CASE: I-130/I-485

NATIONALITY: Kenyan                                                                                                        

LOCATION: Northfield, OH

Our client is from Kenya who came to the U.S. on a J-1 Visa in June 2013 to work as a camp counselor.  After she finished her J-1 program, she remained in the United States. In April 2014, our client married her current U.S. Citizen husband.  However, she could not adjust her status due to her J-1 2-year foreign residency requirement. 

She retained our office on January 5, 2016. Thereafter, our office filed a waiver request through a No Objection Statement (NOS) from the Kenyan Embassy. Every country’s Embassy maintains different procedures with regards to the J-1 No Objection Statement waiver.  Our office contacted the Kenyan Embassy in D.C. to pursue the waiver for our client.  The Embassy requested several documents including a statement of reason for the waiver, the clearance letter from the J-1 program sponsor, Clearance certificate from HELB and KSCE in Kenya, and a letter of reason for obtaining the J-1 waiver.  

On January 19, 2016, the J-1 Waiver (Form DS-3035) Application was filed to the Department of State.  We also sent a request to the Kenyan Embassy to issue a No Objection Statement and recommend this waiver based on the fact that our client is eligible to adjust based on her marriage to her spouse. 

Eventually, the Kenyan Embassy issued a No Objection Statement for our client, and sent this letter to the State Department’s Waiver Review Division.  On March 9, 2016, the Waiver Review Division issued a favorable recommendation based on the No Objection statement. On March 31, 2016, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for the waiver of our client’s two-year foreign residency requirement. 

Once her J-1 waiver was approved, our client retained our office again in June 2019 for her adjustment of status application. Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on February 17, 2020.  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 October 30, 2020, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, Ohio USCIS office.  Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office also accompanied our client.  The interview went well, and eventually, on the same day of the interview, her green card application was approved.

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CASE: I-140 (EB-2 Category) / Schedule A / Premium Processing

EMPLOYER: Physicians’ Office

BENEFICIARY: Kenyan Nurse Practitioner

LOCATION: Houston, TX

Our client is a family nurse practitioner. Her prospective employer was willing to petition her for a second-preference employment immigrant visa petition (I-140). Since she is a family nurse practitioner, she is eligible for “Schedule A” classification.

The Department of Labor (DOL) maintains a schedule of occupations in its regulations, Schedule A included, for which the individual permanent labor certification procedure is not required. The schedule of pre-certified occupations is referred to as Schedule A, and is included in DOL regulations at 20 CFR 656.10. Based on an occupation’s inclusion on Schedule A, an employer may file an immigrant visa petition (I-140) directly with the (USCIS) without first going to the DOL for a labor certification. Usually, prior to filing I-140 petitions (EB-2 or EB-3 category), the employer must file a Labor Certification to the Department of Labor. However, for Schedule A cases, the employer does not have to go through the labor certification process. The position of Nurse Practitioner is included in Schedule A.

Our client has a Bachelors and Masters degree in nursing and is a Certified Nurse Practitioner. Our office was retained on March 16, 2020, and we filed the Prevailing Wage Determination immediately.

We filed the I-140 application on September 25, 2020 via premium processing. We included the job offer letter, notice of filing, employment letter, and other necessary supporting documents. In our cover brief, we included the “ability to pay” argument and why nurse practitioners must fall under the Schedule A designation.  Eventually, on October 14, 2020, the USCIS Texas Service Center approved her EB-2 I-140 petition without a Request for Evidence (RFE). Since the priority date for a Kenyan national is current for the EB-2 category, she is eligible to file her adjustment of status application now.

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CASE: N-400 (Citizenship / Naturalization)

APPLICANT: Kenyan

LOCATION: Huntsville, AL

Our client contacted us in March 2019 to seek legal representation for her naturalization and citizenship N-400 application. She came to the United States from Kenya and obtained her green card in June 2008. 

