CASE: I-485 (National Interest Waiver)

CLIENT: Korean

LOCATION: Santa Clara, California

Our client contacted us in June 2013 about the possibility of doing a National Interest Waiver application for him. He is a post-doctorate researcher and scientist in the field of Aerospace Engineering and Science, and was working as a research fellow for NASA at the time of his filing.

Our client is an extraordinary researcher and engineer in the field of Aerospace Engineering Research; specifically, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and flow control.

His significant contributions have placed him at the pinnacle of the field of Aerospace engineering. Our client’s expertise is in the development of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) which meets the contemporary requirements for not only conventional development but also revolutionary aircraft design. He has been helping a U.S. aircraft company investigate the feasibility of their designs under consideration by performing very complex CFD analysis and suggesting alternative optimal new configurations.

Upon review of his credentials and qualifications, our office determined that he was qualified for the National Interest Waiver (NIW) category. Being qualified for the NIW is beneficial since you would not need an employer nor family member to petition 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. The landmark immigration case that discusses the standards for NIWs is Matter of New York State Department of Transportation, 22 I&N Dec. 215 (Comm.1998). This case held that the qualifying applicant must show the following elements in his or her I-140 NIW petition: First, it must be shown that the alien seeks employment in an area of substantial intrinsic merit. Next, it must be shown that the proposed benefit will be national in scope. Finally, the petitioner seeking the waiver must establish that the alien will serve the national interest to a substantially greater degree than would an available U. S. worker having the same minimum qualifications.

Our office prepared a 19-page brief for our client’s NIW filing. Our client also obtained 9 letters of recommendation from his colleagues and internationally-recognized scientists. Our office also included his publication records, presentation records, and conference materials in the NIW application. We demonstrated the intrinsic merit of our client’s research in the United States, the national scope of his research, and asserted that our client would serve the national interest to a substantially greater degree than would an available U.S. worker having the same minimum qualifications. His NIW application contained 45 exhibits. Our office filed his I-140(NIW) petition at the USCIS Nebraska Service Center on July 29, 2013 along with his I-485 adjustment of status application.

However, on September 16, 2013, the USCIS issued a Request for Evidence for his I-140 petition. In response to the RFE request, our office prepared a brief which included notes from scientists in the field regarding updates of his work and the importance of his past work in physics-based turbulence model and computational fluid dynamics research.  We also emphasized our client’s past accomplishments and the benefits of his work. Our Response to RFE was filed on November 13, 2013. Eventually, on December 6, 2013, the USCIS Nebraska Service Center approved our client’s I-140 petition.

When we filed our client’s I-140 (NIW) application, we concurrently filed an I-485 adjustment of status application for our client. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices and fingerprint appointment came on time. While our client was waiting for the adjudication of his I-140, our client received his work permit and travel permit from the USCIS.

Eventually, on March 13, 2014, the USCIS Nebraska Service Center approved our client’s adjustment of status application. He is now a green card holder.

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

 NATIONALITY: Thai

 LOCATION: Los Angeles, CA

Our Thai client came to the U.S. on a J-1 Visa in May 2009.  She came to the U.S. for business internship training, and her J-1 visa made her subject to the two-year foreign resident requirement.  In June 2012, our client married his U.S. Citizen husband and she wanted to apply for permanent residency. However, due to the two-year foreign residency requirement, she had to obtain a waiver first.

After she retained our firm, we prepared and filed a waiver request through a No Objection Statement (NOS) from the Thai Embassy in the United States.  Our office contacted the Thai 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 several different documents including a statement of reason for the waiver, a notarized copy of the marriage certificate, a notarized copy of his US citizen husband’s US passport Biographic Page, a notarized copy of her valid Thai passport, and a copy of Form DS-3035.

On September 20, 2013 the J-1 Waiver (Form DS-3035) Application was filed to the Department of State.  We also sent a request to the Thai 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 Thai Embassy eventually issued a No Objection Statement for our client, and sent this letter to the State Department’s Waiver Review Division.  On February 3, 2014, 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 February 7, 2014.  Now that our client’s two-year foreign residency requirement is waived, she can file an adjustment of status application with her husband’s I-130 petition.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Green Card

CLIENT: Indian

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client came to the United States in October 2011 with an H-1B Visa from India to work for his employer in the United States. He still has his H-1B status and works for his employer.

He married a U.S. Citizen in October 2013.  She lived in Union City, California and they intent to live together in the future, either in California or Ohio. They had joint properties, joint insurance documents, several pictures together, and joint bank statements. We told them living apart does not automatically result in a denial, and that each application is adjudicated on a case by case basis. We told them we will prepare them for the interview, and accompany them as well.

