CASE: Marriage-Based Green Card

CLIENT: Jamaican

LOCATION: Cleveland, Ohio

Our client is a professional football player who plays for the Cleveland Browns in the NFL. He came to the United States from Jamaica when he was a high school student and went to college as an F-1 student. After he was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens, he started to play in the NFL as a P-1 visa holder. Later on he was picked up by the Cleveland Browns as a free agent.

He married a U.S. Citizen in August 2012.

Months later, our client retained our office for his I-130 petition and I-485 adjustment of status application, and our firm prepared and filed the I-130 petition and I-485 adjustment of status application, together with all necessary supporting documents, on November 25, 2013. 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 clients at our office. On February 14, 2014, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, Ohio USCIS office. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu accompanied them as well.  On the same day, his green card application was approved.

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CASE: Marriage to US Citizen Green Card

CLIENT: Indian

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client came to the United States from India. Currently, he is working for his employer under an H-1B visa.  Later, he married his current wife, who was a green card holder at the time of filing, in June 2011.

Our client retained our office in early September 2013 for his I-130 petition and I-485 adjustment of status application. Although the Petitioner was a green card holder, we could file the I-130 / I-485 simultaneously at that time because the priority date for the F2A category was current in August and September 2013.

Our office prepared and filed an I-130 petition and I-485 adjustment of status application, together with all necessary supporting documents, on September 26, 2013. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, fingerprint appointment, and work permits all came on time.

While his green card application was pending, our client’s wife took her naturalization test and interview on January 7, 2014.  Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our clients at our office. On January 10, 2014, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, Ohio USCIS office.

The interview went well, however, our client’s green card application could not be adjudicated because of the retrogression of the priority date.

On February 7, 2014, our client’s wife finally took her oath and became a naturalized U.S. citizen. After the ceremony, our client’s wife gave us a copy of her naturalization certificate which our office eventually submitted to the USCIS office on the same day.

By doing this, our client’s case can be upgraded from the F2A category to Immediate Relative, which has available immigrant visa numbers all the time. Eventually, on February 10, 2014, the USCIS approved our client’s green card application.

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CASE: Termination of Proceedings / I-751

APPLICANT: Ecuadorian

LOCATION: Cleveland, Ohio

Our client contacted our office in April 2012 regarding her removal proceedings representation and I-751 application.

She is from Ecuador and married a U.S. citizen in October 2004. Through her marriage, she obtained a 2-year conditional green card in September 2006.  Her conditional residency terminated in September 2008.

To comply with immigration requirements, our client and her husband had to file an I-751 Joint Petition to Remove Conditions. However, they filed their I-751 application late. Later on, our client was placed in removal proceedings and had to appear for her Master Calendar hearing at the Cleveland Immigration Court on May 2, 2012. Our client retained our office on April 30, 2012 and Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu represented our client at her initial Master Calendar Hearing. After the hearing, the Court scheduled an individual hearing to review her denied I-751 application.

In the meantime, our office contacted the Cleveland DHS office to terminate her removal proceedings. We prepared an affidavit of “good cause” for the late filing and showed it together with the bona fide evidence to the DHS. As a result, on September 19, 2013, the DHS agreed to terminate her removal proceedings. Accordingly, the Immigration Judge terminated our client’s removal proceedings.

Once her removal proceeding was terminated, our office prepared an I-751 application for our client with other supplemental exhibits including a detailed brief on why she filed her initial I-751 application late.

On September 30, 2013, our office filed an I-751 application to the USCIS with multiple affidavits from her friends and family members, joint bank statements, utility bills, insurance policies, and photos of our client and her husband 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, 2014, the USCIS approved our client’s I-751 application and our client received her 10-year green card which removed conditions on her residency.

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CASE:   I-601A Hardship Waiver of Inadmissibility

APPLICANT / BENEFICIARY: Chinese

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client came to the United States from China in March 2000 without inspection and admission. When she made her entry to the U.S., she was only 15 year old.

