CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status
CLIENT: Filipina
LOCATION: New York, NY

Our client came to the United States in December 2008 with an F-1 student visa from the Philippines. She married her U.S. Citizen husband in October 2010 and retained our office in the middle of April of 2011 for her adjustment of status application. Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and Adjustment of Status Application on July 29, 2011. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, fingerprint appointment, and work permit all came on time. Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our clients at our office. On February 9, 2012, our client was interviewed at the New York City, NY USCIS.  On March 5, 2012, her green card application was approved.

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CASE: Motion to Reopen
CLIENT: Nigerian
COURT LOCATION: Baltimore, Maryland / New York, NY
RESIDENCE: Brooklyn, NY

Our client came to the United States with valid B-2 visitors visa in 2002, and later married his previous U.S. Citizen wife. He filed his green card application based on his previous marriage, but they separated prior to the interview so he never got notice of his interview, denial and the eventual notice to appear in Court.

Years later, our client married his second U.S. Citizen spouse, and he again filed for his green card application himself. Prior to retaining our firm, he went to his I-130 and adjustment of status interview only to find out that he had a final order many years ago. He did not know about it. So his case was denied. He was told by the officer that he had to reopen his case. We met our client at our New York office and he retained us on August 2010 for the Motion to Reopen.

If an alien does not go to his or her scheduled hearing with the Immigration Court, regardless of the reason, you will on that day have an in absentia order of removal. Once this is triggered, you are susceptible to being detained and subsequently deported by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Through a Motion to Reopen, the Immigration Judge can rescind the in absentia order of removal if you are able to show that you did not receive proper notice of the notice to appear. If the Notice to Appear was sent to the wrong address for example, then there’s a good basis for a Motion to Reopen.

On August 31, 2010, our office filed the Motion to Reopen with the Baltimore Immigration Court. Documentation of his address at the date of the final order, a detailed 4-page affidavit regarding his addresses and his circumstances around the final order date, documentation of the last address he provided to the immigration service prior to the final order date, and other supporting documents were submitted. The Department of Homeland Security did not file an opposition or response to our Motion. On November 8, 2010, our office called the Court to follow up and we were informed that the Motion was granted.  Upon approval of the Motion to Reopen, we filed a Motion to Change of Venue as well.  The Baltimore Immigration Court granted our Motion, and later our client’s venue was changed to New York, NY.

Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office accompanied our client at his Master Calendar hearing at the New York Immigration Court in March 2011, and he explained that an I-130 is pending and that a Stokes interview should be scheduled soon. On September 15, 2011,
Attorney JP Sarmiento accompanied our client and his U.S. Citizen wife for their I-130 Stokes interview. The interview went well, and the USCIS officer determined that our client’s marriage to his U.S. citizen wife was bona fide.  On the same day, the I-130 petition was approved.

With the approved I-130 petition, we filed a request to join in a motion to terminate with the DHS.  After review of our client’s application, the DHS agreed to join the motion. On October 22, 2011, the New York Immigration Court granted our Motion to Terminate, so our client’s removal proceedings were terminated.  Thereafter, our client filed an I-485 Adjustment of Status application to the USCIS on October 25, 2011.

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 February 13, 2012, our client was interviewed at the New York City, NY USCIS.  We accompanied them at the interview as well. The interview went well, and our client’s green card application was approved on February 28, 2012.

After being in the U.S. for over 10 years and having a final order of removal for about nine years, our client finally has his permanent resident card.

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CASE: J-1 Waiver of Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement, No Objection Statement
NATIONALITY: Korean
LOCATION: New York City, NY

Our South Korea client came to the U.S. on a J-1 Visa in January 2009.  She came to the U.S. to participate in an international internship program in New York City.  Upon completion of her J-1 internship program, she went back to South Korea in 2010.

While our client was in the United States for her internship, she met her U.S. citizen fiancé.  Later, they got engaged and her fiancé filed an I-129F fiancée visa petition on behalf of her in January 2011.  In May 2011, the I-129F petition was approved, and the related application materials were forwarded to the U.S. Embassy in Seoul to conduct our client’s fiancée visa interview.  In October 2011, our client had her fiancée visa interview at the Embassy.  During the interview, the Consulate officer told her that he cannot adjudicate the fiancée visa unless our client fulfills the two-year foreign residency requirement or obtain a waiver.  Although her visa was not denied, the Consulate officer told her that he would hold the decision for visa approval until client gets a waiver of the two-year foreign residency requirement.

