CASE: J-1 Waiver of the Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement, Hardship

 NATIONALITY:  Iraqi

 LOCATION: Dearborn, MI

Our client came from Iraq as a J-1 scholar in 2014.  He was subject to the two-year foreign resident requirement. Our client would like to file his adjustment of status application along with his I-140 NIW application; however, due to the two-year foreign residency requirement, he had to obtain a waiver first.

Unlike our other J-1 clients, our client could not pursue his waiver under the No Objection Statement or Interest Government Agency (IGA). Our client also received government funding for his research programs which made his case tougher for the No Objection Statement or IGA waiver route. Our client, though, would like to pursue his J-1 waiver based on exceptional hardship. His US Citizen has medical hardships. 

According to 8 C.F.R. Section 212.7(c)(5), “an alien who is subject to the foreign residence requirement and who believes that compliance therewith would impose exceptional hardship upon her spouse or child who is a citizen of the United States… may apply for a waiver on Form I-612.” 

Some of the factors in analyzing extreme hardship are as follows: age of the subject, family ties in the U.S. and abroad, length and residency in the U.S., health / medical conditions, conditions in the country of removal – economic and political, financial status – business and occupation, position in / ties to the community. Matter of Anderson, 16 I&N Dec. 596 (BIA 1978). 

On February 13, 2020, the J-1 Waiver (Form DS-3035) Application was filed to the Department of State.  We prepared the affidavit for our client, an extensive brief in support for our client’s J-1 waiver application, and other supporting documents. Our client provided us with extensive medical documents and doctor’s reports for his U.S. citizen son’s medical conditions.  On February 17, 2020, our office filed an I-612 application to the USCIS and asked for them to issue and recommend this waiver based on the fact that our client’s son would experience exceptional hardship if our client needs to go back to Iraq for two years. 

Eventually, the USCIS approved his I-612 waiver on February 18, 2021. Now that our client’s two-year foreign residency requirement is waived, he can file his adjustment of status application along with his NIW I-140 self-petition. 

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

NATIONALITY: Indian                                                                                                       

LOCATION: Farmington Hills, MI

Our client is from India who came to the U.S. on an H-1B visa. In May 2018, our client married his current U.S. citizen wife.  He retained our office for his green card application on November 13, 2018. Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on November 26, 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 calls. On June 20, 2019, our client was interviewed at the Detroit Michigan USCIS office. Eventually, on the same day of the interview, his green card application was approved.

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

APPLICANT: Vietnamese

LOCATION: Lansing, MI

Our client contacted our office in December 2017 regarding her potential I-751 filing. She got her conditional green card in March 2016 through her marriage to her U.S. citizen spouse. Her conditional residency terminated in March 2018.

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 January 28, 2018, 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.

Unfortunately, her husband suddenly passed away in December 2018. Thus, our client could not continuously pursue her I-751 joint petition with her late husband.  Nevertheless, our office filed I-751 conversion request to the USCIS based on April 3, 2009 Donald Neufeld Memo “I-751 Filed Prior to Termination of Marriage”. We filed the conversion request on December 26, 2018.

Eventually, the USCIS approved our client’s I-751 application on May 9, 2019 without any RFE or interview. Now, she has her ten-year green card.

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CASE: Fiancé Visa

PETITIONER: US Citizen in Grand Rapids, MI

BENEFICIARY: British

PETITION FILED: June 27, 2018

PETITION APPROVED: January 8, 2019

K-1 VISA APPROVED: March 18, 2019

Our client, a US Citizen Petitioner, met his fiancée in 2016.  They started their relationship, and visited each other several times.  They decided to get married and our client decided to file a fiancé petition for his fiancée.  He retained our firm to file a fiancé petition for her on June 11, 2018.

After retention, we informed our client about the necessary supporting documents to demonstrate the bona fide nature of their relationship. We helped him and his fiancée draft letters in support of the fiancé petition, and we filed the petition on June 27, 2019.

On January 8, 2019, the I-129F fiancé petition was approved. On March 18, 2019, our client’s fiancée appeared at the U.S. Embassy in London, United Kingdom for her K-1 visa interview. The interview went well, and after the interview, the U.S. Embassy issued her K-1 visa.