Our client retained our office on October 24, 2013 for the I-130 petition and I-485 adjustment of status application. Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 petition and I-485 adjustment of status application, together with all necessary supporting documents, on November 1, 2013. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, fingerprint appointment, and work permits all came on time. There were no requests for evidence.

Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our clients at our office. On January 21, 2014, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, Ohio USCIS office. Attorney JP Sarmiento accompanied them as well.  On the same day, his green card application was approved.

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CASE: Change of Status / I-539

NATIONALITY: Filipina

LOCATION: Los Angeles, CA

DATE FILED: September 11, 2013

DATE APPROVED: December 14, 2013

Our client came from the Philippines on an E-2 visa (Dependent of E-2). She was about to turn 21 years old, wanted to maintain valid status, and attend a college in the U.S. Her father was still on an E-2 in Los Angeles, CA. In early August, 2013, our client contacted us to get legal assistance for her change of status from E-2 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 September 11, 2013. Eventually, on December 14, 2013, her change of status application was approved by the USCIS. Now she can stay in the United States and go to college as an F-1 student.

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CASE: I-140 / National Interest Waiver

CLIENT: Korean

LOCATION: Santa Clara, California

Our client contacted us in June 2013 about the possibility of doing a National Interest Waiver application for him. He is a post-doctorate researcher and scientist in the field of Aerospace Engineering and Science, and was working as a research fellow for NASA at the time of his filing.

Our client is an extraordinary researcher and engineer in the field of Aerospace Engineering Research; specifically, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and flow control.

His significant contributions have placed him at the pinnacle of the field of Aerospace engineering. Our client’s expertise is in the development of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) which meets the contemporary requirements for not only conventional development but also revolutionary aircraft design. He has been helping a U.S. aircraft company investigate the feasibility of their designs under consideration by performing very complex CFD analysis and suggesting alternative optimal new configurations.

Upon review of his credentials and qualifications, our office determined that he was qualified for the National Interest Waiver (NIW) category. Being qualified for the NIW is beneficial since you would not need an employer nor family member to petition 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. The landmark immigration case that discusses the standards for NIWs is Matter of New York State Department of Transportation, 22 I&N Dec. 215 (Comm.1998). This case held that the qualifying applicant must show the following elements in his or her I-140 NIW petition: First, it must be shown that the alien seeks employment in an area of substantial intrinsic merit. Next, it must be shown that the proposed benefit will be national in scope. Finally, the petitioner seeking the waiver must establish that the alien will serve the national interest to a substantially greater degree than would an available U. S. worker having the same minimum qualifications.

Our office prepared a 19-page brief for our client’s NIW filing. Our client also obtained 9 letters of recommendation from his colleagues and internationally-recognized scientists. Our office also included his publication records, presentation records, and conference materials in the NIW application. We demonstrated the intrinsic merit of our client’s research in the United States, the national scope of his research, and asserted that our client would serve the national interest to a substantially greater degree than would an available U.S. worker having the same minimum qualifications. His NIW application contained 45 exhibits. Our office filed his I-140(NIW) petition at the USCIS Nebraska Service Center on July 29, 2013 along with his I-485 adjustment of status application.

However, on September 16, 2013, the USCIS issued a Request for Evidence for his I-140 petition. In response to the RFE request, our office prepared a brief which included notes from scientists in the field regarding updates of his work and the importance of his past work in physics-based turbulence model and computational fluid dynamics research.  We also emphasized our client’s past accomplishments and the benefits of his work. Our Response to RFE was filed on November 13, 2013.

Eventually, on December 6, 2013, the USCIS Nebraska Service Center approved our client’s I-140 petition. Now, our client can wait for his I-485 adjustment of status decision which will be adjudicated soon.

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CASE: I-140 / National Interest Waiver

CLIENT: Korean

 LOCATION: Stanford, California

Our client contacted us in December 2012 about the possibility of doing a National Interest Waiver application. He is a post-doctorate researcher and scientist in the field of Aerospace Engineering and Science, and is currently working as a post-doctorate researcher in an academic institution in Stanford, California.

Our client is an extraordinary researcher and engineer in the field of Aerospace Engineering Research; specifically, new aerospace propulsion technology such as SCRAM-JET, supersonic flow control, and plasma physics.

His significant contributions have placed him at the pinnacle of the field of Aerospace engineering. Our client’s expertise is in the fields of plasma aided flow control, supersonic/hypersonic compressible flow and plasma assisted combustion. Throughout his research career, our client has provided innovative solutions for practical plasma flow control applications in supersonic and subsonic flows which were highly evaluated by various journal reviews and by colleagues and experts in the field.

