wife have maintained strong family ties in the United States, that his wife will have difficulty in finding the same level of employment in Mexico, and that his U.S. citizen child and his wife will face extreme emotional difficulties if he is removed.

On September 19, 2017, we filed the I-601A waiver application which included the brief in support, his wife’s extensive medical examination records, and other documents that demonstrated hardship to his wife if he is removed from the United States. Eventually, his I-601A waiver was approved on May 22, 2018. 

Once his I-601A waiver was approved, he retained our office again for his immigrant visa processing. Our office prepared and filed his immigrant visa application on January 10, 2019. In January 2020, the U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico informed our office that they scheduled an immigrant visa interview for our client. Our client went back to Mexico to appear at his interview on January 21, 2020. On January 21, 2020, our client appeared at his immigrant visa interview at the Consulate, and the Consulate officer approved his immigrant visa on the same day.

Now, our client successfully came back to the United States with an approved immigrant visa and he will get his green card in a mail within two months.

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CASE: I-751

APPLICANT: Mexican

LOCATION: Fairborn, OH

Our client contacted our office in April of 2019 regarding his I-751 application.

He is from Mexico and he married a U.S. citizen. Through his marriage, he obtained a 2-year conditional green card in June of 2017. Thus, his conditional residency terminated in June 2019. 

To comply with immigration requirements, our client and his wife had to file an I-751 Joint Petition to Remove Conditions. He retained our office on April 23, 2019, and our office prepared an I-751 application for our client with other supplemental exhibits.

On April 24, 2019, our office filed an I-751 application to the USCIS with multiple affidavits from his friends and family members, joint bank statements, utility bills, joint tax documents, , and photos of our client and his wife to demonstrate the bona fideness of their marriage.

Several months later, the USCIS scheduled an interview for our client and his wife. On October 25, 2019, our client and her husband were requested to appear for the interview at the USCIS Cincinnati Field Office.  Prior to the interview, our office prepared them thoroughly in our office as well. The interview went well, and as a result, on October 28, 2019, the USCIS approved our client’s I-751 application. 

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CASE: I-751

APPLICANT: Mexican

LOCATION: Fort Worth, TX

Our client contacted our office in May of 2018 regarding his I-751 application.

He is from Mexico and he married a U.S. citizen in July 2015. Through his marriage, he obtained a 2-year conditional green card in September of 2016 though the representation of our firm.  His conditional residency terminated in September 2018.

To comply with immigration requirements, our client and his wife had to file an I-751 Joint Petition to Remove Conditions. He retained our office on May 21, 2018, and our office prepared an I-751 application for our client with other supplemental exhibits.

On July 10, 2018, our office filed an I-751 application to the USCIS with multiple affidavits from his friends and family members, joint bank statements, joint taxes, utility bills, insurance policies, and photos of our client and his wife to demonstrate the bona fideness of their marriage.

Once the application was filed, the fingerprint notice was issued two weeks later. However, the USCIS issued the Request for Evidence (RFE) to demonstrate the bona fideness of our client’s marriage with his wife. We filed an extensive Response to RFE to the USCIS with more bona fide marital documents on September 12, 2019.  

As a result, on October 2, 2019, the USCIS approved our client’s I-751 application and our client received his 10-year green card which removed the conditions.

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CASE: I-821D Application for Consideration for Deferred Action of Childhood Arrivals / I-765 Employment Authorization Document

APPLICANT / BENEFICIARY: Mexican Client in Butler, IN

As our office explained before on our website, the USCIS issued a memorandum in August 2012 regarding deferred action of childhood arrivals cases.  According to the USCIS Deferred Action Memorandum issued in August 2012, an individual who meets the following criteria may apply for deferred action:

• Was under the age of 31 as of June 15, 2012;
• Came to the U.S. before reaching his/her 16th birthday;
• Has continuously resided in the U.S. since June 15, 2007, up to the present time;
• Was physically present in the U.S. on June 15, 2012, and at the time of application to the USCIS;
• Entered without inspection before June 15, 2012, or lawful immigration status expired as of June 15, 2012;
• Is currently in school, has graduated or obtained a certificate of completion from high school, has obtained a GED, or is an honorably discharged veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard or the U.S. Armed Forces; and
• Has not been convicted of a felony, a “significant misdemeanor,” three or more other misdemeanors, or does not otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety;

Our client initially came to the United States in August 1995 without inspection and admission through the U.S. / Mexico border when he was only 6 years old.

As of June 15, 2012, our client was twenty-three (23) years old.

Our client also finished high school in the United States in 2008.

Also, since his last entry to the United States in August 1995, our client never left the United States.

He was physically present in the United States on June 15, 2012 and has continuously resided here since August of 1995.

Our client has never been convicted of a felony, a “significant misdemeanor,” three or more other misdemeanors, and does not otherwise pose a threat to national security or public safety.

Accordingly, our client was eligible for this relief.

In July of 2019, he retained our office for the renewal of his DACA application again. Despite the elimination of the DACA program at that time, he was still eligible for the renewal. Our client sent us supporting documents that prove our client’s education history, physical presence in the United States, and his initial entry to the United States.  Our office also prepared Form I-821D and I-765, and drafted a detailed cover letter demonstrating why our client should merit this relief.

