CASE: I-751

APPLICANT: Korean

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client contacted our office in late September of 2014 regarding his I-751 application.

He is from South Korea and married a U.S. citizen in December 2011. Through his marriage, he obtained a 2-year conditional green card in November of 2012. Our office helped him with his green card application.  His conditional residency terminated in November 2014.

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 October 1, 2014 and our office prepared an I-751 application for our client with other supplemental exhibits.

On October 2, 2014, 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 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. However, the USCIS issued a 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 April 29, 2015.

Nonetheless, the USCIS scheduled an interview for our client and his wife. On June 4, 2015, our client and his wife were requested to appear for an interview at the USCIS Cleveland Field Office.  Prior to the interview, our office prepared them thoroughly in our office and also accompanied them at the interview as well. The interview went well, and as a result, on the same day of the interview, the USCIS approved our client’s I-751 application.

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CASE: N-400 (Citizenship / Naturalization)

APPLICANT: Indian

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client contacted us in February 2015 to seek legal representation for his naturalization and citizenship N-400 application. He came to the United States from India and obtained his green card in February 2012 through marriage to his U.S. Citizen ex-wife. He retained our office on February 12, 2015.

The N-400 application was filed on February 19, 2015 with all supporting documents. Prior to his citizenship interview, our office prepared him for his naturalization interview at our office. On May 7, 2015, our client appeared at the Cleveland, OH USCIS office for his naturalization interview. Our client answered all questions correctly and passed his naturalization and citizenship interview. Eventually, his application was approved on June 4, 2015. His oath taking is scheduled in which he will become a naturalized U.S. Citizen.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: Japanese

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our Japanese client came to the United States on a J-1 exchange visitor visa to teach Japanese in the United States. She was not subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement. She married a U.S. Citizen in December 2014 and retained our office on February 1, 2015 for her adjustment of status application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and Adjustment of Status Application on February 19, 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 as well. On May 15, 2015, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, OH USCIS office.  Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office accompanied our clients as well. On May 27, 2015, her green card application was approved.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: Lithuanian

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our Lithuanian client came to the United States on a B-2 visitor’s visa in 2011. She married a U.S. Citizen in February 2015 and retained our office on March 1, 2015 for her green card application.  Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and Adjustment of Status Application on March 2, 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 as well. On May 21, 2015, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, Ohio USCIS office. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office accompanied our clients as well. Eventually, on the same date of the interview, her green card application was approved.

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CASE: Change of Status from H-1B to F-1 / Response to RFE

CLIENT: Chinese

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client has been on H-1B status for many years and has worked in the United States. In late 2014, she decided to study further in the United States and got admitted. She filed her I-539 Change of Status application to change status from H-1B to F-1 to USCIS.

However, she received a Request for Evidence for her application and the RFE letter was very extensive and involved multiple issues. In order to receive legal assistance from us, she contacted our office in early April of this year for the response to RFE. Eventually, she retained our office on April 7, 2015.

Once retained, we helped our client obtain supporting documents for the Change of Status and prepared the response brief for the RFE. We fully explained her financial ability to pursue her studies in the U.S., her ties to her home country, and maintenance of status.

The start date of her program on the I-20 was AFTER her last day at work on H-1B, but it was within 30 days of it. Plus, she filed the change of status before her last day at H-1B.

On April 21, 2015, we filed the Response to RFE for her I-539 Change of Status with an extensive response brief and numerous supporting documents.

On May, 1, 2015, the Change of Status was approved. Our client is now on F-1 and can start her accounting program soon.

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CASE: Adjustment of Status Based on Approved K-1 Visa
CLIENT: Chinese
LOCATION: Columbus, OH

Our client came to the United States in March 2014 as a K-1 visa entrant from China.  Our client is a beneficiary of an approved I-129F petition and came to the United States as a K-1 Fiancée of a U.S. Citizen whom she married within 90 days of entry.  By law, if you married your petitioner-fiancé within 90 days of your K-1 visa entry, you are eligible for adjustment of status.   