Once retained, her N-400 application was filed on March 11, 2019 with all supporting documents. Prior to her citizenship interview, our office prepared her via conference call.  On November 12, 2019, our client appeared at the Montgomery Alabama USCIS office for her naturalization interview. Our client answered all questions correctly and passed her naturalization and citizenship interview. Eventually, her application was approved on March 10, 2020. Her oath taking is scheduled in which she will become a naturalized U.S. Citizen.

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APPLICANT: Kenyan

LOCATION: Olmsted Falls, OH

Our client contacted us in August 2019 to seek legal representation for her naturalization and citizenship N-400 application. She came to the United States from Kenya and obtained her green card in July 2013. 

After we were retained, her N-400 application was filed on August 29, 2019, with all supporting documents. Prior to her citizenship interview, our office prepared her at our office.  On November 22, 2019, our client appeared at the Cleveland, Ohio USCIS office for her naturalization interview. Our client answered all questions correctly and passed her naturalization and citizenship interview. Eventually, her application was approved on January 31, 2020. Her oath-taking is scheduled in which she will become a naturalized U.S. Citizen.

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CASE: I-130/I-485

NATIONALITY: Kenyan                                                                                                        

LOCATION: Centennial, Colorado

Our client is from Kenya who came to the U.S. on a J-1 Visa in February 2016 to work at a non-profit organization in the U.S.  His program sponsor was willing to sponsor him if he can change his non-immigrant status. However, he will not be able to change his status unless he gets a waiver for the 2-year foreign residency requirement.  When he came to the United States in 2016, his program was clearly subject to the 2-year foreign residency program. 

Thereafter, our office promptly prepared for filing a waiver request through a No Objection Statement (NOS) from the Kenyan Embassy in the United States. Every country’s Embassy maintains different procedures and policies with regard to the J-1 No Objection Statement waiver.  Our office promptly contacted the Kenyan Embassy in D.C. to pursue the waiver for our client.  The Embassy requested several documents including a statement of reason for the waiver, the clearance letter from J-1 program sponsor, Clearance certificate from HELB and KSCE in Kenya, and a letter of reason for obtaining J-1 waiver.  

On March 16, 2017, the J-1 Waiver (Form DS-3035) Application was filed to the Department of State.  We also sent a request to the Kenyan Embassy to issue a No Objection Statement and recommend this waiver based on the fact that our client is eligible to change his status if he gets the waiver. 

Eventually, the Kenyan Embassy issued a No Objection Statement for our client, and sent this letter to the State Department’s Waiver Review Division.  On April 14, 2017, the Waiver Review Division issued a favorable recommendation based on the No Objection statement. On April 24, 2017, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for the waiver of our client’s two-year foreign residency requirement. 

Our client married U.S. citizen in January 2019 and retained our office r again for his adjustment of status application. Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and Adjustment of Status Application on April 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 through conference calls. 

On November 14, 2019, our client was interviewed at the Centennial, CO USCIS office. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office also accompanied our clients.  The interview went well, and eventually, on the same day of the interview, his green card application was approved.

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CASE: N-400 (Citizenship / Naturalization)

APPLICANT: Kenyan

LOCATION: Huntsville, AL

Our client contacted us in January 2019 to seek legal representation for her naturalization and citizenship N-400 application. She came to the United States from Kenya and obtained her green card in March 2016 through her marriage to her current U.S. citizen husband. 

Upon retention, her N-400 application was filed on January 24, 2019 with all supporting documents. Prior to her citizenship interview, our office prepared her via conference calls.  On October 17, 2019, our client appeared at the Montgomery Alabama USCIS office for her naturalization interview. Our client answered all questions correctly and passed her naturalization and citizenship interview. Eventually, her application was approved on the same day of her interview. Her oath taking is scheduled in which she will become a naturalized U.S. Citizen.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

NATIONALITY: Kenyan

LOCATION: Huntsville, AL

Our client is from Kenya who came to the U.S. on a F-1 student visa in May 2001. In January 2014, our client married her current U.S. citizen husband.  After the marriage, they tried to file our client’s green card application by themselves; however, their applications were rejected by the USCIS due to several mistakes that our client made. Nevertheless, our client’s U.S. citizen husband filed an I-130 petition for her in May 2017 and this petition was remained pending. 

