CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status
CLIENT: Kenyan
LOCATION: St. Louis, MO

Our client came to the United States in August 1999 with an F-1 Student visa from Kenya. He overstayed past his visa and remained in the US for the next ten plus years.

He eventually met and later married a U.S. Citizen in January 2010, someone he met at work. They lived together for a while but due to employment reasons, he had to move to Kansas City for a while. That was the main issue for his case when he consulted. He was afraid that their living arrangements would hurt their case.

We understood that living arrangements is a factor that CIS delves into, however, legitimate reasons backed up by other bona fide evidence could overcome this. We thought, considering they maintained joint finances, had occasional visits to each other considering the 4 hour drive, and based on the fact that he had to move due to work, that their case was plausible.

He retained our firm and we prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on February 20, 2012.  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. We explained that they have to emphasize the reason why they had to live separately, which is because of work. We also explained and asked them to bring documentation of the fact that despite them living separately, that they visited each other on certain occasions. We asked them to remember specific details of each visit, and we were certain the officer would ask about this. More importantly, we asked them to bring concrete evidence of their visits, and commingling of finances despite living separately due to work.

On June 19, 2012, our client was interviewed at the St. Louis, MO USCIS office.  As expected, it was not approved immediately and the officer issued a request for evidence. Our firm submitted a response to the request for evidence and another interview was scheduled on November 14, 2012 in St. Louis. Attorney JP Sarmiento from our office accompanied them at this interview. The focus was not when and how they met this time, but solely on the living arrangements, and occasional visits of our client.

On March 4, 2013, the I-130 petition and I-485 adjustment of status application were both approved.

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CASE: I-360 Petition

NATIONALITY:Kenyan

LOCATION: Ohio

Our Kenyan client came to the U.S. on a J-1 Visa in 2004.  She overstayed and was placed in removal proceedings two years ago, and she retained our office for legal representation.

When she came in 2004, her visa made her subject to the 2-year foreign residency requirement.  As our previous success story explained, this client received an I-612 J-1 waiver approval from the USCIS in January 2012 with our assistance.

Our office then filed her I-360 petition as a spouse of an abusive U.S. Citizen. Our client experienced domestic violence and spousal abuse while she was married to her ex-husband.  Thus, we filed and prepared her I-360 petition, which included 26 exhibits and a detailed brief to the USCIS Vermont Service Center on May 5, 2011.  This petition was also reviewed by the Immigration Judge during our client’s Master Calendar hearing and the IJ opined that our client’s I-360 petition is prima facie approvable. Nevertheless, our client’s I-360 petition was pending for a while.

Despite our client’s thoroughly prepared I-360 application, in August 2012, the USCIS Vermont Service Center issued a Request for Evidence (RFE).  Specifically, the RFE letter requested our client to submit more medical documents to prove her ex-husband subjected her to extreme cruelty. Moreover, the RFE letter asked our client to submit more notarized affidavits of witnesses. Our client and our office thoroughly gathered the requested documents, and filed a response to RFE on November 7, 2012 with 13 exhibits.

Finally, on February 22, 2013, the USCIS Vermont Service Center approved our client’s I-360 petition. With the approved I-360 and I-612 J-1 waiver, our client may now seek termination of her removal proceedings at the Immigration Court.  Once that is done, she can file her I-485 adjustment of status application to the USCIS directly.

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CASE: Cancellation of Removal for Non-Permanent Resident
CLIENT: Kenyan
LOCATION: Respondent resides in St. Louis, MO / Kansas City Immigration Court in MO

Our client retained our firm back in March 2010 from St. Louis, MO. She came to the United States in 1999 from Kenya with a J-1 exchange visitor visa. She has one U.S. citizen son who has serious food allergies, asthma, and eczema, and she has not had lawful status in the United States since her J-1 visa is expired. She was subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement. She was a single mom. The father of her child left her while she was pregnant.

The first thing we did for her was file an I-612 J-1 hardship waiver. She would not be able to adjust status without that. And our firm won the hardship waiver for her.

She was then placed in removal proceedings and on July 12, 2011, our client appeared at her master calendar hearing at the Kansas City Immigration Court in Missouri, and Attorney JP Sarmiento represented her at the hearing and sought cancellation of removal relief for non-permanent residents.

For a non-permanent resident to be eligible for Cancellation of Removal, the alien must prove that s/he:

• Has been physically present in the U.S. continuously for ten years prior to the issue date of the Notice to Appear;
• Has been a person of good moral character;
• Has not been convicted of any crimes that would make her/him inadmissible;
• Her/his removal would cause exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to her/his U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse, parent, or child.

