CASE: Marriage-Based Immigrant Petition and Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: Indian

LOCATION: Columbus, OH

Our client came to the United States from India on an H-1B visa in May 2013. He married a U.S. Citizen in September 2015 and retained our office on September 30, 2015 for his green card application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on October 6, 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 as well. On January 12, 2016, our client was interviewed at Columbus, Ohio USCIS office. Eventually, on the same day, his green card application was approved.

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Case: I-130/I-485

Applicant/Beneficiary – Korean

Location: Columbus, OH

Our client entered the United States in July 2015 from South Korea under the visa waiver program. He married his U.S. citizen wife in March 2015 in South Korea. He came to the United States as a visitor with his wife and first intended to help his wife who just began her graduate studies in the United States.  As a Visa Waiver Entrant, he was only authorized to remain in the United States for 90 days. While he was staying in the United States, he was informed that he could file adjustment of status in the United States even though he entered as a visa waiver entrant.  He contacted our office, and they retained us on August 31, 2015.

One main issue in his green card application through marriage was the fact that he came to the United States under the visa waiver program.   As our office wrote in our previous success story with a similar issue,  under the visa waiver program, citizens of certain countries can enter the U.S. for 90 days without a visa with the condition that the visitor waives his or her right to contest removal (other than on the basis of asylum).  The “no-contest” provision of the Visa Waiver Program is fundamental; if someone could enter under the VWP and then contest removability; it would defeat the whole purpose of the Program which is to make it easy for certain nationals to come to the United States to visit and then leave without all the red-tape involved in visa issuance.

Our office filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on October 7, 2015.  Our office requested the CIS to exercise favorable discretion in granting adjustment of status. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, fingerprint appointment, and work permit all came on time. Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our clients at our office. On January 8, 2016, our client was interviewed at the Columbus Ohio USCIS Field Office. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu, Esq. from our office accompanied our clients for the interview. Despite the visa waiver issue, on the same day of the interview, the USCIS approved his green card application.  Now, our client is a green card holder.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Green Card
CLIENT: Bahaman
LOCATION: Columbus, Ohio

Our client came to the United States in May 2008 with a B-2 visitor’s visa from the Bahamas. He married a U.S. Citizen in July 2008.  Even after his authorized stay period expired in November 2008, our client has remained in the United States.

Our client retained our office on February 24, 2012 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 July 13, 2012. 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 through conference call.  On November 16, 2012, our client was interviewed at the Columbus, Ohio USCIS office.  On the same day, his green card application was approved.

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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. 

For other marriage-based green card success stories, please click here.

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CASE: Adjustment of Status / Termination of Removal Proceedings with an Approved I-130 Petition
CLIENT: Chinese
LOCATION: Cleveland, Ohio (EOIR) / Columbus, Ohio (USCIS)

Our client is a Chinese citizen who came to the U.S. on a B-2 Visitor’s Visa in June 2010.  She remained in the United States after her authorized stay expired.  Because of her overstay, she was placed in removal proceedings, which was initiated at the San Francisco Immigration Court in California.

Our client married his second husband in December 2011 in Columbus Ohio. She initially contacted our office for a Change of Venue to Cleveland.  She retained our office on October 20, 2011.  We then filed a Motion for Change of Venue from San Francisco to Cleveland on behalf of our client. The Immigration Judge granted the Motion and her case was transferred to the Cleveland Immigration Court.

Our office then prepared and filed an I-130 Petition with a lot of bona fide marriage evidence on December 9, 2011. The petition also included a bona fide marriage exception letter.

While the I-130 petition was pending, our client appeared at the Cleveland Immigration Court on April 11, 2012 for her initial master calendar hearing. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office represented her at the hearing, did pleadings and sought adjustment of status relief upon approval of the I-130 petition.

Our client’s I-130 interview was scheduled on June 19, 2012 at the Columbus USCIS Field Office. Prior to the interview, our office thoroughly prepared our client and his husband for the interview. Attorney JP Sarmiento also accompanied them at their interview. The interview lasted one hour, our clients were separated, but the I-130 petition was eventually approved on the same day.

After the I-130 was approved, our office filed a request to join in a Motion to Terminate proceedings with an attached I-485 application and its supporting documents. The DHS counsel in Cleveland agreed to terminate our client’s proceedings. Eventually, the Immigration Judge granted the Motion to terminate without prejudice on August 15, 2012.

After her case was terminated with the Immigration Court, our office prepared and filed the I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on September 4, 2012, together with other necessary forms and supporting documents. 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 over the phone.

