CASE: L-1A petition extension / I-129

PETITIONER: Child Care Center in Cleveland, OH

BENEFICIARY: Chinese Child Care Center Director

Our client is a Chinese company which has its US subsidiary in the greater Cleveland area (Avon Lake).  In 2016, our client opened a new business and has offered child care services to children from the age of 6 weeks to 12 years old. They contacted our office in the middle of June 2017 to seek legal assistance for a possible L-1A extension for their employee. She came from China in 2016 with her L-1A visa to work as a Child Care Center Director.

The L-1A nonimmigrant classification enables a U.S. employer to transfer an executive or manager from one of its affiliated foreign offices to one of its offices in the United States.  This classification also enables a foreign company which does not yet have an affiliated U.S. office to send an executive or manager to the United States with the purpose of establishing one.

Upon retention, our office prepared and eventually filed the L-1A extension petition with various supporting documents. The application included a detailed employer support letter, documentation to demonstrate the qualifying corporate relationship between the parent company in China and the U.S., financial documents, past experience documents, organization chart, and physical premises evidence among others. We filed the L-1A extension petition on June 21, 2017 via premium processing.

Eventually, our client’s L-1A application was approved on June 29, 2017 without any RFE. Her L-1A status has been extended to August 2019.

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CASE: H-1B Visa Extension Petition

PETITIONER: Industrial Material Company

BENEFICIARY: Chinese Industrial Material Research Scientist

LOCATION: Ohio

Our client is an industrial material company focused on the production and commercialization of high-performance / non-immunogenic biomaterials for use in the medial and consumer healthcare arenas. They are located in Wooster, Ohio. They contacted our office in December 2016 to seek legal assistance from our office for their foreign employee’s H-1B extension. The beneficiary is from China and obtained his Master’s degree in Plant Pathology in the United States. The proffered position for the Beneficiary is an industrial material research scientist 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 previous H-1B case in 2014 and it was approved by the USCIS.

Once retained, our office promptly filed the H-1B visa petition with various supporting documents on January 19, 2017 via regular processing service.  Since this petition was based on the extension, this petition was exempted from the annual cap of the H-1B.  Thus, we could file prior to the April 1.  There were no Requests for Evidence during the processing of the H-1B.  Eventually, our client’s H-1B Extension Petition was approved on February May 30, 2017.  Now the Beneficiary can continuously work for his Petitioner-Employer as an H-1B visa holder and he can work there for next three years.

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CASE: I-751

APPLICANT: Chinese

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client contacted our office in May of 2016 regarding her I-751 application.

She is from China and she married a U.S. citizen in February 2014. Through her marriage, she obtained a 2-year conditional green card in August of 2014. Our office helped her in the green card process.  Her conditional residency terminated in August 2016.

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 16, 2016, and our office prepared an I-751 application for our client with supporting documents.

On June 3, 2016, our office filed an I-751 application to the USCIS with multiple affidavits from her friends and family members, joint bank statements, utility bills, joint leasing documents, and photos of our client and her husband to demonstrate the bona fideness of their marriage.

Once the application was filed, the fingerprint notice was issued two weeks later. Eventually, on April 13, 2017, the USCIS approved our client’s I-751 application without any Request for Evidence (RFE).

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

APPLICANT / BENEFICIARY: Chinese

LOCATION: Guangzhou, China (Visa Interview)

Our client came to the United States from China without inspection and admission. Removal proceedings were initiated against him as an alien present in the United States without having been admitted or paroled. He was deported back to China in 2001. He has a naturalized citizen son and LPR wife.

Our client’s U.S. Citizen son filed an I-130 petition for him and this I-130 petition was approved on March 24, 2014. However, our client cannot file for an immigrant visa without a waiver of inadmissibility to become a green card holder.

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-601 application had a good chance since our client’s LPR wife suffers from a great degree of medical and psychological hardship. In the I-601 brief and supporting documents, our office included extensive medical reports of his wife.  We argued that it would be extremely difficult for our client’s wife to get the same level of therapy and satisfactory access to medical services in China in case she joins our client there.

In our brief, we also argued that his wife will have difficulty in finding the same level of employment in China, and that his wife will face extreme financial and emotional difficulties if she joins him in China.

On February 1, 2016, we file the I-601 waiver application which included the brief in support, his wife’s extensive medical and psychological examination records, and other documents that demonstrated hardship to his wife if she joins our client in China. Eventually, his I-601 waiver was approved on October 18, 2016. Then, we filed our client’s immigrant visa package to National Visa Center on October 25, 2016 with an approved I-601 waiver. The U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou, China informed our office that they scheduled an immigrant visa interview for our client. On February 8, 2017, our client appeared at his immigrant visa interview at the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou, and the Consulate officer approved his immigrant visa on the same day.

