CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: Filipina

LOCATION: Cincinnati, OH

Our client came to the United States from the Philippines on an F-1 student visa in December 2014. She married a U.S. Citizen in December 2015 and retained our office for her green card application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on December 17, 2015.  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 April 12, 2016, our client was interviewed at the Cincinnati, Ohio USCIS office. Eventually, on April 29, 2016, her green card application was approved.

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CASE: Fiancée Visa

PETITIONER: US Citizen in Cleveland Ohio

BENEFICIARY: Filipina

PETITION FILED: August 13, 2015

PETITION APPROVED: September 8, 2015

K-1 VISA APPROVED: April 26, 2016

Our client, a US Citizen Petitioner, met his Filipina fiancée in the Philippines in 2011. They started their relationship, and he visited the Philippines. In 2014, he proposed to her during his trip in the Philippines. After his proposal, he retained our firm to file a fiancée petition for her.

After retention, we informed our client about the necessary supporting documents to demonstrate the bona fide nature of their relationship. Our client retained our office on June 6, 2015. We helped him and his fiancée draft letters in support of the fiancé petition, and we filed the petition on August 13, 2015.

On September 8, 2015, less than a month after the filing, the I-129F fiancée petition was approved. On April 16, 2016, our client’s fiancée appeared at the U.S. Embassy in Manila, Philippines for her K-1 visa interview. The interview went well, and on April 26, 2016, the U.S. Embassy issued her K-1 visa.

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

CLIENT: Ukrainian

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client came to the United States in December 2015 as a K-1 visa entrant from Ukraine.  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 the 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.

Our client contacted our office initially in the middle of January 2016 and consulted with us for her adjustment of status application. After retention, our firm prepared and filed the I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on January 29, 2016.  Things went smoothly and the receipt notices, and the fingerprint appointment all came on time.  

It is not mandatory to have an adjustment of status interview for an applicant who entered on a K-1 visa.  However, the USCIS may require an interview to test the validity and bona fide nature of the marriage between the Petitioner and Beneficiary. The USCIS did not require an adjustment interview for our client.  On April 22, 2016, her green card application was approved.

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CASE: Change of Status / I-539
NATIONALITY: Filipina
LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client is from the Philippines who came to the U.S. on a J-1 exchange visitor visa to work at Holiday Inn as an intern. She consulted with our firm a few weeks before the expiration of her J-1 status. She wanted to continue to stay in the United States for six more months to spend more time here and to travel.  We explained to her that CIS has been more stringent on Visitor status change. Upon retention, we prepare a statement based on her plans if her change of status request is granted. We asked her to provide as much detail as possible as we drafted the statement. We made sure all addresses, contact information, and dates on her statement were complete and accurate. We made sure all her plans were supported by corroborating evidence as exhibits to the application to avoid a possible Request for Evidence by the CIS.  Our office submitted financial documents from her parents in the Philippines as well. We filed the I-539 Change of Status Application on December 8, 2015 and her B-2 status extension was approved on April 4, 2016 with no Requests for Evidence.

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CASE: PERM Labor Certification    
EMPLOYER: Taekwondo (Martial Arts) School
BENEFICIARY: Korean
LOCATION: Cleveland, Ohio

Our client is a former Taekwondo athlete, and currently studies in the United States. He had a Taekwondo school which was willing to petition him for a third-preference petition (I-140).  Our client has a bachelor’s degree in a related field. After talking to our client, our firm concluded that his potential employer can petition him as a Taekwondo Coach. Based on our client’s education, professional and work background, our office determined that he is clearly eligible for EB-3 classification for his I-140 petition.  Our client eventually retained us on January 20, 2015.

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 February 25, 2015, the prevailing wage request was filed.  After we obtained a foreign degree evaluation report, our office filed the job order on April 21, 2015.  On July 15, 2015, we filed PERM.  Eventually, on January 19, 2016, the PERM Labor Certification was approved – an EB3 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 April 8, 2016 via premium processing. Eventually, on April 13, 2016, the I-140 EB3 Petition for our Korean client was approved without any Requests for Evidence (RFE).

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CASE: N-400 (Citizenship / Naturalization)

APPLICANT: Chinese

LOCATION:  Cleveland, OH

Our client contacted us in August 2015 to seek legal representation for her naturalization and citizenship N-400 application. She came to the United States from China and obtained her green card in December 2006 through her family petition. She retained our office on August 24, 2015.

