CASE: PERM Labor Certification    
EMPLOYER: Sales Leads Provider in Omaha Nebraska
BENEFICIARY: Nepali Senior Software Developer – Web Application

Our client is from Nepal, who is currently working in the United States as a Senior Software Developer under an F-1 (OPT) status. His current employer is willing to do an immigration petition for her, second-preference. Our client has a Master of Management Information Systems degree in the United States. After talking to our client, our firm concluded that his employer can petition him as a Senior Software Developer – Web Application. Based on our client’s educational, professional and working background, our office determined that he is clearly eligible for EB-2 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 September 29, 2015, the prevailing wage request was filed.  After we obtained the Prevailing Wage determination, our office filed the job order on December 11, 2015.  On March 9, 2016, we promptly filed PERM.  Eventually, on June 23, 2016, the PERM Labor Certification was approved – an EB2 position for the Nepali beneficiary. Now our client can file the I-140 petition.

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CASE: PERM Labor Certification    
EMPLOYER: Sales Leads Provider in Omaha Nebraska
BENEFICIARY: Nepali Senior Software Developer – Web Application

Our client is from Nepal, who is currently working in the United States as a Senior Software Developer under F-1 (OPT) status. His current employer is willing to do an immigration petition for her, second-preference. Our client has a Master of Management Information Systems degree in the United States. After talking to our client, our firm concluded that his employer can petition him as a Senior Software Developer – Web Application. Based on our client’s educational, professional and working background, our office determined that he is eligible for EB-2 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 September 16, 2015, the prevailing wage request was filed.  After we obtained the Prevailing Wage determination, our office filed the job order on December 10, 2015. On March 8, 2016, we filed PERM.  Eventually, on June 22, 2016, the PERM Labor Certification was approved – an EB2 position for the Nepali beneficiary. Now our client can file the I-140 petition.

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CASE: PERM Labor Certification    
EMPLOYER: Dental Group in Cleveland, OH
BENEFICIARY: Nepali Dentist

Our client is from Nepal, who is currently working in the United States as an associate dentist under an F-1 (OPT) status. Her current employer is willing to do an immigration petition for her, second-preference. Our client has a Doctor of Dental Surgery degree in the United States. After talking to our client, our firm concluded that his employer can petition her as an associate dentist. Based on our client’s educational, professional and working background, our office determined that she is clearly eligible for EB-2 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 September 15, 2015, the prevailing wage request was filed.  After we obtained the Prevailing Wage determination, our office filed the job order on November 30, 2015.  On February 22, 2016, we promptly filed PERM.  Eventually, on June 14, 2016, the PERM Labor Certification was approved – an EB2 position for the Indian beneficiary. Now our client can file the I-140 petition.

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CASE: I-140 (EB-2)

EMPLOYER: Data Marketing Company

BENEFICIARY: Nepali Computer Systems Analyst

LOCATION: Omaha, NE

Our client is a computer systems analyst from Nepal, who is currently working at a data marketing company in Omaha, Nebraska who was willing to do an immigration petition him for a second-preference petition (I-140 EB-2).  Our client has a Master of Science degree in Computer Science and has worked for this company since January 2013. He has maintained his status as an H-1B visa holder in the United States.  After talking to our client, our firm concluded that his employer can petition him as a Computer Systems Analyst II. Based on our client’s educational, professional and working background, our office determined that he is clearly eligible for an EB-2 classification for his I-140 petition.

Prior to filing PERM labor certification, 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 the PERM Labor Certification application could be filed at least 60 days from the job posting date or 30 days from the last ad. Once retained, our office filed the prevailing wage request in December 2014.  On May 26, 2015, we filed the PERM labor certification application.  Eventually, on November 19, 2015, less than 6 months from filing, the PERM labor certification was approved – an EB2 position for the Nepali Computer Systems Analyst.

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, employer’s tax records, and other necessary supporting documents.

The I-140 Petition was filed on March 1, 2016 via premium processing service. Eventually, on March 11, 2016, the I-140 EB2 Petition for our Nepalese client was approved without any Request for Evidence (RFE). He can file an I-485 adjustment of status application for his green at any time since his priority dates are current.

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CASE: Motion to Terminate Removal Proceedings Based on an Approved I-130 Immediate Relative Spousal Petition

CLIENT: Nepalese

LOCATION: Houston, TX

Our client is a Nepalese citizen who came to the U.S. on an F-1 Student Visa.   Our client and his wife married in August 2013.  When they married, our client’s wife was a green card holder. Our client’s wife filed the I-130 petition for our client in August 2013 and it was approved by the USCIS later. Our client filed his adjustment of status application along with the I-130 petition, but it was denied due to his failure to maintain his status. After his I-485 adjustment of status application was denied, a Notice to Appear was issued against our client, and he was placed into removal proceeding.

