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

NATIONALITY: Chinese

LOCATION: Mountain View, CA

Our client was a citizen of China who came to the U.S. on a J-2 Visa in January 2012.  She came with her mother who came on a J-1 Visa for her 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 March 2013. She would like to get a waiver because she has a U.S. citizen spouse who can file I-130 petition for her. She can file 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 fulfillment of requirement or the waiver. 

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 March 2013.

Our firm was retained to do her J-2 waiver, and on February 20, 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 March 18, 2019, the DOS recommended to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) that our client be granted a waiver. On April 2, 2019, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for our client’s waiver request.

Once her J-1 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 Adjustment of Status Application on April 15, 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 through conference calls. On January 29, 2020, our client was interviewed at the Santa Clara California USCIS office.  The interview went well, and eventually, on the same day of the interview, her green card application was approved.

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CASE: Adjustment of Status (F-4 I-130)

CLIENT: British

LOCATION: Brentwood, CA

Our client came to the United States from the United Kingdom as a visa waiver visitor in April 2019. She came to the United States to visit her husband who got his green card based on his U.S. citizen sibling’s petition. Thus, our client was also eligible to file an adjustment of status application as a derivative beneficiary of the approved I-130 petition for her husband. 

She contacted our office for the eligibility of her adjustment status, and after the consultation, she retained our office on April 9, 2019 for her green card application.  Our firm prepared and filed the Adjustment of Status Application on April 18, 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 January 17, 2020, our client was interviewed at Fresno, California USCIS office. Eventually, on the same day of the interview, her green card application was approved.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Green Card (Same Sex Marriage Case)

CLIENT: Filipino

LOCATION: San Jose, CA

Our client came to the United States from the Philippines with a J-1 exchange visitor’s visa. With our firm’s legal assistance, he got his J-1 waiver for his two-year foreign residency requirement.  In June 2018, he married his U.S. Citizen same-sex spouse in Idaho.

On June 26, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court held that restricting U.S. federal interpretation of “marriage” and “spouse” to apply only to heterosexual unions, by Section 3 of the defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), is unconstitutional under the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment. United States v. Windsor, 570 U.S. ___ (2013). After Windsor decision, the USCIS implemented a new policy that the USCIS officer must review immigration via petitions filed on behalf of a same-sex spouse in the same manner as those filed on behalf of an opposite-sex spouse. As long as a same-sex couple is married in a U.S. state that recognizes same-sex marriage, their marriage shall be considered a valid marriage under the immigration law. 

They married in Idaho where the same-sex marriage is recognized. Our client contacted our office and retained us in January 2019 for his 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 February 1, 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 January 13, 2020, our client was interviewed at the Santa Clara, California USCIS office. The interview went well and his green card application was approved on the same day.

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CASE: J-1 Waiver (No Objection Statement)

NATIONALITY: Philippines

LOCATION: Bell, CA

Our client came from the Philippines on a J-1 in September 2016 to work as a teacher. Based on her DS-2019, she was subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement. After her authorized stay period expired, she remained in the United States. 

In April 2019, she got married to her U.S. citizen husband and later on consulted with our firm for her J-1 visa waiver prior to applying for adjustment of status. 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.

Upon retention, our office promptly prepared a waiver request through a No Objection Statement (NOS) from the Philippine Embassy in the United States and eventually the EVP in the Philippines.

On June 25, 2019, the J-1 Waiver Application (Form DS-3035) was filed to the Department of State.  On September 10, 2019, our office 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. who eventually issued a No Objection Statement.

On December 9, 2019, the Waiver Review Division issued a favorable recommendation based on the No Objection statement.  Eventually, on December 19, 2019, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for the waiver. Now, our client can file for her adjustment status application along with her U.S. Citizen husband’s I-130 petition for her.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: Vietnamese

LOCATION: Newbury Park, CA

Our client came to the United States from Vietnam with a J-1 exchange visitor visa in 2006. She had government funding for her J-1 program, so she was subject to the 2 year foreign residency requirement. Though she married a U.S. Citizen in May 2016, she could not file her adjustment of status application without getting a waiver. With our office’s legal assistance, she was able to obtain a J-1 hardship waiver from the USCIS in January 2019. 