On November 15, 2012, our client was interviewed at the Baltimore CIS office. Our client was fully prepared and the interview went well.  On the same day, her green card application was approved.

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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. 

For other termination deportation case success stories, please click here.

For other marriage green card success stories, please click here.

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CASE: Termination of Removal Proceedings with an Approved I-130 Petition / I-485 Adjustment of Status
CLIENT: Ghanaian
LOCATION: Cleveland, Ohio (EOIR) / Columbus, Ohio (USCIS)

Our client is a Ghanaian citizen who came to the U.S. on an F-1 Student Visa in August 2003 to study at a college in West Virginia.  He married his ex-wife in 2007, but their marriage ended sometime in 2011.  At the latter part of his previous marriage, his ex-wife, a U.S. Citizen, filed an I-130 petition for him, but later she withdrew the petition as their marriage was not working out at that time. The I-130 petition and our client’s I-485 application were denied, and a Notice to Appear was issued. Our client was placed into removal proceeding.

Our client then married his current U.S. Citizen wife in August 2011, and he retained our office on August 29, 2011. Once retained, our office immediately filed an I-130 Petition with bona fide marriage evidence on September 2, 2011.  While the I-130 petition was pending, our client appeared at the Cleveland Immigration Court on October 19, 2011 for his initial master calendar hearing.  Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office represented him at the hearing, did pleadings, and sought adjustment of status relief upon approval of the I-130 petition.

Our client’s I-130 interview was held on March 26, 2012 at the Columbus USCIS Filed Office.  Prior to the interview, our office thoroughly prepared our client and his wife for the interview at our office. Attorney Yu also accompanied them for their interview. The interview lasted one hour, but the I-130 petition was eventually approved on the same day.

After the I-130 was approved, our office filed a request to join in a Motion to terminate proceedings with the I-485 application and supporting documents. The DHS counsel in Cleveland agreed to terminate our client’s proceedings. Ultimately, the Immigration Judge granted the Motion to terminate without prejudice.

After his removal proceedings were terminated, our client retained us again for his I-485 adjustment of status application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on May 14, 2012. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, fingerprint appointment, and work permit all came on time. Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our clients. On July 13, 2012, our client was interviewed at the Columbus USCIS office. Two days later, his I-485 application was approved.  After eight years in the United States, our client is finally a green card holder.

FREE CONSULTATIONS

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

For other marriage-based green card success stories, please click here.

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CASE: H-1B Visa Petition
PETITIONER:  Hospital / Medical Research Center
BENEFICIARY: Strategic Planning Analyst
ISSUES: Cap-Exempt, Research Organization

Our client is a large hospital and medical research center located in Columbus, OH. They contacted our office in the middle of June to seek legal assistance from our office for their foreign employee. The beneficiary obtained her MBA degree in the United States. The proffered position for the Beneficiary is a strategic planning analyst. We showed that this is a “specialty occupation” because the minimum requirement for this position is a Bachelor’s Degree in Business related curriculum or its equivalent.

Prior to our client contacting us, the numerical cap of H-1B visas for fiscal year 2013 was reached.  Our client was very disappointed and thought they would have to wait until April 1, 2013. We told our client that we can argue that they are qualified for cap-exempt petitions and emphasize that they are a non-profit research organization as defined in 8 C.F.R. 214.2(h)(19)(iii)(C). Cases have gone both ways for hospitals, but we thought that if the research aspect of their work is highlighted, that chances of approval are high.

INA Section 214(g)(5) says “the numerical limitations contained in paragraph (1)(A) shall not apply to any non-immigrant alien issued a visa or otherwise provided status under section 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b) who –

(B) is employed (or has received an offer of employment) at a nonprofit research organization or a governmental research organization.”

According to the June 6, 2006 Michael Aytes’ Memo (Published by USCIS) on the Guidance Regarding Eligibility for Exemption from the H-1B Cap Based on Section 103 of the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-First Century Act of 2000 (AC21) (Public Law 106-313), it outlines the fee and cap exemption for nonprofit research organization as defined in 8 C.F.R. 214.2(h)(19)(iii)(C).  Under 8 C.F.R. 214.2(h)(19)(iii)(C), a non-profit research organization is “an organization that is primarily engaged in basic research and/or applied research. Basic research is also research that advances scientific knowledge, but does not have specific immediate commercial objectives although it may be in fields of present or potential commercial interest.  It may include research and investigation in the sciences, social sciences, or humanities.  Applied research is research to gain knowledge or understanding to determine the means by which a specific, recognized need may be met.  Applied research includes investigations oriented to discovering new scientific knowledge that has specific commercial objectives with respect to products, processes, or services.  It may include research and investigation in the sciences, social sciences, or humanities.”

