CASE: H-1B Visa Petition

PETITIONER:  Architectural Firm in Stamford, CT

BENEFICIARY: Architectural Draftsperson from Turkey

Our client is an architectural firm in Stamford, CT.  They contacted our office in late-February to seek legal assistance for their foreign employee. His wife also retained our firm but for a part-time position, and this was approved recently too, as stated in one of our success stories.

The beneficiary obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture. The proffered position for the Beneficiary is an architectural draftsperson.  We argued that this position is a “specialty occupation” and that the minimum requirement for this position is a Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture or its equivalent.

After retention, our office promptly filed the H-1B visa petition with various supporting documents on April 1, 2013 via regular processing. However, the USCIS Vermont Service Center issued a Request for Evidence (RFE) on September 4, 2013.

The USCIS argued that the offered position does not qualify as a “specialty occupation.” They claimed that a Bachelor’s degree was not required for this position.  They claimed that the beneficiary’s position is not specialized and complex enough to be qualified as a specialty occupation as the law requires.

In response to the RFE, our office argued in an 3-page response brief with 6 exhibits that the nature of the specific duties are so specialized and complex that knowledge required to perform the duties is usually associated with the attainment of a Bachelor’s degree.  Moreover, we argued that the degree requirement is common to the industry in parallel positions among similar organizations. Furthermore, we included beneficiary’s sample work to further illustrate the complexity of the position.

Our office filed the response to the USCIS Vermont Service Center on September 23, 2013. Our client’s H-1B application was approved on November 13, 2013. Now the Beneficiary can work for the Petitioner on an H-1B status until September 12, 2016

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CASE: H-1B Visa Petition
PETITIONER:  Architectural Firm in Stamford, CT
BENEFICIARY: Architectural Draftsperson from Turkey

Our client is an architectural firm in Stamford, CT.  They contacted our office in late-February to seek legal assistance for their foreign employee.

The beneficiary obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture. The proffered position for the Beneficiary is an architectural draftsperson.  We argued that this position a “specialty occupation” and that the minimum requirement for this position is a Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture or its equivalent.

After retention, our office promptly filed the H-1B visa petition with various supporting documents on April 1, 2013 via regular processing. However, the USCIS Vermont Service Center issued a Request for Evidence (RFE) on September 5, 2013.

The USCIS argued that the offered position does not qualify as a “specialty occupation.” They claimed that a Bachelor’s degree was not required for this position.  They claimed that the beneficiary’s position is not specialized and complex enough to be qualified as a specialty occupation as the law requires.

In response to the RFE, our office argued in an 3-page response brief with 9 exhibits that the nature of the specific duties are so specialized and complex that knowledge required to perform the duties is usually associated with the attainment of a Bachelor’s degree.  Moreover, we argued that the degree requirement is common to the industry in parallel positions among similar organizations. Furthermore, we included beneficiary’s sample work to further illustrate the complexity of the position.

Our office filed the response to the USCIS Vermont Service Center on September 23, 2013. Our client’s H-1B application was approved on October 25, 2013. Now the Beneficiary can work for the Petitioner on an H-1B status until September 16, 2016

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CASE: I-360 and adjustment of status
CLIENT: Filipina
LOCATION: Connecticut

Our client’s father is a G-4 visa holder from the Philippines who is working for an international organization in the United States.  He has a daughter who came to the United States with him and sought legal assistance from our firm for his daughter’s permanent residency in the United States, based on the special immigrant provisions of the INA.

INA 101(a)(27)(I)(i) defines such an alien as “an immigrant who is the unmarried son or daughter of an officer or employee, or of a former officer or employee, of an international organization described in paragraph (15)(G)(i), and who:

(I)                While maintaining the status of a G4 nonimmigrant, has resided and been physically present in the United States for periods totaling at least one-half of the seven years before the date of application and for a period or periods aggregating at least seven years between the ages of five and 21 years

(II)             Applies for adjustment of status no later than his or her twenty-fifth birthday…

Based on this provision, we advised our client that his daughter is eligible for adjustment of status. She has been physically present in the U.S. for a period totaling at least one-half of the seven years before this date, aggregating at least seven years between the age of 5 and 21.

Our client’s father retained our office on February 1, 2013.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-360 Petition and Adjustment of Status Application on February 17, 2013.  We included the letter from her father’s international organization for verification purposes and her high school transcripts as well. Once the applications were filed, everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, fingerprint appointment, and work permits all came on time.

Eventually, on June 26, 2013, the USCIS approved both the I-360 and I-485 applications for our client’s daughter.  She now is a green card holder.

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CASE: Adjustment of Status – First Preference Petition

CLIENT: Jamaican

LOCATION: Connecticut

Our client has been on F-1 status for many years. He went to colleges in the United States, and has maintained his status lawfully throughout his stay in the United States.  His mother was a naturalized U.S. citizen, and wanted to file her I-130 petition on behalf of her son.  However, since our client was over 21 years old at the time of filing the I-130 petition, our client had to wait 5 years to have a current priority date.

As mentioned before, parents, spouses and children of U.S. citizens are considered “immediate relatives,” and these “immediate relatives” do not need to worry for backlogged priority dates.  However, if children of U.S. citizens are over 21 years old at the time the I-130 petition is filed, then they are not considered “immediate relatives” anymore and would have to wait. They would then fall under the 1^st preference category.  (According to the January 2011 Visa Bulletin, the priority date is January 1, 2005).

Our client’s mother filed an I-130 petition for her son back in January of 2005 and this I-130 petition was approved.  Our client retained us in July of last year and discussed with us his adjustment of status issues. On August 12, 2010, our firm filed the I-485 Adjustment of Status Application and I-765 Work Authorization application.  Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, fingerprint appointment, and work permits all came on time.  There was no Request for Evidence.  On November 15, 2010, our client was interviewed in Hartford, Connecticut.   On December 30, 2010, the USCIS approved his adjustment application. After several years in the U.S., our client if finally a green card holder.

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