After the waiver approval and retained our office on January 28, 2019 for her green card application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and Adjustment of Status Application on February 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 December 2, 2019, our client was interviewed at Chatsworth, CA USCIS office. Eventually, on the same day of her interview, her green card application was approved.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: Indian

LOCATION: Sherman Oaks, CA

Our client came to the United States from India with a F-1 student’s visa. She married a U.S. Citizen in November 2018 and retained our office on December 28, 2018 for her green card application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on January 17, 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 November 13, 2019, our client was interviewed at the Chatsworth, California USCIS office. Eventually, on the same day of the interview, her green card application was approved.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: Filipina

LOCATION: Huntington Beach, CA

Our client came to the United States from the Philippines with a B-2 visitor’s visa in July 2018. She married a U.S. Citizen in October 2018 and retained our office on November 13, 2018 for her green card application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on December 26, 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 November 6, 2019, our client was interviewed at the Santa Ana, California USCIS office. Eventually, on November 7, 2019, her green card application was approved.

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CASE: I-485 / I-140 / National Interest Waiver

CLIENT: Korean

LOCATION: Palo Alto, CA

Our client contacted us about the possibility of doing a National Interest Waiver self-petition. He is a researcher from South Korea and he is an exceptional researcher and scientist in the field of Neurology and Neuroscience research. 

Our client’s significant contributions have placed him at the pinnacle of his field. Throughout his research career, our client has pioneered the development of cutting-edge neuroscience methods to both enable and accelerate the investigation of the functional brain circuits. Specifically, his research studies provide critical insights into how we can restore dysfunctional motor circuits in patients suffering from devastating motor diseases. Because of his innovative 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 23-page brief for our client’s NIW filing. Our client also obtained 5 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 Nebraska Service Center on August 27, 2018. Eventually, on April 19, 2019, the USCIS approved his I-140 petition without any Requests for Evidence.  

When we filed his I-140, he concurrently filed his I-485 adjustment of status application. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices and fingerprint appointment came on time.

Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our client via conference call as well. On October 17, 2019, our client was interviewed at Santa Clara California USCIS office. Eventually, on October 18, 2019, our clients’ green card applications were approved. The derivative applicants of this case (his wife and daughters) also received I-485 approval.  Now, our client and his family members become green card holders. 

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CASE: J-2 Waiver of Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement Post-Divorce
NATIONALITY: Brazilian
LOCATION: Glendale, CA

Our client is a citizen of Brazil who came to the U.S. on a J-2 Visa in September 2011.  He came with his wife (now, his ex-wife) who held a J-1 Visa as an exchange visitor.  Both were subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement. 

Unfortunately, while they are residing in the United States, his marriage did not work out well. Eventually, he got divorced from his ex-wife in January 2019 in Brazil. Prior to their divorce, our client got the approved I-140 EB-1A self-petition. He wanted to file the waiver so that he can file adjustment of status or immigrant visa once his priority date becomes current.

Our client contacted our office and retained our firm to do his J-2 waiver on June 13, 2019.  On June 28, 2019, 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 July 22, 2019, 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 August 7, 2019.

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CASE: H-1B Visa Extension Petition
PETITIONER:  Sensor Device Development Company in Irvine, CA
BENEFICIARY: Mechanical Engineer from Japan

Our client is a leading company in providing innovative sensors and health monitoring solutions to the problem related to maintenance and safety of civil infrastructure and other structural / material systems. They contacted our office in January 2019 to seek legal assistance from our office for their foreign employee’s H-1B extension.  The beneficiary obtained his Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering. The proffered position for the Beneficiary is a Principal Engineer which qualifies as a specialty occupation. This proffered position is clearly a “specialty occupation” because the minimum requirements for this position are a Bachelor’s Degree in Science/Engineering or its equivalent.  Moreover, our office helped this employee’s H-1B transfer case in 2016 and it was approved by the USCIS.

Once retained, our office promptly filed the H-1B visa petition with various supporting documents on February 18, 2019 via the regular processing service. Eventually, our client’s H-1B application was approved on May 15, 2019.  His H-1B is good until April 11, 2021.

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