The Court scheduled the individual hearing date on March 14, 2012.

Our firm worked with our client for the application and supplemental documents. We called her several times for supporting documents, and obtained the medical records from her son’s hospital. Obviously the central issue in this case would be whether or not our client has established exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to her qualifying relative, her U.S. citizen son.

As mentioned above, our client’s U.S. citizen son suffered from serious food allergies. He also suffers from eczema and was treated for asthma, though his asthma was in remission for a period of time. Our firm eventually was able to gather supporting documents and prepared supplemental evidence with multiple exhibits, and arranged them pursuant to the specific elements of Cancellation of Removal eligibility.

We arranged the medical documents for our client’s son as well. We arranged all her physical presence documents according to the specific year they referred to, and filed them with the Kansas City Immigration Court. We then prepared the client for her hearing, and focused on the extreme and exceptional hardships her U.S. Citizen son would face.

At the Individual Hearing on March 14, 2012, Attorney JP Sarmiento represented our client at the Kansas City Immigration Court. Testimony then followed and we questioned our client extensively on the hardships her U.S. Citizen son would face. Our client was prepared, was very consistent, and was honest in her answers. She was detailed with the specific medical issues of her son. She testified that her son’s food allergies present a very serious health issue for her son in that he suffers anaphylaxis. However, the Court could not render the decision at the end of hearing due to the exhausted annual quota for Cancellation relief.

On October 3, 2012, the Kansas City Immigration Court granted our client’s cancellation of removal relief. The Court specifically noted that our client’s son’s food allergies, in the aggregate with his asthma and eczema, together with the fact that our client has been a single mother since pregnancy, would be an exceptional and extremely unusual hardship for him should he return to Kenya. The Judge mentioned that food labeling and medical treatment is not as readily available as in the United States. Finally, after 13 years of hard work and perseverance, our client is now a permanent resident (green card holder) of the United States.

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CASE: J-2 Waiver of Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement Post-Divorce
NATIONALITY: Kenyan
LOCATION: Texas
FILED: August 23, 2012
DOS RECOMMENDATION: September 24, 2012
APPROVED:
Our client is a citizen of Kenya who came to the U.S. on a J-2 Visa in 2002. She came with her husband who held a J-1 Visa as a graduate student. Both were subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement.

Unfortunately, their marriage did not work out and she eventually got divorced from her ex-husband. She lost her J-2 status and she was still subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement.

She remained in the United States and fell in love with who would be her current U.S. Citizen husband. They got married in July 2012.

He wanted to file an I-130 petition for her, but she could not file for adjustment of status because of the 2 year foreign residency requirement.

In August of this year, our client’s relative contacted our office. She wanted us to help our client obtain a waiver so she can eventually file for her green card.

Our firm was retained to do her J-2 waiver on August 16, 2012. On August 23, 2012 the J-2 Waiver 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.

On September 24, 2012, the DOS recommended to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) that our client be granted a waiver. On October 10, 2012, the USCIS issued the I-612 waiver approval.

Now, our client’s U.S. citizen husband can file an I-130 petition for our client and our client can file her green card application with the waiver approval.

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CASE: Adjustment of Status at Removal Proceeding
CLIENT: Kenyan
LOCATION: Chicago, IL

Our client came to the United States in August 2005 with an F-1 student visa from Kenya.  He married a U.S. Citizen in January 2010.  Our client’s wife filed an I-130 petition on behalf of our client, and this I-130 petition was approved by the USCIS Milwaukee Field Office in December 2010.  He was placed in removal proceedings for overstaying his F-1 status, so our client contacted our office to seek legal representation for his removal proceedings.

Our client retained us on March 25, 2011.  On April 5, 2011, Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu of our office represented our client at his initial master calendar hearing at the Chicago Immigration Court.  We did pleadings for our client and asked for adjustment of status relief. After the Master Calendar hearing, our office prepared and filed the I-485 Adjustment of Status Application and other supporting documents to the Chicago Immigration Court.

On February 6, 2012, Attorney Yu represented our client at his Individual Hearing for adjustment of status at the Chicago Immigration Court.  After direct and cross examination, the Immigration Judge approved our client’s adjustment of status application. Now, our client is a permanent resident of the United States.