Our client contacted our office initially in the middle of May 2014 and consulted with us for her adjustment of status application.  Eventually, she retained our office, and our firm quickly prepared and filed the I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on June 6, 2014 a few days before her K-1 authorized stay period expired.  Things went smoothly and the receipt notices, and the fingerprint appointment all came on time.  Her Work Authorization Card was issued as well.

It is not mandatory for having an adjustment interview for an adjustment applicant based on K-1 visa entry.  However, the USCIS may require an interview to test the validity and bona fide nature of marriage between the Petitioner and Beneficiary.  Fortunately, the USCIS did not ask for an adjustment interview for our client.  On December 4, 2015, her green card application was approved.

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CASE: J-1 Waiver of Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement, No Objection Statement

NATIONALITY: Korean

LOCATION: Ohio

Our client is from South Korea who came to the U.S. on a J-1 Visa in December 2002 as a visiting scholar. His J-1 program made him subject to the two-year foreign residence requirement.  He retained our office to seek legal assistance for his H-1b visa.. Before his H-1b gets approved, he has to get a waiver of his two-year foreign residency requirement.

Once retained, our office promptly prepared and filed a waiver request through the No Objection Statement (NOS) from the Korean Embassy in the United States.

Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office contacted the Korean Consulate General Office in Chicago to pursue the waiver for our client.  The Consulate requested six different documents including a statement of reason for the waiver, the applicant’s resume, a J-1 visa waiver confirmation application, and a letter of reason for obtaining the J-1 waiver.  Most of those documents needed to be written in Korean, so Attorney Yu, a Korean himself, assisted our client in completing those documents.

On January 28, 2015 the J-1 Waiver (Form DS-3035) Application was filed to the Department of State.  We also sent a request to the Korean Embassy to issue a No Objection Statement and recommend this waiver based on the fact that our client is eligible to file a National Interest Waiver petition and adjustment of status application.

The Korean Consulate General in Chicago forwarded our client’s documents to the Korean Embassy in DC.  After that, the Korean Embassy issued a No Objection Statement for our client, and sent this letter to the State Department’s Waiver Review Division.  On March 25, 2015, the Waiver Review Division issued a favorable recommendation based on the No Objection statement. Eventually, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval on May 1, 2015.

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CASE:  I-485 Adjustment of Status / I-360 Special Immigrant Juvenile Status Petition

CLIENT: Guatemalan

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client came to the United States in September 2012 from Guatemala. He came to the United States without inspection and admission and was caught at the border. After that the DHS released him, but he was placed in removal proceedings. He came to Cleveland, OH to be reunited with his older brother who resides in the Cleveland area.

He retained our office in April 2013 for representation at his deportation proceedings. On June 4, 2013, our client appeared at the Cleveland Immigration Court for his master calendar hearing. Attorney Yu from our office represented him, did pleadings and sought asylum relief. After the hearing, our office also sought other options for our client since he was a minor.

Section 203(b)(4) of the INA allocates a percentage of immigrant visas to individuals considered “special immigrants” under section 101(a)(27) of the INA, including those aliens classified as special immigrant juveniles under Section 101(a)(27)(J). “Special Immigrant Juvenile” includes only those juveniles deemed eligible for long-term foster care based on abuse, neglect, or abandonment.  To be eligible as a SIJ, the DHS’ express consent to the juvenile court’s dependency order is required. Then, the approved SIJ petition (Form I-360) makes a minor petitioner immediately eligible to adjust status by filing an adjustment of status application.

Our client was 17 years old when he contacted our office. In fact, our client was not supported by his parents and had to work in farms to support himself since he was 8 years old in Guatemala. Our client’s sister-in-law, who is a U.S. citizen and lives with our client, would like to be a legal guardian of our client. With our help, she filed a complaint for him to be deemed a neglected child to Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court on October 10, 2013.

The Juvenile court hearing was scheduled on November 26, 2013. Attorney JP Sarmiento represented our client and his sister-in-law at the hearing. Eventually, on the same day, the court found that our client is neglected and dependent and our client’s sister-in-law was appointed legal guardian.

After that, our office filed an I-360 application on December 2, 2013 to the USCIS. The application was supported by a court order declaring dependency by the juvenile court, court order deeming the juvenile eligible for long-term foster care due to abuse, neglect, or abandonment, determination from the juvenile court that it is in our client’s interest not to be returned to Guatemala, and his birth certificate.