His wife became a naturalized U.S. citizen in July 2015. Our client contacted our office and consulted with us for his potential relief. Based on the approved I-130 and his wife’s recent naturalization, we determined that we could file a joint motion to terminate his proceedings. Our client retained our office on July 15, 2015.  

On July 27, 2015, our office filed a request to join in a Motion to terminate proceedings with the I-485 application and supporting documents. However, we did not get any response from the Houston DHS office regarding their consent to terminate our client’s proceedings. We then filed with the Immigration Court and since the DHS did not oppose, the Immigration Judge granted the Motion to Terminate Removal Proceedings without prejudice on January 27, 2016.

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CASE: PERM Labor Certification

EMPLOYER: Data Marketing Company

BENEFICIARY: Nepali Computer Systems Analyst

LOCATION: Omaha, NE

Our client is a computer systems analyst from Nepal, who is currently working at a data marketing company in Omaha, Nebraska. They were willing to do an immigration petition him for a second-preference petition (I-140 EB-2).

Our client has a Master of Science degree in Computer Science and has worked for this company since January 2013. He has maintained his status as an H-1B visa holder in the United States.  After talking to our client, our firm concluded that his employer can petition him as a Computer Systems Analyst II. Based on our client’s educational, professional and work background, our office determined that he is clearly eligible for the EB-2 classification for his I-140 petition.

Prior to filing the PERM labor certification, 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 the PERM Labor Certification application could be filed at least 60 days from the job posting date or 30 days from the last ad.

After retention, our office filed the prevailing wage request in December 2014.  On May 26, 2015, we filed the PERM labor certification application.  Eventually, on November 19, 2015, less than 6 months from filing, with no audits, the PERM labor certification was approved – an EB2 position for our Nepali Computer Systems Analyst. Now our client can file the I-140 Petition and the I-485 green card application since his priority date is current.

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CASE: I-485 Based on Approved I-140 / National Interest Waiver

CLIENT: Nepalese Nuclear Scientist

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client contacted us in April 2014 regarding the possibility of doing a National Interest Waiver self-petition for him. He is a post-doctorate researcher and scientist in the field of Physics and Nuclear research, and is currently working as a post-doctorate researcher in an academic institution in Kent, OH.

His significant contributions have placed him at the pinnacle of the field of physics and nuclear science. He is a leading scientist with an excellent reputation in his field of endeavor and his research work involved a very complex, simultaneous, and constrained analysis of partial-wave amplitudes for multiple channels produced in pion-nucleon scattering. His work has confirmed the state of low-lying states involving S- and P- wave amplitudes and has also predicted some new states. Overall, his research has yielded important information about excited states of nucleons thereby producing a clearer picture of the baryon spectrum.

Upon review of his credentials and qualifications, our office determined that he has a good chance of meeting 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. 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 14-page brief for our client’s NIW filing. Our client also obtained 6 letters of recommendation from his colleagues and internationally-recognized scientists. Our office also included his publication records, presentation records, 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 19 exhibits.

Our office filed his I-140(NIW) petition to the USCIS Nebraska Service Center on June 4, 2014.  However, on October 6, 2014, the USCIS issued a Request for Evidence for his I-140 petition. In response to the RFE request, our office prepared a brief which included notes from scientists in the field regarding updates of his work and the importance of his past work in nuclear and physics research. We also emphasized our client’s past accomplishments and the benefits of his work. Our Response to RFE was filed on December 5, 2014.  Eventually, on December 24, 2014, the USCIS Nebraska Service Center approved our client’s I-140 petition.

Once the I-140 petition was approved, our client retained our office again for his I-485 adjustment of status application. Our office filed an I-485 adjustment of status application for our client on January 14, 2015. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices and fingerprint appointment came on time.

Eventually, on June 26, 2015, the USCIS Nebraska Service Center approved our client’s adjustment of status application. Now, he finally is a green card holder.

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CASE: I-140 / National Interest Waiver

CLIENT: Nepalese Nuclear Scientist

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client contacted us in April 2014 regarding the possibility of doing a National Interest Waiver self-petition for him. He is a post-doctorate researcher and scientist in the field of Physics and Nuclear research, and is currently working as a post-doctorate researcher in an academic institution in Kent, OH.