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CASE: I-485 / National Interest Waiver

CLIENT: Korean

LOCATION: Ann Arbor, MI

Our client contacted us in April 2017 about the possibility of doing a National Interest Waiver self-petition. He is a researcher from South Korea and he is an exceptional researcher and scientist in the field of Material Science and Next-Generation Battery Research.

Our client’s significant contributions have placed him at the pinnacle of his field. He has performed fundamental research and device engineering of next generation battery materials, including inorganic solid-state electrolytes, inorganic-organic hybrid electrolytes with self-healing polymers, and electrode structure design using techniques such as sputtering, electrospinning, and various synthesis chemistries Because of his innovative experimental research, our client’s research works were highly evaluated by the reviewers of various journals and by colleagues and experts in the field.

Upon review of his credentials and qualifications, our office determined that he was definitely qualified for the National Interest Waiver (NIW) category. Being qualified for NIW is beneficial since you would not need an employer nor family member to petition for you for green card purposes. You’d be eligible for a self-petition and unless you are from China or India, in which case 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. While we prepared his case, the AAO set the new standards for NIW cases in Matter of Dhanasar, 26 I&N Dec. 884 (AAO 2016). Under the new standard, the petitioner must demonstrate that the foreign national’s proposed endeavor has both substantial merit and national importance. Next, it must be shown that he or she is well positioned to advance the proposed endeavor. Finally, the petitioner seeking the waiver needs to demonstrate that, on balance, it would be beneficial to the United States to waive the job offer and labor certification requirements. Id.

Our office prepared a 21-page brief for our client’s NIW filing. Our client also obtained 6 letters of recommendation from his colleagues and internationally-recognized researchers. Our office also included his publication records, presentation records, and conference materials in the NIW application. We demonstrated that our client is one of the few elite researchers who have made significant and substantial contributions to his field of endeavor, that he is well positioned to advance the proposed endeavor, and it would be beneficial to the United States to waive the requirements of a job offer and thus of a labor certification for our client. His NIW application contained 23 exhibits (Exhibit A to W).

Our office filed his I-140(NIW) petition to the USCIS Nebraska Service Center on March 19, 2018. Eventually, on August 17, 2018, the USCIS approved his I-140 petition without any Requests for Evidence.  

When we filed his I-140, he concurrently filed his I-485 adjustment of status application. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices and fingerprint appointment came on time.

Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our client via conference calls. On January 8, 2019, our client was interviewed at Detroit, Michigan USCIS office. The interview went well, and on the same day of the interview, his green card application was approved.

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CASE:  I-485 Adjustment of Status with step-father’s I-130 petition

CLIENT: Vietnamese

LOCATION: Michigan

Our clients are from Vietnam who came to the U.S. in 2012 on a J-2 visa. Since that time, they never left the United States.

In August 2015, our clients’ mother married our clients’ step-father (U.S. citizen) and later she got her green card through marriage. Our clients are also eligible to file an adjustment of status along with his step-father’s I-130 petition for them since their mother and their step-father’s marriage occurred prior to their 18th birthday and they are younger than 21 years old.

Our clients retained us on August 23, 2016. Once retained, our office promptly filed the I-130 petition and Form I-485 for their adjustment of status applicantion on August 30, 2016. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices and fingerprint appointment all came on time.  Eventually, on February 7, 2017, our clients’ I-485 applications were approved.  They finally became green card holders.

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CASE: I-130 and Consular Processing (Immigrant Visa) – Marriage-Petition

Our client is a Lawful Permanent Resident (Green card holder) who married his wife in Seoul, South Korea in December 2014.  After the marriage, he came back to the United States to work and retained our office for the I-130 and immigrant visa processing for his wife. With our assistance, the I-130 (F-2A category) petition was filed for his wife in South Korea in February 2015. This I-130 Petition was approved by the USCIS in November 2015

Once her priority date became current, we filed the immigrant visa packets to the National Visa Center on July 18, 2016, who in turn forwarded our client’s materials to the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, South Korea. An interview notice was set for the client at the US Embassy in Seoul, and we prepared her for the interview. On December 2, 2016, the interview was conducted.  Eventually, after the interview, the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, South Korea approved and issued her immigrant visa.

With the approved immigrant visa, our client’s wife can come to the United States immediately, and she will get her green card within two months of entry.