Upon review of his credentials and qualifications, our office determined that he was qualified for the National Interest Waiver (NIW) category. Being qualified for the NIW is beneficial since you would not need an employer nor family member to petition 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. The landmark immigration case that discusses the standards for NIWs is Matter of New York State Department of Transportation, 22 I&N Dec. 215 (Comm.1998). This case held that the qualifying applicant must show the following elements in his or her I-140 NIW petition: First, it must be shown that the alien seeks employment in an area of substantial intrinsic merit. Next, it must be shown that the proposed benefit will be national in scope. Finally, the petitioner seeking the waiver must establish that the alien will serve the national interest to a substantially greater degree than would an available U. S. worker having the same minimum qualifications.

Our office prepared a 19-page brief for our client’s NIW filing. Our client also obtained 7 letters of recommendation from his colleagues and internationally-recognized scientists. Our office also included his publication records, presentation records, and conference materials in the NIW application. We demonstrated the intrinsic merit of our client’s research in the United States, the national scope of his research, and asserted that our client would serve the national interest to a substantially greater degree than would an available U.S. worker having the same minimum qualifications. His NIW application contained 41 exhibits.

Our office filed his I-140(NIW) petition at the USCIS Nebraska Service Center on July 18, 2013.  Eventually, on October 24, 2013, the USCIS Nebraska Service Center approved our client’s I-140 petition.

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CASE: H-1B Extension

PETITIONER: Advertising Media Company

BENEFICIARY: Albanian Graphic Designer

LOCATION: California

Our client is a Graphic Designer from Albania who currently works at an Advertising Media Company in the greater Los Angeles area. She is on a valid H-1B visa. Her H-1B status was about to expire in September 2013.  Our client sought legal assistance from us for her H-1B 3-year extension and retained our office on March 14, 2013.

Upon retention, our office prepared her H-1B extension application.  The Labor Condition Application was filed and approved and eventually our office filed the H-1B extension application on May 17, 2013 to the USCIS California Service Center. We made sure there were sufficient arguments and documents to support the case that a “graphic designer” in this instance is a “specialty occupation.” There was no Request for Evidence with the filing and the Petitioner did not opt for premium processing. The case was approved on September 11, 2013. The H-1B is good from October 1, 2013 to September 30, 2016.

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

NATIONALITY: Indonesian

LOCATION: San Francisco, CA

Our Indonesian client came to the U.S. on a J-1 Visa in September 2007.  He came to the U.S. for his research program, and his J-1 visa had him subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement.

He wished to take advanced studies to pursue his Master’s degree in the United States and got a student visa in Indonesia. He came back to the United States in 2011, completed his master’s program and thereafter applied for OPT.

His research and higher education enhanced his interest in the field, and he wanted to further his research and development acumen. However, since most of the research projects that interest him will take a longer time, and since some of the projects he has discussed have resulted in the employers/institutions inquiring whether he is eligible to work beyond his OPT, he anticipated that most employers will eventually wish to petition him for an alternate form of visa such as an H-1B.

However, due to the two-year foreign residency requirement, he had to obtain a waiver first before he could change his current status in the United States.

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.  We included 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 November 2, 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 change 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 December 6, 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 December 18, 2012.  Now that our client’s two-year foreign residency requirement is waived, he can be a beneficiary of other non-immigrant visa petitions in the United States without having to go back to Indonesia for 2 years.

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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: EB-2 I-140 / I-485
PETITIONER: International Trading Company
BENEFICIARY: Vietnamese
LOCATION: San Diego, CA

Our Vietnamese client from San Diego contacted our office in December 2011. She had an approved PERM Labor Certification and she would like to retain us for her I-140/I-485 application. Her current employer is located in San Diego and they wish to file an I-140 petition for her as a market research analyst. Our client had questions regarding possible issues they may face, the employer’s “ability to pay” issue in particular.

Once retained, our office prepared her I-140 petition and I-485 adjustment of status application. One of the main requirements for the I-140 is that the petitioning company must show that it has the ability to pay the proffered wage for the beneficiary’s position. Despite the negative taxable income, we provided all schedules of Petitioner’s tax return and argued that their net current assets were over and above the proffered wage. We provided the calculation on the cover letter, cited a CIS internal memo on the “ability to pay” issue, and attached the tax return schedule that showed the net current assets. We also prepared our client’s I-485 application and explained that the priority date for EB-2 Vietnam (“Other Countries”) is current.

Our office simultaneously filed the I-140 / I-485 applications on January 26, 2012 and on April 19, 2012, the I-140 petition for our client was approved with no Requests for Evidence.  Once the I-140 petition was approved, her I-485 adjustment of status application was subsequently approved by the USCIS on May 24, 2012.  While we were waiting for I-485 approval, our client informed us that he needed to travel abroad.  Thus, we filed an I-131 advance parole application on February 10, 2012.  The I-131 advance parole document was also approved by the USCIS Nebraska Service Center on May 24, 2012 as well.

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

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