CASE: I-130 (Petitions for Parents) and Adjustment of Status
CLIENT: Kenyan
LOCATION: Olmsted Falls, OH

Our client retained us to petition her parents for adjustment of status – permanent residency. Our client was born and raised in Kenya, but was naturalized in the United States. She retained our office on March 27, 2020. 

Our firm filed the applications on June 30, 2020.  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. On November 30, 2020, our client’s parents were interviewed at the Cleveland, Ohio USCIS office. On the same day, the I-130 and I-485 adjustment of status applications were approved.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: Nigerian

LOCATION: Wilkesboro, NC

Our client came to the United States from Nigeria on a F-1 student visa. He married a U.S. Citizen in July 2019 and retained our office on October 19, 2019 for his green card application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on November 19, 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 as well. On December 1, 2020, our client was interviewed at the Charlotte, North Carolina USCIS office. On the same day of the interview, his green card application was approved.

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CASE: J-1 Waiver (No Objection Statement)

NATIONALITY: Philippines

LOCATION: Fayetteville, NC

Our client came from the Philippines on a J-1 in August 2015 to work as a teacher. Based on his DS-2019, he was subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement. 

In September 2018, he got married to his U.S. citizen spouse and later on consulted with our firm for his J-1 visa waiver prior to applying for adjustment of status. If someone is subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement, he or she cannot get a green card in the United States until he or she fulfills the requirement or obtains a waiver.

Upon retention, our office prepared a waiver request through a No Objection Statement (NOS) from the Philippine Embassy in the United States and eventually the EVP in the Philippines.

On November 27, 2019, the J-1 Waiver Application (Form DS-3035) was filed to the Department of State.  On January 9, 2020, our office sent our client’s materials to the Waiver Review Committee in Manila, Philippines.  Then, the Waiver Review Committee forwarded the materials and favorable recommendation to the Philippine Embassy in D.C. who eventually issued a No Objection Statement.

On April 28, 2020, the Waiver Review Division issued a favorable recommendation based on the No Objection statement.  Eventually, on May 18, 2020, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for the waiver. Now, our client can file for his adjustment status application along with his U.S. Citizen spouse’s I-130 petition for him.

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CASE: I-751

APPLICANT: Indian

LOCATION: Winston Salem, NC

Our client contacted our office in February 2019 regarding his I-751 application.

He is from India and he married a U.S. citizen in December 2016. Through his marriage, he obtained a 2-year conditional green card in May of 2017.  His conditional residency terminated in May 2019.

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 February 19, 2019, and our office prepared an I-751 application for our client with other supplemental exhibits.

On March 12, 2019, 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. However, the USCIS issued the Request for Evidence (RFE) to demonstrate the bona fideness of our client’s marriage with his wife. We filed an extensive Response to RFE to the USCIS with more bona fide marital documents on March 2, 2020.  

As a result, on March 20, 2020, 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: I-751

APPLICANT: Iranian

LOCATION: Wilson, NC

Our client contacted our office in March 2019 regarding his I-751 application.

He is from Iran and married a U.S. citizen in September 2015. Through his marriage, he obtained a 2-year conditional green card in June of 2017.  His conditional residency terminated in June 2019.

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 March 26, 2019, and our office prepared an I-751 application for our client with other supplemental exhibits.

On March 28, 2019, 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 January 29, 2020, 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: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

NATIONALITY: Indian                                                                                                       

LOCATION: Charlotte, NC

Our client is from India who came to the U.S. on a F-1 student visa. In April 2018, our client married his current U.S. citizen wife.  He retained our office for his green card application. Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on October 5, 2018. 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 October 1, 2019, our client was interviewed at the Charlotte North Carolina USCIS office. Eventually, on October 11, 2019, his green card application was approved.

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CASE: I-751

APPLICANT: Indian

LOCATION: North Carolina

Our client contacted our office in September of 2017 regarding his I-751 application.

