CASE: BIA Appeal
CLIENT: Chinese
LOCATION: Elizabeth, NJ

Our client came to the United States without a valid visa and passport from China. She tried to enter the United States without valid documents, was incarcerated by immigration officers, and detained in Elizabeth, NJ.   Later, she filed for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture (CAT) before the Immigration Court.  She claimed that she was persecuted back home based on her religious beliefs.

Her individual hearing was conducted on October 17, 2011 at the Elizabeth Immigration Court.  She was represented by her former immigration counsel, and after the hearing, the Immigration Judge denied her applications and had an adverse credibility finding.  She reserved appeal, and her relatives in the United States contacted our office to do her BIA appeal.

Our office was retained on October 27, 2011.  On October 28, 2011, our office filed a Notice to Appeal with the BIA. We then filed a brief in support of our client’s case on December 8, 2011. We argued that the Immigration Judge’s adverse credibility determination was clearly erroneous.  After reviewing the trial transcript, we argued that our client testified in a credible manner and her testimony was largely consistent and plausible, citing specific examples based on the transcript.

On February 24, 2012, the BIA sustained our appeal. The BIA vacated the Immigration Judge’s decision, and remanded our client’s case to the Immigration Court for further fact finding.  The BIA also found that the Immigration Judge’s adverse credibility finding was clearly erroneous because it was based, in large part, on our client’s omission during her testimony.  The BIA requested the Immigration Court to further assess our client’s application for asylum, withholding of removal, and protection under CAT.

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CASE: Asylum in Immigration Court
CLIENT: Chinese
LOCATION: Elizabeth, New Jersey Immigration Court

Our client, through his relative in the United States, retained us in May 2011 to help him with his asylum case. He is from China and came to the United States with a fraudulent passport.  He was not inspected nor admitted into the United States, and was detained in the Elizabeth New Jersey CDF facility.  He passed his credible fear interview and at his Master Hearing, with our firm representing him, he applied for asylum, withholding of removal and relief under CAT.  Our client is scared to go back home to China, fearing that he will be persecuted on account of his political opinion against the “one-child policy (forced family planning)” in China.

Our client lived in China with his wife and son.  However, he learned that his wife was pregnant again early this year.  Fearing forced abortion against her, our client told his wife to hide and did not report her pregnancy to the local Family Planning Office. According to our client, forced abortions and sterilization surgeries are common in his village in China.   Later, the Family Planning Office personnel came to his house and looked for his wife several times.  When they could not find her, they forced to take our client for sterilization surgery.  Our client opposed the Family Planning Office and its personnel, and he had a physical altercation with them.  The officials punched and beat him.  Eventually, our client managed to escape and fled his home town.  He left China and arrived in the U.S. in April 2011.

Once retained, we helped him prepare his asylum application.  We also asked him to provide supporting documents corroborating his claim, some of which were a letter from his wife, the notarial birth certificate of his son, medical records of his wife, and a family planning procreation and birth healthcare service booklet for his wife.  Our firm also did some research on articles pertaining to his particular claim, and the type of persecution he will experience in China if sent back.

Our client’s individual hearing was scheduled on September 12, 2011 at the Elizabeth Immigration Court in New Jersey. Attorney Sung Hee Yu represented our client at the hearing. During the hearing, our client testified credibly as to his past persecution in China and likelihood of future persecution. On September 20, 2011, the Immigration Judge granted asylum relief for our client and our client was subsequently released. He is now an asylee and will be eligible to apply for permanent resident status in one year. He also would obtain his work permit in about two weeks.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status
CLIENT: Jamaican
LOCATION: Newark, NJ

Our client came to the United States in March 2001 with a B-2 visitor visa from Jamaica.  Unfortunately, his visitor status expired in November 2001, and he overstayed in the United States without getting a new valid immigration status.