Our client appeared for his I-360 interview on January 10, 2014 at the Cleveland USCIS Field Office. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office also accompanied our client as well. However, after the interview, the USCIS issued the Notice of Intent to Deny.  Specifically, the USCIS alleged that the juvenile court’s order was not sufficient enough to adjudicate his I-360 petition because the juvenile court did not expressly declare that it is in our client’s interest not to be returned to Guatemala.

After the issuance of the NOID, our office contacted the juvenile court and sought for possible amendment of the judge’s decision. In response to our request, the juvenile court issued an amended decision and held that the sentence regarding the child’s best interests was omitted. The court found that it is not in the best interests of our client to be returned to Guatemala. Our office filed the response to the NOID on February 3, 2014 along with juvenile court’s new decision. Nevertheless, the USCIS approved our client’s I-360 petition on February 19, 2014.

Once his I-360 petition was approved, our office prepared and filed a request to join in a Motion to Terminate to USICE-DHS in Cleveland Office in April 2014. The DHS agreed with our motion, and on December 17, 2014, the Immigration Judge granted our Joint Motion to Terminate proceedings.

After his removal proceedings were terminated, our firm prepared and filed an I-485 adjustment of status application on March 3, 2015. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, fingerprint appointment, and work permit all came on time. Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our clients through conference calls. On April 27, 2015, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland USCIS Field Office. The interview went well, and on April 28, 2015, the USCIS approved our client’s adjustment of status application. Now, our client is a green card holder. 

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CASE: I-751

APPLICANT: Ghanaian

LOCATION: Cleveland, Ohio

Our client contacted our office in early July 2014 regarding his I-751 application.

He is from Ghana and married a U.S. citizen in 2011. Through his marriage, he obtained a 2-year conditional green card in October of 2012.  His conditional residency terminated in July 2014.

What was unique in this case was that after our client obtained his green card, their marriage suffered and they eventually got divorced. However, after a few months, they got remarried again. Those set of facts typically would raise red flags with immigration, but we got their story and obtained documents about their relationship and filed the I-751.

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 7, 2014 and our office prepared an I-751 application for our client with other supplemental exhibits. We made sure the application was extensive as their situation, post conditional residency application, was unique.

On August 19, 2014, our office filed an I-751 application to the USCIS with multiple affidavits from his friends and family members, joint tax filing records, joint bank statements, utility bills, insurance policies, and photos of our client and his wife to demonstrate the bona fideness of their marriage. The divorce decree plus new marriage certificate were also submitted. The beneficiary even had a domestic violence case which was brought down to disorderly conduct.

Once the application was filed, the fingerprint notice was issued two weeks later. However, USCIS issued a Request for Evidence (RFE) on December 3, 2014. The USCIS requested our client to submit more documentary evidence to prove the bona fide nature of his marriage with his wife. In response to the RFE, our office prepared the response and gathered more joint documentary evidence to demonstrate the bona fide nature of their marriage We filed the RFE response on February 5, 2015.

As expected, the USCIS scheduled an interview for our client’s I-751 application. On April 2, 2014, our client and his wife were requested to appear for their interview at the USCIS Cleveland Office.  Prior to the interview, our office prepared them thoroughly. We also accompanied them at the interview as well. The interview went well, and as a result, on the same day of the interview, 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: N-400 (Citizenship / Naturalization)

APPLICANT: Chinese

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client contacted us in December 2014 to seek legal representation for his naturalization and citizenship N-400 application. He came to the United States from China and obtained his green card in March 2012 through marriage to his U.S. Citizen wife. He retained our office on January 2, 2015.

The N-400 application was filed on January 12, 2015 with all supporting documents. Prior to his citizenship interview, our office prepared him in our office. On March 27, 2015, our client appeared at the Cleveland, OH USCIS office for his naturalization interview. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office accompanied our client. Our client answered all questions correctly and passed his naturalization and citizenship interview. Eventually, his application was approved on April 3, 2015. His oath taking is scheduled in which he will become a naturalized U.S. Citizen.

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