On July 26, 2019, our office filed his I-821D and I-765 to the USCIS.  Eventually, on September 3, 2019, the USCIS approved our client’s I-821D and I-765. His DACA status is extended to September 2021.

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CASE: N-400 (Citizenship / Naturalization)

APPLICANT: Mexican

LOCATION: Piqua, OH

Our client contacted us in February 2019 to seek legal representation for his naturalization and citizenship N-400 application. He came to the United States from Mexico and obtained his green card in February 1998.

Once retained, his N-400 application was filed on February 20, 2019 with all supporting documents. Prior to his citizenship interview, our office prepared him via conference calls.  On June 3, 2019, our client appeared at the Cincinnati, Ohio USCIS office for his naturalization interview. Our client answered all questions correctly and passed his naturalization and citizenship interview. Eventually, his application was approved on June 4, 2019. His oath taking is scheduled in which he will become a naturalized U.S. Citizen.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: Mexican

LOCATION: Pennsylvania

Our client came to the United States from Mexico on a B-2 visitor’s visa in 2002. He has remained in the United States since then.  He married a U.S. Citizen in February 2018 and retained our office for his green card application.

Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on March 20, 2018.  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 March 12, 2019, our client was interviewed at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USCIS office. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office also accompanied our client as well.

The interview went well. However, the USCIS issued Request for Evidence (RFE) for our client to submit his updated medical record (I-693) and certified court disposition for his previous minor criminal record.  Our office filed the Response to RFE on April 4, 2019. Eventually, on April 12, 2019, his green card application was approved.

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CASE: I-485 / National Interest Waiver

CLIENT: Mexican

LOCATION: Raleigh, NC

Our client contacted us in April 2016 about the possibility of doing a National Interest Waiver self-petition. He is a researcher from Mexico and he is an exceptional researcher and scientist in the field of plant developmental biology research.

Our client’s significant contributions have placed him at the pinnacle of his field. His research has contributed to the advancing of our understanding of the mechanisms that control plant growth and development, and how plants respond to geminivirus infection, thus enabling the development of new plant breeding technologies for food production improvement.  Because of his innovative experimental research, our client’s research works were highly evaluated by the 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. You’d be eligible for a self-petition and unless you are from China or India, in which case you’d still have to wait for priority dates to be current, you would be eligible to apply for adjustment of status (green card) immediately without any lag in priority dates.

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 6 letters of recommendation from his colleagues and internationally-recognized researchers. Our office also included his 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 his field of endeavor, that he 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 his I-140(NIW) petition to the USCIS Texas Service Center on December 20, 2017. Eventually, on April 13, 2018, the USCIS approved his I-140 petition without any Requests for Evidence.  

Once his I-140 petition was approved, he retained our office again and determined to file an adjustment of status application for him and his wife. On July 19, 2018, our office filed an I-485 adjustment of status application for our client. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices and fingerprint appointment came on time.

Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our client via conference calls. On January 19, 2019, our client was interviewed at Durham North Carolina USCIS office. Eventually, his I-485 application was approved by the USCIS on January 22, 2019.  

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CASE: I-140 / National Interest Waiver

CLIENT: Mexican

LOCATION: Raleigh, NC

Our client contacted us in April 2016 about the possibility of doing a National Interest Waiver self-petition. He is a researcher from Mexico and he is an exceptional researcher and scientist in the field of plant developmental biology research.

Our client’s significant contributions have placed him at the pinnacle of his field. His research has contributed to the advancing of our understanding of the mechanisms that control plant growth and development, and how plants respond to geminivirus infection, thus enabling the development of new plant breeding technologies for food production improvement.  Because of his innovative experimental research, our client’s research works were highly evaluated by the 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. You’d be eligible for a self-petition and unless you are from China or India, in which case you’d still have to wait for priority dates to be current, you would be eligible to apply for adjustment of status (green card) immediately without any lag in priority dates.

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 6 letters of recommendation from his colleagues and internationally-recognized researchers. Our office also included his 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 his field of endeavor, that he 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 his I-140(NIW) petition to the USCIS Texas Service Center on December 20, 2017. Eventually, on April 13, 2018, the USCIS approved his I-140 petition without any Requests for Evidence.  Now, he can file his adjustment of status application.

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CASE: Consular Processing (Immigrant Visa)

CLIENT: US Citizen Petitioner Daughter; Mexican Beneficiary Mother in Mexico

LOCATION: Petitioner: Cleveland, OH; Beneficiary: Ciudad Juarez, Mexico

IV APPROVED: April 9, 2018.

Our U.S. Citizen client retained us to bring her mother over from Mexico. She retained our office in February 2017, and our office prepared and filed the I-130 petition for her mother on April 11, 2017. This I-130 Petition was approved by the USCIS on September 20, 2017. Once the I-130 petition was approved, we then started the immigrant visa processing phase of trying to get her mother over to the United States.

On November 7, 2017, we filed the immigrant visa packets to the National Visa Center who in turn forwarded our client’s materials to the U.S. Consulate General in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. An interview notice was set for our client’s mother at the U.S. Consulate General in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, and we prepared her for her interview.  She did her interview on April 4, 2018, and the U.S. Consulate General approved and issued her immigrant visa.

With the approved immigrant visa, our client’s mother can come to the United States immediately, and she will get her green card within two months of entry.

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