CASE: I-140 / National Interest Waiver
CLIENT: Korean
LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client contacted us in March 2011 about the possibility of doing a National Interest Waiver. He is a researcher and scientist in the field of Macromolecular Science and Engineering, a professor in Korea, and is currently working as a visiting professor in an academic institution in Cleveland, Ohio.  Upon review of his credentials and qualifications, our office determined that he was qualified for the National Interest Waiver (NIW) category. Being qualified for NIW is beneficial since one would not need an employer nor family member to petition for them for green card purposes. You’d be eligible for a self-petition and unless you are from China or India, in which you’d still have to wait for priority dates to be current, you would be eligible to apply for adjustment of status (green card) immediately without any lag in priority dates.

As a primer, NIW applicants must have a master’s or higher degree. The landmark immigration case that discusses the standards for NIWs is Matter of New York State Department of Transportation , 22 I&N Dec. 215 (Comm.1998). This case held that the qualifying applicant must show the following elements in his or her I-140 NIW petition: First, it must be shown that the alien seeks employment in an area of substantial intrinsic merit. Next, it must be shown that the proposed benefit will be national in scope. Finally, the petitioner seeking the waiver must establish that the alien will serve the national interest to a substantially greater degree than would an available U. S. worker having the same minimum qualifications.

Our office prepared a 15-page brief for our client’s NIW filing. We asked our client to obtain 10 or more letters of recommendation.  Our office also included his publication records, patents, and conference materials in the NIW application.  We demonstrated the intrinsic merit of our client’s research in the United States, the national scope of his research, and asserted that our client would serve the national interest to a substantially greater degree than would an available U.S. worker having the same minimum qualifications. His NIW application contained 67 exhibits (Exhibit A to OOO).

Our office filed his I-140(NIW) petition to the USCIS Texas Service Center on May 2, 2011.  On August 19, 2011, the USCIS approved his I-140 petition without any Requests for Evidence.

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CASE: B-2 Visa Extension / I-539
NATIONALITY: Korean
LOCATION: Cleveland, Ohio

Our client is a Korean national who came to the U.S. on a B-2 visitor visa. She wanted to visit her daughter who is studying in the United States. She consulted with our firm a few weeks before the expiration of her B-2 status. She wanted to extend her visit for six months to visit her sister and be with her daughter for a longer time.  We explained that the CIS has been more stringent on visitor status extensions.

Upon retention, we went into detail with her reasons for requesting extension. Her daughter was entering her senior year in high school, and our client wanted to be there as her daughter chooses a college and prepares for applications. We made sure all addresses, contact information, and dates on her statements were complete and accurate. We made sure all her plans were supported by corroborating evidence as exhibits to the application to avoid a possible Request for Evidence from the CIS.  Our office submitted letters from family members in the United States, an employment verification letter for her husband in South Korea, as well as financial documents from Korea. We filed the I-539 Extension Application on July 26, 2011 and her B-2 status extension was approved on August 11, 2011 with no Requests for Evidence.

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

Our client came to the United States in August 2010 with an F-1 student visa from Korea. While on F-1 status, she married her U.S. citizen spouse in March, 2011.  (They have known each other for 4 years while they were in Korea).  They then retained our office in April 2011 for her green card.

Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and Adjustment of Status Application on April 28, 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 through conference-call.  On July 28, 2011, our client was interviewed at the Columbus Ohio CIS office. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu  accompanied them at the interview as well.  At the interview, the USCIS officer approved her application and our client obtained her green card.

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CASE: Adjustment of Status / J-1 Waiver
NATIONALITY: Korean
LOCATION: Ohio

Our South Korean client came to the U.S. on a J-1 Visa six years ago. Before her J-1 visa expired, she managed to get an F-1 visa and she continued her studies in Ohio.  According to her DS-2019, she was subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement.

Last year, she got married to her U.S. citizen husband and later on consulted with our firm for her adjustment of status (obtaining a green card). Her situation was unique because her passport’s visa page stated that she was not subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement.  However, her DS-2019 was clearly marked with the two-year foreign residency requirement.

To clarify the uncertainty, our office checked with the State Department by filing an advisory opinion request.  Our office promptly filed this advisory opinion request on July 27, 2010 to the Waiver Review Division of the Department of State.

Unfortunately, DOS stated that our client is subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement. After receiving this decision, our office promptly prepared a waiver request through a No Objection Statement (NOS) from the Korean Embassy in the United States.

On November 24, 2010 the J-1 Waiver was filed to the Department of State.  We also sent a request to the Korean Embassy to issue a No Objection Statement and recommend this waiver based on the fact that our client was eligible to adjust if she obtains the waiver.

The Korean Consulate General in Chicago promptly forwarded our client’s documents to the Korean Embassy in DC.  On January 18, 2011, the Korean Embassy issued a No Objection Statement for our client, and sent this letter to the State Department’s Waiver Review Division.  On January 28, 2011, the Waiver Review Division issued a favorable recommendation based on the No Objection statement.  Eventually, on February 23, 2011, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for the waiver.