The N-400 application was filed on September 17, 2015 with all supporting documents. Prior to her citizenship interview, our office prepared her in our office. On March 29, 2016, our client appeared at the Cleveland, OH USCIS office for her naturalization interview. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office accompanied our client as well. Our client answered all questions correctly and passed her naturalization and citizenship interview. Eventually, her application was approved on April 11, 2016. Her oath taking is scheduled in which she will become a naturalized U.S. Citizen.

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CASE: Adjustment of Status (I-485) based on First Preference Approved I-130
CLIENT: US Citizen Petitioner Mother; Chinese Beneficiary Daughter in Ohio
LOCATION: Cleveland, Ohio

Our client retained us to file her adjustment of status application (I-485) based on an approved I-130 petition which was filed for her by her US Citizen mother in February 2008. Our client is from China and has maintained her status in the United States. She was working as a controller under a valid H-1B status.

In October 2015, she was eligible to file her adjustment of status application. Our firm prepared and filed the I-485 adjustment of status application on October 23, 2015. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, fingerprint appointment, and work permits all came on time. There were no requests for evidence.

Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our client at our office. On March 17, 2016, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, Ohio USCIS office. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office also accompanied our client. The interview went well, and her application was approved on March 21, 2016. Now, she is a green card holder.

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CASE: I-751 / Waiver of the Joint Waiver Requirement
APPLICANT: Filipina
LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client contacted our office in late June of 2015 regarding her potential I-751 filing. She was from the Philippines and married a U.S. citizen in May 2013. Through her marriage with a U.S. citizen spouse, she obtained a 2-year conditional green card in October of 2013. Therefore, her conditional residency terminated in October 2015.

Unfortunately, during their marriage, our client and her ex-husband went through struggles. They lived separately for a while and their divorce was finalized in July 2015. Thus, our client could not file I-751 application jointly with her ex-husband. After consultation, we advised that we can help her file an I-751 application with a waiver of the joint filing requirement. We requested a waiver because our client entered into the marriage in good faith, but the marriage was terminated through divorce or annulment before they can file a joint petition.

On August 25, 2015, our office filed the I-751 application with various supporting documents (over 20 exhibits and an affidavit over 4 pages) to demonstrate our client’s bona fide marriage with her ex-husband.  Eventually, on March 14, 2016, the USCIS approved our request for the removal of conditions on her permanent resident status without even an interview nor a request for evidence. Now, she has her ten-year green card.

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CASE: I-140 (EB-2)

EMPLOYER: Cultural Center

BENEFICIARY: Chinese Educational Services Market Research Analyst

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

The beneficiary is a Chinese lady who is currently working at a cultural center in Cleveland Ohio. The company was willing to do an immigration petition for her, second-preference. She has a Master’s degree in Business Administration.

Our firm believed her employer can petition her as an Educational Services Market Research Analyst. Based on our client’s educational, professional and working background, our office determined that she may be clearly eligible for EB-2 classification.

Prior to filing the PERM labor certification application, 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 the PERM Labor Certification application could be filed at least 60 days from the job posting date or 30 days from the last ad.

On September 26, 2014, the prevailing wage request was filed.  On January 28, 2015, we filed the PERM labor certification application.  Eventually, on August 19, 2015, the PERM labor certification was approved – an EB2 position for the Chinese Educational Services Market Research Analyst.

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 February 10, 2016 via premium processing. However, on February 16, 2016, the USCIS issued a Request for Evidence (RFE) for our client’s petition. In the RFE, the USCIS requested our client to submit any documentation that demonstrated her specific software special skills in the past. Our office promptly filed the Response to RFE on February 25, 2016 to the USCIS by submitting a letter from her employer detailing her usage and knowledge of the specific software that was required. Eventually, on March 2, 2016, the I-140 EB2 Petition for our Chinese client was approved. She can file an I-485 adjustment of status application for her green card when her priority date becomes current.

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CASE: I-751

APPLICANT: Iranian

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client contacted our office in July of 2015 regarding his I-751 application.

He is from Iran and he married a U.S. citizen in July 2013. Through his marriage, he obtained a 2-year conditional green card in October of 2013. Our office helped him with his green card. His conditional residency terminated in October 2015.

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 July 29, 2015 and our office prepared an I-751 application for our client with supporting documents.

On August 11, 2015, our office filed an I-751 application to the USCIS with multiple affidavits from his friends and family members, joint bank statements, joint tax records, utility bills, joint leasing 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. Everything went smoothly and eventually, on February 12, 2016, the USCIS approved our client’s I-751 application without any Request for Evidence (RFE).

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