CASE: J-2 Waiver of Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement Post-Divorce
NATIONALITY: Turkish
LOCATION: Virginia

Our client is a citizen of Turkey who came to the U.S. on a J-2 Visa in April 2007.  He came with his wife who held a J-1 Visa as a researcher.  Both were subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement. Since 2008, our client changed his status from J-2 to F-1 and pursued his graduate studies in the U.S.

Unfortunately, while they are residing in the United States, his marriage did not work out well. Eventually, he got divorced from his ex-wife.  Before he divorced with his ex-wife, he changed his status from J-2 to F-1. However, he was still subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement.  Our client wants to be petitioned by his prospective employer. Nevertheless, he cannot change his status to other non-immigrant visa in the United States because of the 2 year foreign residency requirement.

In April of this year, our client contacted our office. He retained our firm to do his J-2 waiver. On May 1, 2017, the J-2 Waiver (DS-3035) 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.  Eventually, on May 19, 2017, the DOS recommended to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) that our client be granted a waiver. Finally, the USCIS issued I-612 waiver approval notice on June 2, 2017.

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CASE: H-1B Extension

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 2017 to seek assistance from our office for their foreign employee’s H-1B extension. The beneficiary is from Turkey and he obtained his Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in architecture. The proffered position for the Beneficiary is architect which we argued qualifies as a specialty occupation. He got his H-1B status through our office’s help in 2014.

After retention, our office promptly filed the H-1B visa petition with various supporting documents on March 24, 2017 via premium processing. We also gathered supporting documents from both the Petitioner and Beneficiary and did research on the industry, focusing on similarly sized businesses, to demonstrate that a bachelor’s degree is commonly required for this position.

Moreover, in our brief, our office argued that the degree requirement is common to this industry in parallel positions among similar organizations.  Also, we provided evidence that Petitioner’s competitors normally require degrees in a specific specialty for closely related positions like that of Architect.  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.

Eventually, our client’s H-1B application was approved by the USCIS Nebraska Service Center on March 28, 2017. He can work for his employer until May 2020.  

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

NATIONALITY: Turkish                                                                                                        

LOCATION: Los Angeles, CA

Our client is from Turkey who came to the U.S. on a J-1 Visa in November 2014 to work as a post-doctoral researcher. She determined that she would like to apply for an adjustment of status based on a possible I-140 National Interest Waiver self-petition. However, she would not be able to adjust her status unless she obtained a waiver of the 2-year foreign residency program.  

She retained our office on January 15, 2016. Thereafter, our office prepared filing a waiver request through a No Objection Statement (NOS) from the Turkish Embassy in the United States. Every country’s Embassy maintains different procedures and policies with regard to the J-1 No Objection Statement waiver.  Our office contacted the Turkish Embassy in D.C. to pursue the waiver for our client.  The Embassy requested several documents including a statement of reason for the waiver and Turkish National ID.

On January 19, 2016, the J-1 Waiver (Form DS-3035) Application was filed to the Department of State.  We also sent a request to the Turkish Embassy to issue a No Objection Statement and recommend this waiver based on the fact that our client is eligible to adjust based on her marriage to her spouse.

Eventually, the Turkish Embassy issued a No Objection Statement for our client, and sent this letter to the State Department’s Waiver Review Division.  On May 24, 2016, the Waiver Review Division issued a favorable recommendation based on the No Objection statement. On June 2, 2016, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for the waiver of our client’s two-year foreign residency requirement.

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

NATIONALITY: Turkish

LOCATION: Texas

Our client is a citizen of Turkey 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 changed his status from J-2 to F-1.

He turned 21 in 2012. He would like to get a waiver because his prospective employer will file an I-129 petition for our client’s H-1B visa. However, because of his two-year foreign residency requirement, our client cannot change his status in the United States without fulfilling the requirement or the getting a waiver approved.

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 October 2012.

Our firm was retained to do his J-2 waiver, and on May 27, 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 July 22, 2015 the DOS recommended to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) that our client be granted a waiver.  On August 26, 2015, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for our client’s waiver request.