Our client was married before to a U.S. Citizen, but his case was denied sometime in 2006 due to affidavit of support issues. In December 2009, our client married his U.S. citizen spouse.  Thereafter, our client contacted our office around July of 2010.  Our attorney met him in New York in person and our client retained our office immediately. We made sure all issues pertaining to his criminal records and previous marriage were covered.  Once retained, our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and Adjustment of Status Application on October 18, 2011.  Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, fingerprint appointment, and work permits all came on time.

The USCIS Newark District Office scheduled our client’s interview on March 21, 2011.  Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our clients over the phone. On March 21, 2011, our client was interviewed at the Newark USCIS office.   However, at the interview, the USCIS office requested for additional evidence with regard to our client’s previous arrest reports in Florida.  Although our client’s criminal cases were dismissed five years ago and we submitted documentation pertaining to those cases, the CIS office still requested a certified copy not just of the Court dispositions (which were submitted) but also of the arrest record. They even wrote on their Request for Evidence what specifically should be in the documents to be issued by the authorities in Florida

Throughout the next few weeks our office sent three written requests to the county court and police department in Southern Florida in order to obtain these documents. We called several times to explain what exactly immigration wanted.  Upon our request, the court sent certified copies of the requested documents, and our office promptly submitted those records to the CIS office in Newark.  Eventually, on June 30, 2011, his green card application was approved, and our client obtained his green card.

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CASE: J-2 Waiver of Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement Post-Divorce, I-130, and I-485 Green Card Process

NATIONALITY: Filipino

LOCATION: New Jersey

Our client is a Filipino national who came to the U.S. on a J-2 Visa. He came with his ex-wife who was on a J-1 Visa. Both were 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. (Please read the article below for more details about J-1 Waiver and 2 year foreign residency requirement).

He got divorced from his wife and later on thought of marrying his U.S. Citizen girlfriend. He consulted with our firm on whether he can apply for a green card upon marriage. We told him he could not because he is still subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement. We first had to do a waiver of this requirement. Our firm was retained to do this J-2 waiver on April 7, 2010. On April 9, 2010 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 is divorced from the J-1 visa holder. On April 28, 2010 the DOS recommended to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) that our client be granted a waiver. On May 28, 2010, the USCIS approved the waiver of the 2-year foreign residency requirement.

After our office got his waiver, our client got married in a few months. Our office then filed the I-130 Petition, I-765 Work Authorization Form and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on September 3, 2010. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, fingerprint appointment, and work permits all came on time. On November 10, 2010, our client got his work authorization card from the USCIS.

In early December, Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu thoroughly prepared our client and his wife for their upcoming USCIS marriage interview. We prepared our clients with potential questions at the interview.  On December 9, 2010, our client was interviewed in Newark, New Jersey. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen)Yu accompanied the clients at the interview as well.  After the interview, on the same day, the USCIS officer granted our client’s adjustment of status application.  Our client finally is now a green card holder.

Pursuant to federal immigration law, our office first obtained a J-2 waiver for our client before we filed the I-130/I-485.  Our client’s J-2 waiver was approved less than two months after we filed it.  Also, it only took three months for our client to get his green card once we filed client’s I-130 and I-485 applications simultaneously.

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CASE: J-2 Waiver of Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement Post-Divorce
NATIONALITY: Filipino
LOCATION: New Jersey

Our client is a Filipino national who came to the U.S. on an J-2 Visa. He came with his wife who was on a J-1 Visa. Both were 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. He got divorced from his wife and later on thought of marrying his U.S. Citizen girlfriend. He consulted with our firm on whether he can apply for a green card upon marriage. We told him he could not because he is still subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement. We first had to do a waiver of this requirement. Our firm was retained to do this J-2 waiver on April 7, 2010. On April 9, 2010 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 is divorced from the J-1 visa holder. On April 28, 2010 the DOS recommended to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) that our client be granted a waiver. On May 28, 2010, the USCIS approved the waiver of the 2-year foreign residency requirement. Our client can now get married and apply for his green card without having to go back to the Philippines and be separated from his fiancé for two years.

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