CASE: I-751

APPLICANT: South African

LOCATION: Fort Edward, NY

Our client contacted our office in August of 2018 regarding her I-751 application.

She is from South Africa and she married a U.S. citizen in February 2016. Through her marriage, she obtained a 2-year conditional green card in January of 2017.  Her conditional residency terminated in January 2019.

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 again on August 28, 2018, and our office prepared an I-751 application for our client with other supplemental exhibits.

On October 18, 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. However, the USCIS issued the Request for Evidence (RFE) to demonstrate the bona fideness of our client’s marriage with her husband. We filed an extensive Response to RFE to the USCIS with more bona fide marital documents on December 2, 2019.  

As a result, on January 6, 2020, the USCIS approved our client’s I-751 application and our client received her 10-year green card which removed the conditions.

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CASE: Adjustment of Status Based on Approved K-1 Visa

CLIENT: British

LOCATION: Mount Vernon, NY

Our client came to the United States in July 2018 as a K-1 visa entrant from the United Kingdom.  Our client is the beneficiary of an approved I-129F petition. He came to the United States as a K-1 Fiancé of a U.S. Citizen whom he married within 90 days of his entry. By law, if you married your petitioner-fiancé within 90 days of your K-1 visa entry, you are eligible to apply for adjustment of status (green card) in the United States. He married in August of 2018. 

Our client contacted our office initially and consulted with us for his adjustment of status application. He retained our office on September 4, 2018. After the retention, our firm prepared and filed the I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on September 6, 2018.  Things went smoothly and the receipt notices, and the fingerprint appointment all came on time.  

Thereafter, the USCIS scheduled an interview for our client’s adjustment of status application.  Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our clients via conference call. On January 7, 2020, our clients were interviewed at the New York, NY USCIS office. Eventually, on the same day of his interview, his green card application was approved.

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CASE: I-485 based on Approved I-140 (EB-2)

 APPLICANT: Chinese

 LOCATION: Garden City, NY

Our client is a certified nurse practitioner from China, who is currently working at a dermatology clinic which was willing to petition her for a second-preference petition (I-140).  Our client has a Master’s Degree in Nursing and has worked for this clinic since 2013. She has maintained her status as an H-1B visa holder in the United States. She had an approved I-140 petition which was filed by her current employer and this I-140 petition’s priority date was May 5, 2015.

In June 2019, she contacted our office and retained us for her and her immediate family members’ I-485 adjustment of status applications. Our office filed an I-485 adjustment of status applications for our clients on July 19, 2019. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices and fingerprint appointment came on time.

Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our client via conference call as well. On December 16, 2019, our clients were interviewed at Holtsville New York USCIS office. Eventually, on December 17, 2019, her and her family members’ green card applications were approved.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: Taiwanese

LOCATION: New York, NY

Our client came to the United States from Taiwan with an H-1B work visa in 2018. She married a U.S. Citizen in November 2018 and retained our office on January 8, 2019 for her green card application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on January 29, 2019. 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 November 5, 2019, our client was interviewed at the New York, NY USCIS office. Eventually, on the same day of her interview, her green card application was approved.

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CASE: Adjustment of Status Based on Approved K-1 Visa

CLIENT: Indian

LOCATION: New York, NY

Our client came to the United States in November 2018 as a K-1 visa entrant from India.  Our client is the beneficiary of an approved I-129F petition. She came to the United States as a K-1 Fiancée of a U.S. Citizen whom she married within 90 days of her entry. By law, if you married your petitioner-fiancé within 90 days of your K-1 visa entry, you are eligible to apply for adjustment of status (green card) in the United States. She married in November of 2018. 

Our client contacted our office again and consulted with us for her adjustment of status application. In fact, our office helped her K-1 visa processing. She retained our office again in December 2019. After the retention, our firm quickly prepared and filed the I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on December 5, 2018.  Things went smoothly and the receipt notices, and the fingerprint appointment all came on time.  

Thereafter, the USCIS scheduled an interview for our client’s adjustment of status application.  Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our clients via conference calls. On November 1, 2019, our clients were interviewed at the New York, New York USCIS office. Eventually, on the same day of the interview, her green card application was approved.