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CASE: I-751

APPLICANT: Turkish

LOCATION: New Jersey

Our client contacted our office in September of 2014 regarding her I-751 application.

She is from Turkey and she married a U.S. citizen in February 2010. Through her marriage, she obtained a 2-year conditional green card in June of 2011.  Her conditional residency terminated in June 2013.

To comply with immigration requirements, our client and her husband should have filed an I-751 Joint Petition to Remove Conditions before June 2013. However, due to financial and health related reasons, they could not file the I-751 application on time.

However, the USCIS still allows I-751 applicants to file late as long as there is a “good cause” for the late filing. She retained our office on October 1, 2014 and our office prepared an I-751 application for our client with bona fide marriage evidence and a letter to explain their late filing.

On October 17, 2014, our office filed an I-751 application to the USCIS with affidavits of applicant and her husband to explain their late filing and other joint documents to demonstrate the bona fideness of their marriage.

There was no RFE issuance or interview request for our client’s I-751 application. As a result, on May 27, 2015, the USCIS approved our client’s I-751 application and our client received her 10-year green card.

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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: 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 May 2014 to seek assistance from our office for their foreign employee. The beneficiary is from Turkey and he obtained his 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 his H-1B from his previous employer which was in a similar industry.  His H-1B status was not yet expired, and he wanted to extend his 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 May 20, 2014 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.  Thus, we could file it even after the quotas are gone.  There were no Requests for Evidence during the processing of the H-1B.  Eventually, our client’s H-1B Petition was approved on August 25, 2014.  Now the Beneficiary can work for his Petitioner-Employer as an H-1B visa holder and he can work there for the next three years.

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CASE: H-1B Visa Petition

PETITIONER:  Architectural Firm in Stamford, CT

BENEFICIARY: Architectural Draftsperson from Turkey

Our client is an architectural firm in Stamford, CT.  They contacted our office in late-February to seek legal assistance for their foreign employee. His wife also retained our firm but for a part-time position, and this was approved recently too, as stated in one of our success stories.

The beneficiary obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture. The proffered position for the Beneficiary is an architectural draftsperson.  We argued that this position is a “specialty occupation” and that the minimum requirement for this position is a Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture or its equivalent.

After retention, our office promptly filed the H-1B visa petition with various supporting documents on April 1, 2013 via regular processing. However, the USCIS Vermont Service Center issued a Request for Evidence (RFE) on September 4, 2013.

The USCIS argued that the offered position does not qualify as a “specialty occupation.” They claimed 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 3-page response brief with 6 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. Furthermore, we included beneficiary’s sample work to further illustrate the complexity of the position.

Our office filed the response to the USCIS Vermont Service Center on September 23, 2013. Our client’s H-1B application was approved on November 13, 2013. Now the Beneficiary can work for the Petitioner on an H-1B status until September 12, 2016

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CASE: H-1B Visa Petition
PETITIONER:  Architectural Firm in Stamford, CT
BENEFICIARY: Architectural Draftsperson from Turkey

Our client is an architectural firm in Stamford, CT.  They contacted our office in late-February to seek legal assistance for their foreign employee.

The beneficiary obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture. The proffered position for the Beneficiary is an architectural draftsperson.  We argued that this position a “specialty occupation” and that the minimum requirement for this position is a Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture or its equivalent.

After retention, our office promptly filed the H-1B visa petition with various supporting documents on April 1, 2013 via regular processing. However, the USCIS Vermont Service Center issued a Request for Evidence (RFE) on September 5, 2013.

The USCIS argued that the offered position does not qualify as a “specialty occupation.” They claimed 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 3-page response brief with 9 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. Furthermore, we included beneficiary’s sample work to further illustrate the complexity of the position.

Our office filed the response to the USCIS Vermont Service Center on September 23, 2013. Our client’s H-1B application was approved on October 25, 2013. Now the Beneficiary can work for the Petitioner on an H-1B status until September 16, 2016

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