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CASE: J-1 Waiver of Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement, No Objection Statement
NATIONALITY: Kenyan
LOCATION: Ohio

Our client is from Kenya who came to the U.S. on a J-1 Visa in 2004.  She was later on placed in removal proceedings and she retained our office for legal representation. We filed her I-360 self-petition which was since considered prima facie approvable and is now awaiting adjudication.   However, even if she gets the approved I-360 petition, she will not be able to adjust her status unless she gets a waiver of the 2-year foreign residence requirement, which she had from her J-1 program.

Our office filed a J-1 waiver request through a No Objection Statement (NOS) from the Kenyan Embassy in the United States.  As mentioned in a previous success story, every country’s Embassy maintains different procedures and policies with regard to the J-1 No Objection Statement. Our office contacted the Kenyan Embassy in D.C. to request a no objection statement. The Embassy requested several documents including a statement of reason for the waiver, a clearance letter from the J-1 program sponsor, clearance certificate from the HELB and KSCE in Kenya, and a letter of reason for obtaining the J-1 waiver, among others.

On November 21, 2011 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 pending approval of the I-360 petition.

On January 3, 2012 the Kenyan Embassy issued a No Objection Statement for our client, who also sent this letter to the State Department’s Waiver Review Division.  On January 23, 2012, the Waiver Review Division issued a favorable recommendation based on the No Objection statement. The CIS has receipted the fee and has issued an I-612 approval.

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CASE: H-1B Visa Petition (Change of Employer)
PETITIONER:  Advertising Media Company
BENEFICIARY: Web / Graphic Designer

Our client is an advertising media company in California. They contacted our office in early March to seek legal assistance from our office for their foreign employee.  The beneficiary is from Kenya and obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Interactive Multimedia in the United States. The proffered position for the Beneficiary is a Web / Graphic Designer 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 Graphic Design or its equivalent.  It almost has become a necessity and in order for companies to have these competent Graphic Designers, some with a Bachelor’s Degree in Graphic Design or its equivalent is a must.  Our office has helped several foreign graphic designers’ H-1B petitions, so we clearly explained to the USCIS with numerous supporting documents that the proffered position is a specialty occupation.

The foreign beneficiary in this case already had his H-1B visa from his previous employer in a similar industry.  However, his H-1B visa was not expired yet, and he wanted to extend his H-1B status based on a change in employer.

Once retained, our office promptly filed the H-1B visa petition with various supporting documents on March 25, 2011 via regular processing service.  Since this petition was based on a change in employer, this petition was exempted from the annual H-1B cap.  Thus, we could file prior to April 1.  There were no Requests for Evidence during the processing of the H-1B.  Eventually, our client’s H-1B Petition was approved on May 10, 2011.  Now the Beneficiary can 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: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status
CLIENT: Kenyan
LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client came to the United States in 2009 with an F-1 student visa from Kenya.  However, she later became out of status did not reinstate her F-1 status. She married a U.S. Citizen in August 2010 and retained our office in January of 2011 for her adjustment of status application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and Adjustment of Status Application on January 24, 2010.  Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, fingerprint appointment, and work permits all came on time. There was no Request for Evidence.  Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our clients. On April 29, 2011, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, Ohio USCIS.  We accompanied them at the interview as well.  On May 5, 2011, our client obtained her green card.

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CASE: I-612 J-1 Hardship Waiver
APPLICANT: Kenyan
LOCATION: Missouri

Our client contacted us in March 2010 to inquire about applying for a J-1 hardship waiver. She intends to apply for adjustment of status afterwards.  She came to the United States from Kenya in July 1999 on a J-1 visa. She was subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement.

Her husband left her while she was pregnant. He son was born in 2004. She raised him by herself. Her son has suffered from multiple medical issues, from asthma to allergies to severe skin problems.

Our client retained our firm and on April 21, 2010, we filed the I-612 J-1 Waiver application based on exceptional hardship. Our firm drafted an extensive 10-page brief with over 20 exhibits and submitted these with the application.

In May 3, 2011, after over 5 follow up letters, the J-1 waiver based on exceptional hardship was approved.

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CASE: H-1B

PETITIONER: Manufacturing Company

BENEFICIARY: Sales Manager / Kenyan

LOCATION: West Virginia

Our client is a large manufacturing company in West Virginia who wanted to petition a Kenyan for a sales manager position. We took the case and prepared the H-1B Petition and all the preceding steps prior to filing. On July 14, 2010, the H-1B Petition was filed. There were no Requests for Evidence during the processing of the H-1B. On October 18, 2010, the H-1B Petition was approved for 3 years.

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