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

NATIONALITY: Nepalese

LOCATION: Michigan

Our Nepalese client came to the U.S. on an F-1 student visa and finished his Ph.D. program. Thereafter, he changed his status from F-1 to J-1 to work as a research scholar.  However, his J-1 visa made him subject to the two-year foreign resident requirement. In April 2015, he filed an I-140 EB-2 NIW Self-Petition to the USCIS and it was approved in August 2015. However, due to the two-year foreign residency requirement, he had to obtain a waiver first before he can file an adjustment of status application.

After he retained our firm, we prepared and filed a waiver request through a No Objection Statement (NOS) from the Nepalese Embassy in the United States.  Our office contacted the Nepalese Embassy in Washington D.C. to make sure we knew all the requirements needed for their office to issue a no objection statement.  The Embassy requested numerous documents including a statement of reason for the waiver, the applicant’s resume, a copy of his valid Nepalese passport, the approved copy of I-140 notice, a copy of DS-2019, and a copy of Third Party Bar Code Page

On January 12, 2016, the J-1 Waiver (Form DS-3035) Application was filed to the Department of State.  We also sent a request to the Nepalese Embassy to issue a No Objection Statement and recommend this waiver based on the fact that our client would have been eligible to file an employment-based adjustment of status application but for the waiver.

The Nepalese Embassy eventually issued a No Objection Statement for our client, and sent this letter to the State Department’s Waiver Review Division.  On March 7, 2016, the Waiver Review Division issued a favorable recommendation based on the No Objection statement. The CIS then issued a receipt and an I-612 approval notice on August 23, 2016.  Now that our client’s two-year foreign residency requirement is waived, he can file adjustment of status application with the approved I-140 petition.

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CASE: I-824 (Follow-to-join) based on approved I-140 and Consular Processing (Immigrant Visa)

CLIENT: Filipina LPR Petitioner; Filipino Beneficiary in the Philippines

LOCATION: Petitioner: Michigan; Beneficiary: Manila, Philippines

Our client is a Lawful Permanent Resident who got her green card under EB-2 category with our office’s legal assistance in 2014.  She has a husband, and our client and her husband married before his adjustment of status application was adjudicated. However, her husband was in the Philippines when she got her green card due to his employment. He could have been a derivative applicant at the time of our client’s green card filing, but he was not in the United States at that time. Nevertheless, we told our client that we can do an I-824 and do consular processing for her husband when he wants to permanently move to the United States.

In October 2014, she contacted our office to do an I-824 follow-to-join application to the USCIS so that her husband can file an immigrant visa and come as a derivative beneficiary of the I-140 petition. She retained our office on October 17, 2014 to help bring her husband to the States.

After we were retained, our office filed an I-824 follow-to-join application to the USCIS on October 31, 2014. After the I-824 was filed, everything went smoothly and the receipt notice came on time. The I-824 application was approved by the USCIS on June 29, 2015 and this case was transferred to the National Visa Center.

After the I-824 approval, we filed the immigrant visa packets to the National Visa Center on August 20, 2015 who in turn forwarded the client’s materials to the U.S. Embassy in Manila, Philippines. An interview notice was set for our client at the U.S. Embassy in Manila. On November 10, 2015, our client’s husband appeared at the U.S. Embassy in Manila, Philippines. The interview went well, and eventually, on the same day, the U.S. Embassy in Manila, Philippines approved and issued his immigrant visa.

With the approved Immigrant visa, our client’s husband can come to the United States. He will get his green card within two months.

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CASE: J-2 Waiver of Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement Post-Divorce

NATIONALITY: Vietnamese

LOCATION: Michigan

Our client is a citizen of Vietnam who initially came to the U.S. on a J-2 Visa in January 2012. She came with her ex-husband who held a J-1 Visa as a Ph.D. 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.  Our client has a U.S. citizen fiancé who was willing to file an I-130 for our client after their marriage, but our client will not be able to file an adjustment of status application without the waiver of the two-year foreign residency requirement.

She contacted our office, and our firm was retained for her J-2 waiver.  On July 22, 2015 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 August 21, 2015, the DOS sent a recommendation to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) for our client be granted a waiver. On September 24, 2015, the USCIS issued the I-612 waiver approval.

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