Our client and her fiancé contacted our office in early December of 2011.  Upon consultation, they retained us in December 2, 2011.  Once retained, our office prepared and filed a waiver request through the No Objection Statement (NOS) from the Korean Embassy in the United States.

Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office contacted the Korean Consulate General Office in New York City, NY to pursue the waiver for our client.  The Consular 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 the 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 December 6, 2011 the J-1 Waiver (Form DS-3035) Application 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 get a K-1 Fiancé Visa, and will be eligible to adjust in the United States after her K-1 admission and the subsequent marriage to her U.S. Citizen fiancé.

The Korean Consulate General in New York forwarded our client’s documents to the Korean Embassy in DC.  Soon after, the Korean Embassy issued a No Objection Statement for our client, and sent this letter to the State Department’s Waiver Review Division.  On February 2, 2012, 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.

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CASE: I-130 and Consular Processing – Marriage-Petition
CLIENT: US Citizen Petitioner; Chinese Beneficiary
LOCATION: Petitioner: New York; Beneficiary: Shanghai, China

Our client is a U.S. citizen who married her Chinese girlfriend in China in 2008. He had his marriage ceremony with his wife in the China, and had resided there until December 2010.  When he came back to the United States, he wanted to bring his wife over here. He contacted our office in late January 2011 and retained our office to help bring his wife to the States.  As we explained in previous success stories, an alien cannot adjust his or her status (get a green card) outside the U.S. by filing an I-130 and I-485 simultaneously. Since the client’s wife was not in the United States, and their marriage occurred in China, our office promptly filed the I-130 to the National Visa Center first on April 10, 2011.

After the I-130 was filed, everything went smoothly and the receipt notices came on time. The I-130 Petition was approved by the USCIS on June 20, 2011.  After the I-130 approval, we filed the immigrant visa packets to the National Visa Center on August 23, 2011, who in turn forwarded the client’s materials to the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou, China. An interview notice was set for the client at the US Consulate in Guangzhou, and we prepared her for her interview. On October 31, 2011, the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou, China 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 weeks of entry.

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CASE:  Adjustment of Status, I-601 Hardship Waiver of Inadmissibility

APPLICANT / BENEFICIARY: From Grenada

LOCATION: New York, NY

Our client entered the U.S. in 2000 as a tourist.  Later, she married to U.S. citizen husband and her husband filed an I-130 petition for her and she concurrently filed an I-485 adjustment of status application in 2010.  Our client also filed an I-601 hardship waiver application with her adjustment of status with the help of her previous immigration lawyer.  She needed to file an I-601 waiver because she was found inadmissible due to her previous immigration law violation.

In 1992, our client tried to come to the United States from Canada with someone else’s passport.  She encountered the border patrol officer and the officer denied her entry.  As a result of her this, she was found to be inadmissible pursuant to Section 212(a)(6)(C)(i) of the INA.  (Any alien who, by fraud or willfully misrepresenting a material fact, seeks to procure a visa, other documentation, or admission into the United States or other benefit provided under this Act is inadmissible).

In 2010, her green card application was denied due to this fraud, and because the I-601 that should have waived the fraud inadmissibility was denied.  The denial pointed out that there was not enough hardship to meet the standards for the I-601 waiver application. She filed an appeal to AAO and this was denied as well.

Our client contacted our office in January 2011 to pursue her I-601 waiver once again. She was not yet in removal proceedings so she re-filed her green card application. Our firm thoroughly analyzed why her previous I-601 waiver application was denied.  Based on her story and surrounding circumstances (hardship to her U.S. citizen husband if she is deported), our office determined that she has a good chance to win I-601 application as long as it is extensively prepared.  Our client already re-filed her I-485 adjustment of status application, but she sought legal assistance from our office for her I-601 waiver.  Eventually, she retained our office on February 8, 2011.

If someone is found to be inadmissible under Section 212(a)(6)(C)(i) of the INA, INA Section 212(i) provides for a discretionary waiver of the fraud or misrepresentation inadmissibility ground.  To qualify for the waiver, the alien must establish that his or her US Citizen spouse would suffer extreme hardship if the alien were denied admission.  INA Section 212(i)(l).  In addition to the equities presented, the USCIS may consider the nature of the fraud or misrepresentation.

