CASE: N-400 (Citizenship / Naturalization)

APPLICANT: Mexican

LOCATION: Cleveland Heights, OH

Our client contacted us in December 2021 to seek legal representation for her naturalization application. She came to the United States from Mexico and she obtained her green card in July 2015.

Her N-400 application was filed on December 16, 2021 with all supporting documents. On March 14, 2022, our client appeared at the Cleveland, OH USCIS office for her naturalization interview. Our client answered all questions correctly and passed her naturalization interview. On March 21, 2022, her application was approved. Her oath taking is scheduled in which she will become a naturalized U.S. Citizen.

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CASE: I-485 / EB-2 I-140  
APPLICANT: Korean Dentist in Cleveland, OH

Our client is from South Korea, who is currently working in the United States as an associate dentist on H-1B status. Her current employer was willing to do an immigration petition for her, second-preference. Our client has a Doctor of Dental Medicine degree in the United States. Based on our client’s education and work background, our office determined that she is eligible for EB-2 classification. 

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 December 6, 2019, the prevailing wage request was filed.  After we obtained the Prevailing Wage determination, our office filed the job order on March 30, 2020.  On June 4, 2020, we filed PERM.  On December 3, 2020, the PERM Labor Certification was approved – an EB2 position for the Korean 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, employer’s tax records, and other necessary supporting documents.

The I-140 Petition was filed on December 28, 2020 via regular processing service. We also filed her I-485 adjustment of status application simultaneously since her priority date was current. On April 9, 2021, our office filed a premium processing upgrade request to the USCIS upon our client’s request. On April 21, 2021, the I-140 EB2 Petition for our Korean client was approved without any Request for Evidence (RFE). On March 24, 2022, her I-485 adjustment of status application was approved without any Request for Evidence (RFE).

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CASE: I-751

APPLICANT: Nigerian

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client contacted our office in April 2021 regarding her I-751 application.

She is from Nigeria and she married a U.S. citizen in March 2019. Through her marriage, she obtained a 2-year conditional green card in July 2019.  Her conditional residency terminated in July 2021.

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 on April 20, 2021, and our office prepared the I-751 application for our client.

On April 27, 2021, 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. On March 9, 2022, the USCIS approved our client’s I-751 application without any Request for Evidence (RFE). Our client received her 10-year green card which removed the conditions.

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CASE: N-400 (Citizenship / Naturalization)

APPLICANT: French

LOCATION: Ravenna, OH

Our client contacted us in September 2021 to seek legal representation for his naturalization application. He came to the United States from France and obtained his green card in May 2014.

Shortly upon retention, his N-400 application was filed on October 7, 2021 with all supporting documents. Prior to his citizenship interview, our office prepared him via conference calls.  On March 8, 2022, our client appeared at the Cleveland, Ohio USCIS office for his naturalization interview. Our client answered all questions correctly and passed his naturalization interview. On March 9, 2022, his application was approved. His oath taking is scheduled in which he will become a naturalized U.S. Citizen.

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CASE: I-485 Adjustment of Status    
APPLICANT: Canadian Dentist in Cleveland, OH

Our client is from Canada, who is currently working in the United States as an associate dentist on an H-1B status. His current employer was willing to do an immigration petition for him, second-preference. Our client has a Doctor of Dental Medicine degree in the United States. After talking to our client, our firm concluded that his employer can petition him as an associate dentist. Based on our client’s education and work background, our office determined that he is clearly eligible for EB-2 classification. 

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 December 10, 2019, the prevailing wage request was filed.  After we obtained the Prevailing Wage determination, our office filed the job order on April 1, 2020.  On June 8, 2020, we promptly filed PERM.  Eventually, on December 16, 2020, the PERM Labor Certification was approved – an EB2 position for the Canadian 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, employer’s tax records, and other necessary supporting documents.

The I-140 Petition was filed on January 14, 2021 via regular processing service. We also filed his I-485 adjustment of status application simultaneously since his priority date was current. On April 14, 2021, our office filed a premium processing upgrade request to the USCIS upon our client’s request. On April 26, 2021, the I-140 EB2 Petition for our Canadian client was approved. Eventually, on March 14, 2022, his I-485 adjustment of status application was approved without any Request for Evidence (RFE). 

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

 APPLICANT: Chinese

 LOCATION: Solon, OH

Our client is an assistant professor from China, who is currently teaching at a state university which was willing to petition for a second-preference I-140.  Our client has a Ph.D. degree and has worked for this school since July 2017. He has maintained his status as an H-1B visa holder in the United States.  He had an approved I-140 petition which was filed by his current employer and this I-140 petition’s priority date was May 17, 2018.

In August 2021, he contacted our office and retained us for his I-485 adjustment of status application once his priority date became current. Our office filed the I-485 adjustment of status application for our client on September 24, 2021. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices and fingerprint appointment came on time. Eventually, on February 28, 2022, he and his wife’s green card applications were approved.

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CASE: I-140 / National Interest Waiver

CLIENT: Korean

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client contacted us about the possibility of doing a National Interest Waiver self-petition. He is a researcher from South Korea and he is an exceptional researcher and scientist in the field of Biomedical Engineering. 

Our client’s significant contributions have placed him at the pinnacle of his field. Our client’s research include advanced medical image processing, machine/deep learning techniques, and its medical applications. Throughout his research career, he has made important and innovative contributions to the field of biomedical engineering and his research successfully influenced various cardiovascular imaging modalities, such as echocardiogram, intravascular ultrasound (IVUS), and intravascular optical coherence tomogram (IVOCT). Because of his innovative research, our client’s works were highly evaluated by 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 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 26-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 record, presentation record, 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 December 29, 2020. On March 3, 2022, the USCIS approved his I-140 petition without any Requests for Evidence.  When we filed his I-140, he concurrently filed his I-485 adjustment of status application. His adjustment of status application will be approved soon as well.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

NATIONALITY: Chinese                                                                                                

LOCATION: Maplewood, OH 

Our client is from China who came to the U.S. on a B-2 visa in September 2021. Since then, she has remained in the United States. In November 2021, our client married her U.S. citizen husband.  She retained our office on November 12, 2021 for her green card application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on November 18, 2021.  Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices and fingerprint appointment all came on time. Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our clients. On February 15, 2022, our client was interviewed at the Cincinnati, OH USCIS office. Eventually, on March 1, 2022, her green card application was approved.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: Indian

LOCATION: North Olmsted, OH

Our client came to the United States from India on a F-1 student visa and currently works for her employer under H-1B status. She married a U.S. Citizen in October 2021 and retained our office on November 25, 2021 for her green card application. Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on December 14, 2021. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices and fingerprint appointment all came on time. Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our clients via conference calls. On March 4, 2022, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, Ohio USCIS office. Attorney JP Sarmiento, Esq. from our office accompanied our clients. On March 5, 2022, our client’s green card application was approved.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: Korean

LOCATION: Northfield, OH

Our client came to the United States from South Korea on a F-1 student visa. She married a U.S. Citizen in September 2021 and retained our office on September 24, 2021 for her green card application. Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on December 1, 2021. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices and fingerprint appointment all came on time. Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our clients via conference calls. On February 22, 2022, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, Ohio USCIS office. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu, Esq. from our office also accompanied our clients. On February 23, 2022, our client’s green card application was approved.

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