Our client retained our office for her green card application on April 10, 2019, and our firm prepared and filed the I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on April 26, 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 October 3, 2019, our client was interviewed at Montgomery Alabama USCIS office.  Eventually, on the same day of the interview, her green card application was approved.

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CASE: I-751

APPLICANT: Kenyan

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

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

She is from Kenya and she married a U.S. citizen in November 2013. Through her marriage, she obtained a 2-year conditional green card in August of 2015.  Her conditional residency terminated in August 2017.

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 July 17, 2017, 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 February 13, 2019.  

As a result, on April 4, 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: Immigrant Visa / EB-3 I-140 Petition
APPLICANT: Kenyan Sales Manager

LOCATION: Nairobi, Kenya

Our client is from Kenya, who used to work in the U.S. with his H-1B status. His former employer was willing to do an immigration petition for him, third-preference. Our client has a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree and has worked for the current employer as a Sales Manager. After talking to our client, our firm concluded that his employer can petition him as a Sales Manager. Based on our client’s education and work background, our office determined that he is clearly eligible for EB-3 classification.

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 February 5, 2016, the prevailing wage request was filed.  After we obtained Prevailing Wage determination, our office filed the job order on July 6, 2016. On September 27, 2016, we promptly filed PERM. Eventually, on November 22, 2016, the PERM Labor Certification was approved – an EB3 position for the Kenyan 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, ability to pay letter, and other necessary supporting documents. The I-140 petition was filed on December 9, 2016 via premium processing service. However, the USCIS issued Request for Evidence (RFE) on December 21, 2016 and request our client to submit documents regarding Beneficiary’s special skills for the proposed job position and employer’s ability to pay proffered wage. Our office prepared and filed Response to RFE to USCIS on January 3, 2017.  Eventually, on January 5, 2017, the I-140 EB-3 Petition for our Kenyan client was approved.

After the approval of the I-140 petition, our client retained us again for his immigrant visa processing. Once we were retained, our office filed the immigrant visa packets to the National Visa Center on November 29, 2018, who in turn forwarded the client’s materials to the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya. An interview notice was set for the client at the U.S. Embassy in Kenya. On March 7, 2019, our client appeared at the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya. Eventually, on March 22, 2019, the Immigrant Visa was issued for our client.

With the approved Immigrant Visa, our client can come to the United States immediately, and he will get his green card within two months of entry.

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CASE: I-485 Adjustment of Status based on approved I-360 Petition

NATIONALITY: Kenyan

LOCATION: Columbus, OH

Our Kenyan client came to the U.S. in June 2003 on a F-1 student visa. In April 2016, she contacted our office to seek legal representation for her I-360 VAWA self-petition. Our client’s marital life was tough and she was abused by her U.S. Citizen spouse.  With her story and other evidence, our office determined that she would be eligible for I-360 self-petition as a spouse of an abusive U.S. citizen.

Our client experienced domestic violence and spousal abuse during her marriage. Her husband physically and mentally abused our client throughout the years. Thus, we prepared and filed her I-360 petition, which included 19 exhibits and a detailed brief to the USCIS on August 12, 2016.

Despite our client’s thoroughly prepared I-360 application, in June 2017, the USCIS Vermont Service Center issued a Request for Evidence (RFE).  Specifically, the RFE letter requested our client to submit more documents to prove her marriage was entered in good faith and the abuse that she was experienced was “extreme cruelty”. Our client and our office thoroughly gathered the requested documents, and filed a response to RFE on September 19, 2017.

Eventually, on January 5, 2018, the USCIS Vermont Service Center approved our client’s I-360 petition. With the approved I-360 petition, our firm prepared and filed the Adjustment of Status Application on April 5, 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 all. On December 21, 2018, our client was interviewed at the Columbus, OH USCIS.  Eventually, on the same day of the interview, USCIS approved our client’s adjustment of status application and issued a green card.

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