There is a seminal BIA case that deals with this waiver.  In Matter of Cervantes, 22 I & N Dec. 560 (BIA 1999), the BIA identified the factors to be considered in determining whether a qualifying relative would suffer extreme hardship if the alien were denied admission.  Those factors include: the presence of LPR or USC family ties both within and outside the United States; the conditions in the country to which the qualifying relative would relocate and the extent of the qualifying relative’s ties to that country; the financial impact of departure from the United States; and significant conditions of health, particularly when tied to the unavailability of suitable medical care in the country to which the qualifying relative would relocate.

Our client’s I-601 application had a good chance since our client’s U.S. Citizen husband suffers from chronic severe pain in his bone muscles due to an past incident in which he was shot in the leg. In the I-601 brief and supporting documents, our office included extensive medical reports of her husband.  We argued that if she was removed from the United States, extreme hardship to her husband is clearly foreseeable and evident.  Her husband needs consistent and continuous physical therapy to help deal with his pain. Also, it would be extremely difficult for him to get the same level of physical therapy and satisfactory access to medical services in Grenada in case he joins our client there.  Our office also included the U.S. Department of State Travel Advisory Section for Grenada to highlight the extremely poor medical services in Grenada.

In our brief, we also argued that our client and her husband have maintained strong family ties in the United States, that her husband will have difficulty in finding the same level of employment in Grenada, and that her LPR daughter and her husband will face extreme financial and emotional difficulties if she is removed.

In April 2011, our client had her second I-485 adjustment of status interview in New York.  On April 7, 2011, the CIS NY office requested our client to submit an amended extreme hardship statement and supporting documents for her I-601 waiver application.  On April 22, 2011, our client submitted our I-601 waiver application which included the brief in support, her husband’s medical records, and other documents that demonstrated hardship to her husband if she is removed from the United States.

Her I-601 waiver and I-485 green card application were approved on September 14, 2011. She is finally a green card holder and her inadmissibility has been completely waived.

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Our client is a Pakistani national who was on valid H-B Status when we met him at our New York office in September 2010. He was married to a US Citizen and wanted to apply for a marriage-based immigrant petition and green card application. He retained our firm, we prepared all the paperwork, and on October 14, 2010 the I-130 Petition and I-485 Application were filed. On December 9, 2010, our client’s work authorization card was issued and approved. There were no Requests for Evidence for his case. On February 16, 2011, the CIS issued an interview notice scheduled for March 15, 2011 in New York City. Prior to their interview, we prepared them extensively on possible questions the officer may ask. The interview was then held on March 15, 2011 and on that same day, the CIS officer issued an I-130 approval notice. On March 31, 2011, our client’s I-485 approval notice was then issued. He is now a permanent resident of the United States.

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CASE: Motion to Reopen

CLIENT: Nigerian

COURT LOCATION: Baltimore, Maryland

RESIDENCE: Brooklyn, NY

Our client was a legal entry overstay, married to his U.S. Citizen wife. Prior to retaining our firm, he went to his I-130 and adjustment of status interview only to find out that he had a final order many years ago. He did not know about it. He was told by the officer that he had to reopen his case. We met the client at our New York office and he retained us on August 2010 for the Motion to Reopen.

If you do not go to your scheduled hearing with the Immigration Court, regardless of the reason, you will on that day have an in absentia order of removal. Once this is triggered, you are susceptible to being detained and subsequently deported by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

A lot of people have different reasons for not going to Court. Some did not know what to do. Some did not know the repercussions of not going to Court and did not go. Some were sick or got into an accident earlier that day. Some did not receive notice of the hearing and did not know about it.

To rescind the final order, one has to get his case reopened. This is done through a Motion to Reopen filed with the Immigration Judge who gave the final order. When you have an in absentia order of removal and a Motion to Reopen based on lack of notice is filed on your behalf, your deportation is also stayed. This means that while this motion is pending, the DHS cannot deport you.

Based on this Motion to Reopen, the Immigration Judge can rescind the in absentia order of removal if you are able to show that you did not receive proper notice of the hearing. If the Notice to Appear was sent to the wrong address for example, and not the last address you provided to the immigration service, then there’s a good basis for a Motion to Reopen.

On August 31, 2010, our office filed the Motion to Reopen with the Baltimore Immigration Court. Documentation of his address at the date of the final order, a detailed 4-page affidavit regarding his addresses and his circumstances around the final order date, documentation of the last address he provided to the immigration service prior to the final order date, and other supporting documents were submitted. The Department of Homeland Security did not file an opposition or response to our Motion. On November 8, 2010, our office called the Court to follow up and we were informed that the Motion was granted. Our client now does not have the final order of removal and may seek relief with the Immigration Court, or seek termination of proceedings for CIS adjudication of his green card.

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