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CASE: I-140 / National Interest Waiver

CLIENT: Korean

LOCATION: Port Jefferson, NY

Our client contacted us in November 2018 about the possibility of doing a National Interest Waiver self-petition. He is a Ph.D. student from South Korea and has a Master’s Degree in Chemistry. Though he is a Ph.D. student, he is already considered as an exceptional researcher and scientist in the field of synthetic organic chemistry and pharmaceutical research. 

Our client’s significant contributions have placed him at the pinnacle of his field. He has made important contributions to the work on syntheses of chalcone-based small molecules and its biological data.  His research work is very important to the field of Parkinson’s disease therapy. Moreover, our client synthesized more than 100 small molecules targeting Receptor Interacting Protein Kinase (RIPK) enzyme for the treatment of dry Age-related Macular Degeneration (dry AMD).  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 22-page brief for our client’s NIW filing. Our client also obtained 7 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. 

Our office filed his I-140(NIW) petition to the USCIS Nebraska Service Center on March 20, 2019. Eventually, on September 6, 2019, the USCIS approved his I-140 petition without any Requests for Evidence.  Now, he can file his adjustment of status application.

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CASE: I-751

APPLICANT: Filipino

LOCATION: Brooklyn, NY

Our client contacted our office in June of 2018 regarding his I-751 application.

He is from the Philippines and he married a U.S. citizen in February 2016. Through his marriage, he obtained a 2-year conditional green card in August of 2016.  His conditional residency terminated in August 2018.

To comply with immigration requirements, our client and his wife had to file an I-751 Joint Petition to Remove Conditions. He retained our office on June 8, 2018, and our office prepared an I-751 application for our client.

On June 28, 2018, our office filed an I-751 application to the USCIS with multiple affidavits from his friends and family members, joint bank statements, joint taxes, utility bills, insurance policies, and photos of our client and his wife to demonstrate the bona fideness of their marriage.

Once the application was filed, the fingerprint notice was issued two weeks later. There was no RFE issuance or interview request for our client’s I-751 application. As a result, on August 27, 2019, the USCIS approved our client’s I-751 application and our client received his 10-year green card which removed the conditions.

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CASE: Adjustment of Status / 245i / I-140 (EB-3)    
APPLICANT: Ecuadorian BAS/HVAC Controls Technician

LOCATION: New York

Our client is from Ecuador. His current employer was willing to do an immigration petition for him, third-preference. Our client has more than 2 years of experience as a HVAC Technician. After talking to our client, our firm concluded that his employer can petition him as a BAS/HVAC Controls Technician. Based on our client’s education and work background, our office determined that he eligible for EB-3 classification and our client eventually retained us in May 2017.

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 June 2, 2017, the prevailing wage request was filed.  After we got the PW determination, our office filed the job order on August 21, 2017. On October 27, 2017, we promptly filed PERM.

However, on April 19, 2018, the Department of Labor issued a request for audit. The DOL requested documents from Petitioner to determine whether the recruitment process was done properly. In response to the Audit request, our office prepared the response to Audit brief along with Employer’s declaration, notice of filing, and recruitment documentation on May 16, 2018.  

Eventually, on July 11, 2018, the PERM Labor Certification was approved.

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, past experience letters, employer’s tax records, and other necessary supporting documents. The I-140 Petition was filed on August 8, 2018 via premium processing service. Eventually, on August 17, 2018, the I-140 EB3 Petition for our client was approved without any Request for Evidence (RFE).

Then, he retained our office for the adjustment of status applications for him and his family members. In fact, our client failed to maintain his status in the United States; nonetheless, he could be eligible to file adjustment of status under the INA Section 245(i). Our client is the derivative beneficiary of an I-130 F4 petition filed by his US Citizen uncle to his father filed back in September 1989 and approved in December 1989. Our client was 10 years old at that time.