Our office argued that the Petitioner was primarily engaged in applied research, and was thus qualified as a non-profit research organization as defined in 8 C.F.R. 214.2(h)(19)(iii)(C).

Once retained, our office filed the H-1B visa petition with various supporting documents on June 28, 2012 via premium processing. There were no Requests for Evidence during the processing of the H-1B. Eventually, our client’s H-1B application was approved on July 13, 2012.  She can now work for her employer for three years on an H-1B status starting October 1, 2012.  She will continue to work there on an OPT in the meantime.

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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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CASE: Termination of Removal Proceedings with an Approved I-130 Petition
CLIENT: Ghanaian
LOCATION: Cleveland, Ohio (EOIR) / Columbus, Ohio (USCIS)

Our client is a Ghanaian citizen who came to the U.S. on an F-1 Student Visa in August 2003 to study at a college in West Virginia.  He married his ex-wife, a U.S. Citizen, in 2007, but their marriage ended in 2011.  At the latter stage of his previous marriage, his ex-wife, a U.S. Citizen, filed an I-130 for him, but later withdrew the petition as their marriage did not work out well.  The I-130 petition was denied and after the denial, a Notice to Appear was issued and our client was placed in removal proceeding.

Our client got divorced to his first wife and then married his second U.S. Citizen wife in August 2011. He retained our office on August 29, 2011. Our office prepared and filed an I-130 Petition with bona fide marriage evidence of his two marriages on September 2, 2011. The petition also included a bona fide marriage exception letter. While the I-130 petition was pending, our client appeared at the Cleveland Immigration Court on October 19, 2011 for his initial master calendar hearing.  Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office represented him at the hearing, did pleadings and sought adjustment of status relief upon approval of the I-130 petition.

Our client’s I-130 interview was scheduled on March 26, 2012 at the Columbus USCIS Field Office.  Prior to the interview, our office thoroughly prepared our client and his wife for the interview. Attorney Yu also accompanied them at their interview. The interview lasted one hour, our clients were separated, but the I-130 petition was eventually approved on the same day.

After the I-130 was approved, our office filed a request to join in a Motion to Terminate proceedings with an attached I-485 application and its supporting documents. The DHS counsel in Cleveland agreed to terminate our client’s proceedings. Ultimately, the Immigration Judge granted the Motion to terminate without prejudice. He’s not in proceedings anymore. Now, he can file his I-485 adjustment of status application to the USCIS and eventually obtain his green card.

FREE CONSULTATIONS

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

For other termination success stories, please click here.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status
CLIENT: Korean
LOCATION: Columbus, OH

Our client came to the United States from South Korea in August 2010 with an F-1 student visa to study in Columbus.  She married a U.S. Citizen in September 2011 and retained our office on September 27, 2011 for her adjustment of status application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and Adjustment of Status Application on October 17, 2011.  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. On March 30, 2012, our client was interviewed at the Columbus, Ohio USCIS office.  Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office accompanied them at the interview as well.  On the same day, her green card application was approved.

FREE CONSULTATIONS

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

For other marriage-based green card success stories, please click here.

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Also feel free to contact our office anytime for free consultations.

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CASE: I-601 Hardship Waiver of Inadmissibility
APPLICANT / BENEFICIARY: Cambodia
LOCATION: Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Our client’s wife is a U.S. citizen who resides in Columbus Ohio.  She contacted our office in September of 2011 about her husband’s immigrant visa application which needed an I-601 waiver for his inadmissibility. They married in December 2008 and our client filed an immigrant visa petition for her husband which was then denied in 2011 due to his inadmissibility. Our client’s husband was found inadmissible because he misrepresented his information when he applied for a visitor’s visa to come to the United States in 2003.  He used a different name when he applied for a visitor’s visa and this incident made him inadmissible under Section 212(a)(6)(C)(i) of the INA. (Any alien who, by fraud or willfully misrepresenting a material fact, seeks to procure a visa, other documentation, or admission into the United States or other benefit provided under this Act is inadmissible).  Thus, in order to obtain an immigrant visa, our client’s husband needed to have an approved I-601 waiver.

Our client retained us on September 26, 2011 for the I-601 waiver. Our firm thoroughly analyzed whether the I-601 waiver application will likely be successful. Based on her story and surrounding circumstances (hardship to U.S. citizen wife [our client] if our client’s husband is deported or if his wife would accompany him to Cambodia), our office determined that her husband has a good chance of winning the I-601 application.