His significant contributions have placed him at the pinnacle of the field of physics and nuclear science. He is a leading scientist with an excellent reputation in his field of endeavor and his research work involved a very complex, simultaneous, and constrained analysis of partial-wave amplitudes for multiple channels produced in pion-nucleon scattering. His work has confirmed the state of low-lying states involving S- and P- wave amplitudes and has also predicted some new states. Overall, his research has yielded important information about excited states of nucleons thereby producing a clearer picture of the baryon spectrum.

Upon review of his credentials and qualifications, our office determined that he has a good chance of meeting 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. 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 14-page brief for our client’s NIW filing. Our client also obtained 6 letters of recommendation from his colleagues and internationally-recognized scientists. Our office also included his publication records, presentation records, 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 19 exhibits.

Our office filed his I-140(NIW) petition to the USCIS Nebraska Service Center on June 4, 2014.  However, on October 6, 2014, the USCIS issued a Request for Evidence for his I-140 petition. In response to the RFE request, our office prepared a brief which included notes from scientists in the field regarding updates of his work and the importance of his past work in nuclear and physics research. We also emphasized our client’s past accomplishments and the benefits of his work. Our Response to RFE was filed on December 5, 2014.  Eventually, on December 24, 2014, the USCIS Nebraska Service Center approved our client’s I-140 petition.

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CASE: I-130 (Petition for Mother) and Adjustment of Status
CLIENT: Nepalese
LOCATION: Maryland

Our client retained us to petition her mother who came to the U.S. from Nepal as a visitor in 1998. Our client was born and raised in Nepal, but was naturalized in the United States in 2012. She contacted our office in October of 2012 and discussed the possibilities of petitioning her mother. After consultation, she retained our office on October 22, 2012.

Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on December 3, 2012 for her mother. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, fingerprint appointment, and work permits all came on time. Eventually, on September 13, 2013, our client’s mother’s adjustment of status application was approved. Now, she is a green card holder.

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CASE: Adjustment of Status through EOIR / Motion to Remand / I-130 Approval
CLIENT: Nepalese
LOCATION: Baltimore, MD

Our client came to the United States with a valid B-2 visa from Nepal in January 1998. He remained in the United States for a time longer than permitted.

In November 2009, he was placed in deportation proceedings due to his overstay and a Notice to Appear was issued. His asylum application was denied by the Immigration Judge, but an appeal was timely filed.

While the BIA appeal was pending, our client’s daughter became a naturalized U.S. Citizen in January 2012.

Our office immediately filed an I-130 petition for our client on February 6, 2012. After we received the I-130 receipt notice, we prepared and filed a Motion to Remand for Adjustment of Status Based on a Pending I-130 on behalf our client. You typically want the I-130 to be approved prior to filing the Motion to Remand, but by submitting the actual I-130 application itself and its supporting documents attached to the Motion, you can show that it is approvable.

In Matter of Coelho, 20 I&N Dec. 464, 473 (BIA 1992), the BIA found that a motion to remand must conform to the same standards as a motion to reopen, where the respondent presents new evidence which would likely change the result of the case. In a Motion to Reopen before the BIA, the Applicant must show that the evidence is material, unavailable at time of original hearing, and could not have been discovered or presented at the original hearing. 8 C.F.R. § 1003.2(c)(1). In this case, adjustment of status relief was not available for our client at his previous hearing since his daughter has not become a naturalized U.S. citizen yet.

Our office filed a Motion to Remand for Adjustment of Status based on a pending I-130 to the BIA on February 24, 2012. We argued that our client will be eligible for adjustment of status once the I-130 is approved since he had a legal entry to the U.S., has no criminal records, and has no other grounds of inadmissibility. Eventually, on July 10, 2012, the BIA granted our motion, reopened our client’s case, and the record was remanded for further proceedings.

While we were waiting for adjudication of the I-130 petition, the USCIS issued a Request for Evidence (RFE) regarding the paternal relationship of our client. Apparently, the birth certificate submitted from Nepal was not enough. So we scheduled a DNA test for our client and this resulted to a 99.99% likelihood of paternity. On September 14, 2012, the USCIS approved the I-130 petition for our client.

Upon approval of the I-130 petition, our client’s removal proceeding was commenced again in the Baltimore Immigration Court. On March 20, 2013, our client was appeared at his Master Calendar hearing at the Baltimore Immigration Court. He was represented by Mr. Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office and our attorney explained the procedural history of our client’s case to the immigration judge and sought for adjustment of status relief. The individual hearing was scheduled for September 19, 2013.

Prior to the individual hearing, our office prepared our client for his upcoming hearing over conference call. On September 19, 2013, our client and Mr. Yu appeared at the Baltimore Immigration Court for our client’s individual hearing. Eventually, the Immigration Judge granted our client’s adjustment of status relief. Now, he is a green card holder.

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