CASE: I-751

APPLICANT: Chinese

LOCATION: Findlay, OH

Our client contacted our office in December of 2018 regarding her I-751 application.

She is from China and married a U.S. citizen in June 2016. Through her marriage, she obtained a 2-year conditional green card in April of 2017.  Her conditional residency terminated in April 2019.

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 December 17, 2018, and our office prepared an I-751 application for our client with other supplemental exhibits.

On February 4, 2019, our office filed an I-751 application to the USCIS with multiple affidavits from her friends and family members, joint bank statements, joint taxes, utility bills, insurance policies, 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. However, the USCIS issued the Request for Evidence (RFE) to demonstrate the bona fideness of our client’s marriage with her husband. We filed an extensive Response to RFE to the USCIS with more bona fide marital documents on December 23, 2019.  

As a result, on January 23, 2020, the USCIS approved our client’s I-751 application and our client received her 10-year green card which removed the conditions.

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CASE: J-2 Waiver of Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement Post-Divorce
NATIONALITY: Chinese
LOCATION: Hingham, MA

Our client is a citizen of China who came to the U.S. on a J-2 Visa in January 2015.  She came with her husband (now, her ex-husband) 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, her marriage did not work out well. Eventually, she got divorced from her ex-husband in January 2016 in China. In September 2019, she married her U.S. citizen spouse. She wanted to file the waiver so that she can file adjustment of status along with her U.S. citizen spouse’s I-130 petition.

Our client contacted our office and retained our firm to do her J-2 waiver on October 16, 2019.  On October 21, 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 December 2, 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 December 18, 2019.

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CASE: I-485 based on Approved I-140 (EB-2)

 APPLICANT: Chinese

 LOCATION: Garden City, NY

Our client is a certified nurse practitioner from China, who is currently working at a dermatology clinic which was willing to petition her for a second-preference petition (I-140).  Our client has a Master’s Degree in Nursing and has worked for this clinic since 2013. She has maintained her status as an H-1B visa holder in the United States. She had an approved I-140 petition which was filed by her current employer and this I-140 petition’s priority date was May 5, 2015.

In June 2019, she contacted our office and retained us for her and her immediate family members’ I-485 adjustment of status applications. Our office filed an I-485 adjustment of status applications for our clients on July 19, 2019. 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 December 16, 2019, our clients were interviewed at Holtsville New York USCIS office. Eventually, on December 17, 2019, her and her family members’ green card applications were approved.

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CASE: I-140 (EB-3 Skilled Worker)    
EMPLOYER: Chinese Restaurant
BENEFICIARY: Chinese Specialty Cook in China
LOCATION: Cleveland, Ohio

Our client is a Chinese restaurant in Cleveland, Ohio. They do have a prospective employee from China and they wanted to petition him for a skilled worker, third-preference petition (I-140). Their prospective employee has more than 2 years of experience as a Chinese cook. After talking to our client, our firm concluded that they can petition him as a Chinese Specialty Cook. Our client eventually retained us on May 22, 2018. 

Prior to filing PERM, our firm prepared the prevailing wage request, job order, advertisements, internal job posting, recruitment report, and all other steps which are important pre-PERM filing. Take note that PERM could be filed at least 60 days from the job posting date or 30 days from the last ad. On May 30, 2018, the prevailing wage request was filed.  After we got the PW determination, our office filed the job order on October 8, 2018. On February 8, 2019, we promptly filed PERM. Eventually, on April 30, 2019, the PERM Labor Certification was approved – an EB3 position for the Chinese beneficiary. 

We then proceeded with the I-140 Petition filing. We submitted the “ability to pay” letter for the I-140 petition application. We included the job offer letter, employer’s tax records, and other necessary supporting documents.

The I-140 Petition was filed on September 13, 2019 via regular processing service. Eventually, on November 19, 2019, the I-140 EB3 Petition for our Chinese client was approved without any Request for Evidence (RFE). He can file an immigrant visa once his priority date becomes current. 

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CASE: Asylum

CLIENT: Chinese

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client, a Chinese asylum seeker in Cleveland, OH, retained us on January 7, 2015 to help him with his asylum case. He came to the United States in August 2014 with a F-1 Student visa from China. He wanted to seek asylum relief with the US Citizenship and Immigration Service.

While he was in China, he was persecuted and mistreated by the government based on his Christianity belief. He is scared to go back home to China, fearing that he will be persecuted again.

We helped him to prepare for his asylum application, going over several drafts until his claim was as detailed as possible. Names, addresses, dates, and all possible issues relevant to his asylum claim were addressed. We also asked him to provide supporting documents corroborating his claims. Our firm also did some research on articles pertaining to his particular claim, and the type of persecution that Chinese Christian would suffer.