He is from India and he married a U.S. citizen in September 2015. Through his marriage, he obtained a 2-year conditional green card in January of 2016.  His conditional residency terminated in January 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 again on October 2, 2017, and our office prepared an I-751 application for our client with other supplemental exhibits.

On October 16, 2017, 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 February 7, 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: I-485 / National Interest Waiver

CLIENT: Mexican

LOCATION: Raleigh, NC

Our client contacted us in April 2016 about the possibility of doing a National Interest Waiver self-petition. He is a researcher from Mexico and he is an exceptional researcher and scientist in the field of plant developmental biology research.

Our client’s significant contributions have placed him at the pinnacle of his field. His research has contributed to the advancing of our understanding of the mechanisms that control plant growth and development, and how plants respond to geminivirus infection, thus enabling the development of new plant breeding technologies for food production improvement.  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 20-page brief for our client’s NIW filing. Our client also obtained 6 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 Texas Service Center on December 20, 2017. Eventually, on April 13, 2018, the USCIS approved his I-140 petition without any Requests for Evidence.  

Once his I-140 petition was approved, he retained our office again and determined to file an adjustment of status application for him and his wife. On July 19, 2018, our office filed an I-485 adjustment of status application for our client. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices and fingerprint appointment came on time.

Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our client via conference calls. On January 19, 2019, our client was interviewed at Durham North Carolina USCIS office. Eventually, his I-485 application was approved by the USCIS on January 22, 2019.  

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

NATIONALITY: Jamaican                                                                                                  

LOCATION: Charlotte, NC

Our client is from Jamaica who came to the U.S. on a B-2 visitor’s visa in 2017. In September 2017, our client married his current U.S. citizen wife.  He retained our office on May 2, 2018 for his green card application. Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on July 27, 2018. 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 20, 2018, our client was interviewed at the Charlotte North Carolina USCIS office. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office accompanied our clients. On the same day of the interview, his green card application was approved.

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CASE: J-1 Waiver of the Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement, Persecution

NATIONALITY:  Iraqi

LOCATION: Charlotte, NC

Our client came to the U.S. on a J-1 Visa in August 2013 from Iraq.  He came to the U.S. for his undergraduate program, and his J-1 visa made him subject to the two-year foreign resident requirement. Our client would like to file an asylum or file an adjustment of status application.  However, due to the two-year foreign residency requirement, he had to obtain a waiver first.

Unlike our other J-1 clients, our client could not pursue his waiver under No Objection Statement or Interest Government Agency (IGA). Moreover, our client could not pursue his J-1 waiver based on exceptional hardship standard. Nonetheless, our client could pursue J-1 waiver under persecution category since he believes that he will be persecuted based on his religion (Shiite Muslim).

A person can file the J-1 waiver under the persecution basis if the person believes that he or she will be persecuted based on his/her race, religion, or political opinion if he or she returns to his or her home country, he/she may apply for a persecution waiver. The Waiver Review Division will proceed with the waiver recommendation under this basis only if USCIS makes a finding of persecution.

Our client believed that he would be persecuted if he goes back to Iraq by ISIS based on his belief. His opinions, beliefs, and religious practice as a Muslim Shiite basically go against the beliefs and objectives of ISIS.  After he retained our firm, we prepared and filed a waiver request through a persecution basis. On August 2, 2017, the J-1 Waiver (Form DS-3035) Application was filed to the Department of State. Thereafter, our office prepared affidavit of our client, extensive brief in support for our client’s J-1 waiver application, and other supporting documents to show that he will be persecuted in Iraq if he goes back. On August 18, 2017, our office filed I-612 application to the USCIS and asked for them to issue and recommends this waiver based on the fact that our client will be persecuted if our client needs to go back to Iraq for two years.

Eventually, the Department of State recommended a waiver for our client on June 26, 2018. Subsequently, the USCIS approved his I-612 waiver on August 16, 2018. Now that our client’s two-year foreign residency requirement is waived, he can file asylum in the United States.

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