Once the waiver was issued, our office filed the I-130 Petition and I-485Adjustment of Status Application on April 20, 2011.  Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, fingerprint appointment, and work permits all came on time.  We thoroughly prepared our clients prior to the interview.   On July 8, 2011, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland USCIS office.  We accompanied them at the interview as well.  On July 11, 2011, her green card application was approved, and our client obtained her green card.

From having the two-year foreign residency requirement, our firm effectively helped her get a J-1 waiver before she adjusted her status.  She did not have to go to Korea for 2 years before she got her permanent residency in the United States. She’s now a green card holder.

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

NATIONALITY:Korean

LOCATION: Ohio

Our client is from South Korea who came to the U.S. on a J-1 Visa six years ago.  She came to the U.S. to work at her internship program. Before her J-1 visa was expired, she managed to get an F-1 visa and continuously pursued her studies in Ohio.  According to her DS-2019, she was subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement, meaning you would have to go back to your home country for two-years before you can apply for permanent residency and some non-immigrant visas.

Last year, she got married to her U.S. citizen husband and later on consulted with our firm for her adjustment of status (obtaining a green card). Her situation was unique because her passport’s visa page states that she is not subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement.  However, her DS-2019 was clearly marked with the two-year foreign residency requirement.

To clarify the uncertainty, our office checked with the State Department by filing an advisory opinion request.  According to the Department of State, “if you are not sure whether the two year foreign residence applies to you, you may make a written request for an advisory opinion for the applicability of the residence requirement to your situation.”  Our office promptly filed this advisory opinion request on July 27, 2010 to the Waiver Review Division of the Department of State.

Unfortunately, the decision of the Department of State stated that our client is subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement. After our office received this decision from the Department of State, our office promptly prepared for filing a waiver request through a No Objection Statement (NOS) from the Korean Embassy in the United States.

As mentioned in a previous blog article, every country’s Embassy maintains different procedures and policies with regard to the J-1 No Objection Statement waiver.  Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office promptly contacted the Korean Consulate General Office in Chicago to pursue the waiver for our client.  The Consulate office requested six different documents including a statement of reason for the waiver, the applicant’s resume, a J-1 visa waiver confirmation application, and a letter of reason for obtaining J-1 waiver.  Most of those documents needed to be written in Korean, so Attorney Yu, a Korean himself, assisted our client in completing those documents.

On November 24, 2010 the J-1 Waiver was filed to the Department of State.  We also sent a request to the Korean Embassy to issue a No Objection Statement and recommend this waiver based on the fact that our client is eligible to adjust if she obtains the waiver.

The Korean Consulate General in Chicago promptly forwarded our client’s documents to the Korean Embassy in DC.  On January 18, 2011, the Korean Embassy issued a No Objection Statement for our client, and sent this letter to the State Department’s Waiver Review Division.  On January 28, 2011, the Waiver Review Division issued a favorable recommendation based on the No Objection statement. The CIS has receipted the fee and will issue an I-612 approval shortly. Now, our client can file her adjustment of status application along with her husband’s I-130 petition.

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CASE: I-751 / Waiver of the Joint Waiver Requirement

APPLICANT : Korean

LOCATION: Virginia

ISSUE: I-751 Application Pending Divorce Proceedings

We initially met our client in our Washington DC office when she scheduled a consultation with our office. She is from Korea who came to the United States in the 90s, and has maintained her F-1 status throughout until she married a U.S. citizen in 2006. Through her marriage with a U.S. citizen spouse, she obtained a 2-year conditional green card in May of 2008.  Therefore, her conditional residency was scheduled to terminate in May 2010.  To comply with the immigration requirements, our client and her husband filed an I-751 Joint Petition to Remove Conditions in March 2010.

Unfortunately, their marriage ended in September 2010.  Moreover, our client received the Request for Evidence immediately after her husband initiated divorce proceedings. Eventually, our client contacted our office and retained us to assist her response to her Request for Evidence (RFE).

According to an April 9, 2009 USCIS Memorandum by Director Neufeld, “USCIS may not deny a petition solely because the spouses are separated and/or have initiated divorce or annulment proceedings…  If a Service Center ISO encounters an I-751 petition jointly filed by co-petitioners who are still married but are in divorce proceedings, the ISO issues the Conditional Permanent Resident (CPR) a Request for Evidence with an 87-day response period.  In the RFE, the ISO specifically asks the CPR to provide a copy of the final divorce decree along with a request to have the joint filing petition treated as a waiver petition.  This affords the CPR an opportunity to provide evidence that the proceedings have been finalized and it affords the CPR an opportunity to request a waiver to the joint filing without refilling.”

Based on this Memorandum and with various supporting documents (over 20 exhibits and an affidavit over 5 pages) to demonstrate their bona fide marriage, on October 15, 2010, our office promptly filed I-751 Response to RFE and Request to convert joint filing to I-751 with waiver of the joint waiver requirement pursuant to the Neufeld April 3, 2009 Memorandum for I-751 Applications pending divorce proceedings.

On January 6, 2010, USCIS approved our request for the removal of conditions on her permanent resident status without even an interview. Now, she has her ten-year green card.

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