INA Section 245(i) allows a person to apply to adjust status notwithstanding the fact that he overstayed his immigration status.  Thus, a person who entered legally but overstayed can adjust status based on an approved and current I-140 EB3 Petition if he paid the special fee required of $1000 and files Supplement A to I-485, as long as he is the beneficiary or derivative beneficiary of any approvable immigrant petition under section 204 (including I-130 F4 Petitions) that was filed on or before April 30, 2001 and proves physical presence as of December 21, 2000. INA 245(i). Beneficiaries or derivative beneficiaries who were petitioned prior to January 14, 1998 do not have to prove physical presence in 2000.

According to the Robert Bach’s “Accepting Applications for Adjustment of Status Under Section 245(i) of the “Immigration and Nationality Act” memorandum (“Bach Memo June 10, 1999).  

“Section 245(i) defines the term “beneficiary” to include a spouse or child eligible to receive a visa under section 203(d) of the Act’ This applies to spouses or children ‘accompanying or following to join’  the principal alien…. The spouse or child of a grandfathered alien as of January 14 is also grandfathered for 245(i) purposes. This means that the spouse or child is grandfathered irrespective of whether the spouse or child adjusts with the principal. The pre-January 15 spouse or child also are grandfathered even after losing the status of spouse or child, such as by divorce or by becoming 21 years of age…

Often, a principal alien who has filed a visa petition or labor certification application will have a “child” who reaches the age of 21, and thus no longer meet the statutory definition of child, before the petition or application is approved or the principal alien adjusts status. However, such an “aged-out” beneficiary will remain a beneficiary for the purpose of determining whether he or she may use section 245(i) to adjust status.”

(Bach Memo June 10, 1999)

Thus, since our client was the derivative beneficiary of an I-130 F4 Petition filed in September 1989, which was before January 14, 1998, he and his family are eligible for adjustment of status by virtue of INA 245(i) despite their overstay.

Our office filed their I-485 adjustment of status applications under the 245(i) category for our client on August 29, 2018.  Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices and fingerprint appointment all came on time. We thoroughly prepared our clients prior to their interviews as well.

On March 20, 2019, our client was interviewed at the Queens, New York USCIS Field Office. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu, Esq. from our office accompanied our clients as well. Eventually, their green card applications were approved by the USCIS on the same day of the interview.

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CASE: J-2 Waiver of Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement / Over 21-year-old dependent child

NATIONALITY: Chinese

LOCATION: New York

Our client was a citizen of China who came to the U.S. on a J-2 Visa in July 2011.  She came with her mother who came on a J-1 Visa for her research program in the United States. Both were subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement, meaning they had to go back to their home country for two-years before they can apply for permanent residency or some non-immigrant visa such as the H, L, and O visas.

She turned 21 in November 2011. She would like to get a waiver because she has a prospective employer who will file the H-1B petition for her next year. However, because of her two-year foreign residency requirement, our client cannot change her status in the United States without the fulfillment of requirement or the waiver.

Although J-2 dependents cannot independently apply for a waiver, in cases where a J-2 child reaches 21, the Waiver Review Division may consider requests for waivers on behalf of the J-2 dependent.  The Department of State’s policy allows for that process in instances where the J-2 dependent obtains a divorce form the J-1 principal, the J-1 principal dies, or in cases where the J-2 dependent turns 21, which is our client’s case. In fact, our client turned 21 in November 2011.

Our firm was retained to do her J-2 waiver, and on November 21, 2018, the J-2 Waiver application (Form DS-3035 and supporting documents) 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 reached the age of 21 and was not a dependent of a J-1 visa holder anymore.  Eventually, on January 7, 2019, the DOS recommended to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) that our client be granted a waiver. On January 30, 2019, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for our client’s waiver request.

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CASE: Fiancé Visa

PETITIONER: US Citizen in New York, NY

BENEFICIARY: Indian

PETITION FILED: July 13, 2017

PETITION APPROVED: March 12, 2018

K-1 VISA APPROVED: October 24, 2018

Our client, a US Citizen Petitioner, met his fiancée in 2009. They started their relationship, and lived together in the U.S. for 5 years.  Later, our client’s fiancée went back to India to take a sabbatical year from her work. They got engaged 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 23, 2017.

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 July 13, 2017.

On March 12, 2018, the I-129F fiancé petition was approved. On October 24, 2018, our client’s fiancée appeared at the U.S. Consulate General in Mumbai, India 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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