If someone is found to be inadmissible under Section 212(a)(6)(C)(i) of the INA, INA Section 212(i) provides for a discretionary waiver of the fraud or misrepresentation 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 Section 212(i)(l). In addition to the equities presented, the USCIS may consider the nature of the fraud or misrepresentation.

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 husband’s I-601 application had a good chance since our client’s U.S. Citizen wife from Columbus Ohio suffers from Hepatitis B, Chronic Hepatitis, Bronchitis, and has been going to doctors and hospitals since July 2007.  She also suffers from depression, anxiety, and insomnia due to the hardship of not having a father for her son or a husband to help with the expenses of raising their son.  In the I-601 brief and supporting documents, our office included extensive medical reports from our client. We argued that if our client’s husband is barred to enter the United States, extreme hardship to her is clearly foreseeable and evident. Our client’s wife is required to have continuous medical check-ups with her doctors for her Hepatitis B, Chronic Hepatitis, and Bronchitis. Also, it would be extremely difficult for her to get the same level of medical attention and satisfactory access to medical services in Cambodia in case our client’s wife joins her husband there. Our office also included the U.S. Department of State Travel Advisory Section for Cambodia to highlight the extremely poor medical services in Cambodia.

In our brief, we also argued that our client has maintained strong family ties in the United States, that she will have difficulty in finding the same level of employment in Cambodia, and that their U.S. Citizen son and our client will face extreme financial and emotional difficulties if he is barred to enter to the United States or if our client is forced to relocate to Cambodia with her son.

On February 7, 2012, we submitted our I-601 waiver application to the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh, Cambodia which included the brief in support, our client’s medical records, and other documents that demonstrated hardship to her if her husband is barred from coming to the United States.  This application was transferred to the USCIS Field Office in Bangkok, Thailand for adjudication. The I-601 waiver for our client’s husband was approved on March 21, 2012.  Now, without any inadmissible grounds, our client’s husband becomes eligible and will get an immigration visa to come to the United States. Now he can be together with his wife and their son in Columbus Ohio.

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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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CASE: H-1B Visa Petition – Response to Request for Evidence
PETITIONER: Indian Restaurant
BENEFICIARY: Nepali
LOCATION: Ohio
ISSUE: Specialty Occupation / Degree Issues

Our client is a large Indian restaurant in Ohio. The beneficiary is from Nepal who obtained a Master’s degree in the United States and worked for his employer under the OPT program.  The Petitioner-Employer filed an H-1B application on behalf of our client on July 10, 2011 by themselves.  However, the USCIS mailed a 5-page Request for Evidence to the Petitioner-Employer and requested Petitioner to submit additional evidence to establish that the proffered position to the beneficiary qualified as a “Specialty Occupation.” The USCIS requested the Petitioner to submit more evidence regarding whether similar businesses in the same industry require a degree or its equivalent for the proffered position.

The USCIS was skeptical and argued that the proffered “Operations Manager” position in Petitioner’s business did not qualify as a “Specialty Occupation”. They mentioned that the law clearly states that an H-1B classification may be granted to an alien who will perform services in a specialty occupation which requires theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge and attainment of a baccalaureate or higher degree or its equivalent as a minimum requirement for entry into the occupation in the United States, and who is qualified to perform services in the specialty occupation because she has attained a baccalaureate or higher degree or its equivalent in the specialty occupation.

The main issue for the client’s H-1B application was whether the “Operations Manager” position for this Indian Restaurant Petitioner required a bachelor’s degree or an equivalent to make this position a “specialty occupation.” Once Petitioner-Employer received the Request for Evidence (RFE) from the USCIS, our client retained us to prepare the response. We gathered supporting documents from both the Petitioner and Beneficiary and did research on the restaurant industry, focusing on similarly sized businesses, to demonstrate that a bachelor’s degree is commonly required for this position.

In the response brief, our office argued that the degree requirement is common to this industry in parallel positions among similar organizations.  We provided evidence that the position of Operations Manager is a common position required by similarly sized restaurants with similar annual incomes.  Also, we provided evidence that Petitioner’s competitors normally require degrees in a specific specialty for closely related positions like that of Operations Managers.  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.

Our office filed a 9-page Response to RFE brief with 18 exhibits to the USCIS California Service Center on November 16, 2011.  Our client’s H-1B application was approved 12 days later on November 28, 2011.  Now our client can work for the Indian Restaurant employer on an H-1B status and he can work there for next three years, renewable for another 3.

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