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

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CASE: I-130 and Consular Processing (Immigrant Visa) – Marriage-Petition
CLIENT: US Citizen Petitioner; Chinese Beneficiary in China
LOCATION: Petitioner: Ohio; Beneficiary: Hunan, China

Our client is a U.S. citizen.  He married his wife in China in November 2015.  After the marriage, he came back to the United States and contacted our office in early January 2016 and retained us to bring his wife to the States.

Our office prepared and filed the I-130 to the National Visa Center on January 22, 2016. After the I-130 was filed, everything went smoothly, there were no requests for evidence, and the receipt notices came on time. The I-130 Petition was approved by the USCIS on April 8, 2016. After the I-130 approval, we filed the immigrant visa packets to the National Visa Center on June 1, 2016, who in turn forwarded our client’s materials to the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou, China. An interview notice was set for the client at the US Consulate in Guangzhou, and we prepared her for her interview. On August 3, 2016, the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou, China approved and issued her immigrant visa.

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

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

NATIONALITY: Chinese

LOCATION: New York, NY

Our client is a citizen of China who came to the U.S. on a J-2 Visa in November 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.

After our client came to the United States, she was attending a school and her family moved back to Canada after her father’s research scholar period was ended. Our client came back to the United States in 2014.

She turned 21 in March 2009. This year, her employer wants to file an I-129 petition for our client’s H-1B visa. However, because of her two-year foreign residency requirement, our client cannot change 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 2009.

Our firm was retained to do his J-2 waiver, and on December 14, 2016, 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 January 23, 2017, the DOS recommended to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) that our client be granted a waiver.  On February 15, 2017, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for our client’s waiver request.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status
CLIENT: Chinese
LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client came to the United States in 2011 on an F-1 student visa from China to study in the United States. He married a U.S. Citizen in April 2013 and retained our office on December 15, 2015 for his petition and adjustment of status application. Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 petition and I-485 adjustment of status application on December 23, 2015. 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 at our office. On March 31, 2016, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, Ohio USCIS office. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office accompanied our client as well.

However, on April 27, 2016, the USCIS issued Request for Evidence (RFE) for our client to submit his response for the reason why he did not continuously study at the school that he attended in the U.S. Our office assisted him to draft his affidavit and filed the Response to RFE on June 2, 2016.

Eventually, on November 22, 2016, his green card application was approved.

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

NATIONALITY: Chinese Canadian

LOCATION: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Our client was a citizen of Canada who came to the U.S. on a J-2 Visa in June 1993 when she was a Chinese Citizen.  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.

Once her father’s program was completed, her family immigrated to Canada. She became a physician in Canada and was offered to a fellowship program in the U.S. hospital. Her prospective employer would like to petition her for H-1B visa; however, because of her two-year foreign residency requirement, she needs to comply with the 2 year rule or gets a 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 April 2009.

She contacted our office and our firm was retained to do her J-2 waiver on October 6, 2016. On October 17, 2016, 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 November 7, 2016, the DOS recommended to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) that our client be granted a waiver.  On November 23, 2016, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for our client’s waiver request.

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CASE: Asylum in Immigration Court

CLIENT: Chinese

LOCATION: New York Immigration Court

Our Chinese client came to the United States on a F-1 visa in July 2012.  He was persecuted and harmed in China based on his political opinion and political activism, so within one year of his entry, he filed an asylum application (Asylum, Withholding of Removal, and relief under the CAT) to the USCIS with our office’s legal assistance.  He was interviewed at the Asylum Office in Lyndhurst, NJ in February 2013, but his case was referred to an immigration judge. The Notice to Appear was issued and our client was placed in removal proceedings.  

After the case was referred to the Immigration Court, our client retained our office again.

Our client was scared to go back home to China, fearing that he will be persecuted based on his political opinion and his past political speech. While our client was in China, he made political speech in public and expressed his ideas regarding democracy in China. As a result, he was arrested and detained by the Chinese police and has experienced harm and mistreatments in numerous occasions.  

We helped him prepare his asylum application and represented him in immigration court hearings. We also asked him to provide supporting documents corroborating his claim, some of which were a letter from his father, colleagues and friends in China and medical documents of our client’s psychological health. Our firm also did some research on articles related to his claim, and the type of persecution he will experience in China if sent back.

Our client’s individual hearing was scheduled on December 19, 2016, at the New York Immigration Court. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu represented our client at the hearing. During the hearing, our client testified credibly as to his past persecution in China and likelihood of future persecution. After the hearing, the Immigration Judge granted asylum relief for our client. He is now an asylee who will get his work permit soon and will be eligible to apply for permanent residency in one year.

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

NATIONALITY: Chinese

LOCATION: New York City, NY

Our client was a citizen of China who came to the U.S. on a J-2 Visa in August 2008.  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 the University to pursue his bachelor’s degree. He changed his status from J-2 to F-1.

He turned 21 in 2014. 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 her two-year foreign residency requirement, our client cannot change his 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 2014.

Our firm was retained to do his J-2 waiver, and on October 4, 2016, 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 November 10, 2016, the DOS recommended to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) that our client be granted a waiver.  On November 23, 2016, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for our client’s waiver request.

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