The asylum application was filed on May 15, 2015 which was within one year of his entry to the United States.  Thereafter, the CIS issued an interview notice for his asylum case, scheduled for November 8, 2018 in Cleveland, OH USCIS Asylum Office. Prior to his interview, our office prepared him thoroughly for his case at our office to make sure he was able to address questions the asylum officer would ask. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office also accompanied our client at him interview. 

On November 5, 2019, the USCIS approved our client’s asylum case. He is now an asylee and will be eligible to apply for permanent resident status in one year. 

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: Chinese

LOCATION: McComb, OH

Our client came to the United States from China on a B-2 visitor’s visa in May 2016. After her authorized stay period expired, she remained in the United States. She married a U.S. Citizen in February 2019 and retained our office for her green card application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on May 8, 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 as well. On October 3, 2019, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, Ohio USCIS office. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office accompanied our clients as well. Eventually, on October 8, 2019, her green card application was approved.

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CASE: H-1B Visa Extension Petition
PETITIONER:  Architecture Company in Cleveland, OH
BENEFICIARY: Architectural Designer from China

Our client is a leading company in Architecture, Urban Design, Interior Design and Planning in Cleveland, OH. They contacted our office in April 2019 to seek legal assistance from our office for their foreign employee’s H-1B extension.  The beneficiary obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture. The proffered position for the Beneficiary is an Architectural Designer which qualifies as a specialty occupation. We argued that this proffered position is clearly a “specialty occupation” because the minimum requirements for this position are a Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture or its equivalent. Moreover, our office helped this employer’s I-140 case in 2018 and it was approved by the USCIS. 

Once retained, our office promptly filed the H-1B visa petition with various supporting documents on May 13, 2019 via the regular processing service. Eventually, our client’s H-1B application was approved on September 17, 2019.  His H-1B is good until September 2, 2022.

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

NATIONALITY: Chinese

LOCATION: Overland Park, KS

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

She turned 21 in December 2016. 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 December 2016.

Our firm was retained to do her J-2 waiver, and on August 13, 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 September 10, 2019, the DOS recommended to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) that our client be granted a waiver. On September 20, 2019, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for our client’s waiver request.

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CASE: I-751

APPLICANT: Chinese

LOCATION: Findlay, OH

Our client contacted our office in December of 2017 regarding her I-751 application.

She is from China and she married a U.S. citizen in October 2014. Through her marriage, she obtained a 2-year conditional green card in January of 2016.  Her conditional residency terminated in January 2018.

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, and our office prepared an I-751 application for our client with other supplemental exhibits.

On January 3, 2018, our office filed an I-751 application to the USCIS with multiple affidavits from her friends and family members, joint bank statements, joint taxes, utility bills, insurance policies, 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. However, the USCIS issued the Request for Evidence (RFE) to demonstrate the bona fideness of our client’s marriage with her husband. We filed an extensive Response to RFE to the USCIS with more bona fide marital documents on August 12, 2019.  

As a result, on September 9, 2019, the USCIS approved our client’s I-751 application and our client received her 10-year green card which removed the conditions.

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CASE: Asylum

CLIENT: Chinese

LOCATION: Sandusky, OH

Our client, a Chinese asylum seeker in Sandusky, OH, retained us on July 14, 2015 to help him with his asylum case. He came to the United States in January 2015 with a B-2 visitor’s visa from China. He wanted to seek asylum relief with the US Citizenship and Immigration Service.

While he was in China, he was persecuted and mistreated by the government based on his Christianity belief. He is scared to go back home to China, fearing that he will be persecuted again.

We helped him to prepare for his asylum application, going over several drafts until his claim was as detailed as possible. Names, addresses, dates, and all possible issues relevant to his asylum claim were addressed. We also asked him to provide supporting documents corroborating his claims. Our firm also did some research on articles pertaining to his particular claim, and the type of persecution that Chinese Christian would suffer.

The asylum application was filed on July 21, 2015 which was within one year of his entry to the United States.  Thereafter, the CIS issued an interview notice for his asylum case, scheduled for November 2, 2018 in Cleveland, OH USCIS Asylum Office. Prior to his interview, our office prepared him thoroughly for his case at our office to make sure he was able to address questions the asylum officer would ask. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office also accompanied our client at him interview. 

On August 12, 2019, the USCIS approved our client’s asylum case. He is now an asylee and will be eligible to apply for permanent resident status in one year. 

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