CASE: I-140 (EB-3)    
EMPLOYER: Temperature Control Services
BENEFICIARY: Ecuadorian
LOCATION: New York

Our client is a company which specializes in providing and installing automatic temperature control systems in commercial and industrial buildings. They have an employee from Ecuador and they were willing to petition him for a skilled worker, third-preference petition (I-140). Their employee has more than 2 years of experience as a HVAC Technician. After talking to our client, our firm concluded that they can petition him as a BAS/HVAC Controls Technician. 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 – an EB3 position for the Ecuadorian beneficiary.

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 Ecuadorian 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.

{ 0 comments }

CASE: PERM Labor Certification    
EMPLOYER: Temperature Control Services
BENEFICIARY: Ecuadorian
LOCATION: New York

Our client is a company which specializes in providing and installing automatic temperature control systems in commercial and industrial buildings. They do have an employee from Ecuador and they were willing to petition him for a skilled worker, third-preference petition (I-140). Their employee has more than 2 years of experience as a HVAC Technician. After talking to our client, our firm concluded that they can petition him as a BAS/HVAC Controls Technician. 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 – an EB3 position for the Ecuadorian beneficiary. Now our client can file the I-140 petition.

{ 0 comments }

CASE: Fiancé Visa

PETITIONER: US Citizen in New York

BENEFICIARY: British

PETITION FILED: October 16, 2017

PETITION APPROVED: April 16, 2018

K-1 VISA APPROVED: July 10, 2018

Our client, a US Citizen Petitioner, has known her fiancé since 1996. They started their relationship in 2017, and she visited the United Kingdom.  In August 2017, our client’s fiancé came to the United States and spent time with our client and went back to the United Kingdom. They decided to get engaged and our client decided to file a fiancé petition for her fiancé.  She retained our firm to file a fiancé petition for him on October 9, 2017.

After retention, we informed our client about the necessary supporting documents to demonstrate the bona fide nature of their relationship. We helped her and her fiancé draft letters in support of the fiancé petition, and we filed the petition on October 16, 2017.

On April 16, 2018, the I-129F fiancée petition was approved. On June 26, 2018, our client’s fiancé appeared at the U.S. Embassy in London, U.K. for his K-1 visa interview. The interview went well, and on July 10, 2018, the U.S. Embassy issued his K-1 visa.

{ 0 comments }

CASE: Asylee Adjustment of Status
CLIENT: Chinese
LOCATION: Albany, NY

Our client came to the United States from China on an F-1 student visa, and through our legal assistance, he was granted asylee status in December 2016 at the New York Immigration Court.

Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, an asylee may apply for lawful permanent resident status after he or she has been physically present in the United States for a period of one year after the date he or she was granted asylum status. Around December 2017, one year after he got his asylee status in the United States, our client contacted our office again and sought legal assistance for his adjustment of status.  We prepared and filed his I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on December 19, 2017. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notice and fingerprint appointment all came on time.

Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our client via conference calls. On July 11, 2018, our client was interviewed at the Latham, New York USCIS Field Office. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu accompanied him at the interview as well.  The interview went well, and after the interview, the USCIS approved our client’s Adjustment of Status application. He is now a permanent resident of the United States.

{ 0 comments }

CASE: I-751

APPLICANT: Filipina

LOCATION: New York, NY

Our client contacted our office in March of 2017 regarding her I-751 application.

She is from the Philippines and she married a U.S. citizen. Through her marriage, she obtained a 2-year conditional green card in June of 2015. Thus, her conditional residency terminated in June 2017.

To comply with immigration requirements, our client and her spouse had to file an I-751 Joint Petition to Remove Conditions. She retained our office on March 6, 2017, and our office prepared an I-751 application for our client with other supplemental exhibits.

On April 11, 2017, our office filed an I-751 application to the USCIS with multiple affidavits from her friends and family members, joint bank statements, utility bills, joint leasing documents, joint tax documents, and photos of our client and her spouse to demonstrate the bona fideness of their marriage.

Once the application was filed, the fingerprint notice was issued two weeks later. Eventually, on May 21, 2018, the USCIS approved our client’s I-751 application without any Request for Evidence (RFE).

{ 0 comments }

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

NATIONALITY: Chinese

LOCATION: New York, NY

Our client is a citizen of China who came to the U.S. on a J-2 Visa in January 1998.  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.

After our client came to the United States, she was attending a school and changed her status to F-1.

She turned 21 in August 2012. She has a U.S. citizen fiancé who will file I-130 petition for her after they get married.  However, because of her two-year foreign residency requirement, our client cannot adjust 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 August 2012.

Our firm was retained to do her J-2 waiver, and on December 19, 2017, 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 February 5, 2018, the DOS recommended to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) that our client be granted a waiver. On April 4, 2018, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for our client’s waiver request.

{ 0 comments }

CASE: I-130 (Petition for Mother) and Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: Antiguan

LOCATION: New York

Our client retained us to petition for her mother for her green card. Our client’s mother came to the United States in 1987 with a B-2 visitor’s visa and remained in the United States. Our client was born in the United States in 1990. She contacted our office in November 2016 and discussed with us the green card process. After consultation, she retained our office on November 22, 2016.

Once retained, our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and Adjustment of Status Applications on February 24, 2017 for her mother.  Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, fingerprint appointment, and a work permit all came on time. Eventually, on January 27, 2018, our client’s mother’s adjustment of status applications was approved. Now, she is a green card holder.

{ 0 comments }

CASE: N-400 (Citizenship / Naturalization)

APPLICANT: Vietnamese

LOCATION: New York, NY

Our client contacted us in February 2017 to seek legal representation for her naturalization and citizenship N-400 application. She came to the United States from Vietnam and obtained her green card in May 2012.

After retention, her N-400 application was filed on March 1, 2017 with all supporting documents. Prior to her citizenship interview, our office prepared her via conference calls.  On November 1, 2017, our client appeared at the New York, NY USCIS office for her naturalization interview. Our client answered all questions correctly and passed her naturalization and citizenship interview. Eventually, her application was approved on November 6, 2017. Her oath taking is scheduled in which she will become a naturalized U.S. Citizen.

{ 0 comments }

CASE: I-751

APPLICANT: French

LOCATION: New York, NY

Our client contacted our office in August of 2016 regarding his I-751 application.

He is from France and he married a U.S. citizen in July 2014. Through his marriage, he obtained a 2-year conditional green card in February of 2015. Thus, his conditional residency terminated in February 2017.

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 September 1, 2016, and our office prepared an I-751 application for our client with supporting documents.

On November 21, 2016, our office filed an I-751 application to the USCIS with multiple affidavits from his friends and family members, joint bank statements, utility bills, joint lease documents, joint tax documents, 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. Eventually, on October 13, 2017, the USCIS approved our client’s I-751 application without any Request for Evidence (RFE).

{ 0 comments }

CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

NATIONALITY: Korean                                                                                                        

LOCATION: Buffalo, NY

Our client is from South Korea who came to the U.S. on F-1 student’s visa in 2013 to pursue her Ph.D. studies. In June 2017, our client married her current U.S. citizen husband.  She retained our office in June 2017 for her green card application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on June 27, 2017.  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 September 19, 2017, our client was interviewed at the Buffalo New York USCIS office. Eventually, on September 20, 2017, her green card application was approved.

{ 0 comments }