She married her U.S. citizen husband in 2006 and they have a U.S. citizen child together. Through our office, she applied for deferred action (I-821D) and the USCIS approved her application on December 13, 2012.  Once her I-821D was approved, her U.S. Citizen husband an I-130 petition for her on February 4, 2013. This I-130 petition was approved on March 25, 2013.

However, our client cannot file for adjustment of status application due to her ground of inadmissibility. She needs a waiver of inadmissibility to become a green card holder.

Under current law, immediate relatives of U.S. citizens who are not eligible to adjust status in the United States must travel abroad and obtain an immigrant visa. Individuals who have accrued more than 180 days of unlawful presence while in the United States must obtain a waiver of inadmissibility to overcome the unlawful presence bars under section 212(a)(9)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act before they can return to the United States

Last year, the USCIS announced of new policy called the provisional unlawful presence waiver. Beginning March 4, 2013, certain immigrant visa applicants who are spouses, children and parents of U.S. citizens (immediate relatives) can apply for provisional unlawful presence waivers before they leave the United States. The provisional unlawful presence waiver process allows individuals, who only need a waiver of inadmissibility for unlawful presence, to apply for a waiver in the United States.

The new process is expected to shorten the time U.S. citizens are separated from their immediate relatives while those family members are obtaining immigrant visas to become lawful permanent residents of the United States.

INA § 212(i) provides for a discretionary waiver of the entry without inspection inadmissibility ground. To qualify for the waiver, the alien must establish that his or her US Citizen spouse would suffer extreme hardship if the alien were denied admission. INA § 212(i)(1). In addition to the equities presented, the USCIS may consider the nature of the inadmissibility ground.

There is a seminal BIA case that deals with this waiver.  In Matter of Cervantes, 22 I & N Dec. 560 (BIA 1999), the BIA identified the factors to be considered in determining whether a qualifying relative would suffer extreme hardship if the alien were denied admission.  Those factors include: the presence of LPR or USC family ties both within and outside the United States; the conditions in the country to which the qualifying relative would relocate and the extent of the qualifying relative’s ties to that country; the financial impact of departure from the United States; and significant conditions of health, particularly when tied to the unavailability of suitable medical care in the country to which the qualifying relative would relocate.

Our client’s I-601A application had a good chance since our client’s U.S. Citizen husband suffers from a great degree of psychological hardship. Also, his U.S. citizen mother (our client’s mother-in-law) has a mental disease which requires special attention from our client’s husband. In the I-601A brief and supporting documents, our office included extensive medical reports of her husband.  We argued that if she was removed from the United States, extreme hardship to her husband is clearly foreseeable and evident.  Her husband has ongoing psychological hardships and he would not be able to take care of his own needs and the bulk of their family chores, most importantly taking care of their infant children. Also, it would be extremely difficult for him to get the same level of therapy and satisfactory access to medical services in China in case he joins our client there.

In our brief, we also argued that our client and her husband have maintained strong family ties in the United States, that her husband will have difficulty in finding the same level of employment in China, that our client has good employment in the United States, and that his U.S. citizen child and her husband will face extreme financial and emotional difficulties if he is removed.

On October 3, 2013, we file the I-601A waiver application which included the brief in support, her husband’s extensive psychological examination records, and other documents that demonstrated hardship to her husband if she is removed from the United States.

Eventually, her I-601A waiver was approved on January 27, 2014. Now, she can file packet 3 and 4 here in the United States, and would go to China shortly to get her immigrant visa.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Green Card

CLIENT: Cameroonian

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client came to the United States from Cameroon and he is currently pursuing his degree in Cleveland, Ohio on an F-1 student visa. He married his current wife, who is a green card holder, in September 2012.  After marriage, his wife filed an I-130 petition on behalf of our client in November 2012. Due to family and school issues, his wife had to move to Maryland with her mother. The beneficiary had to stay in Cleveland to maintain his F-1 status. This I-130 petition was approved in October 2013.

Our client retained our office on October 16, 2013 for his I-485 adjustment of status application. We could file the I-485 application because the priority date for F2A category was current at the time of filing. They were living separately at that time, but based on their bona fide evidence, we thought we can still prove an ongoing relationship. Our office prepared and filed an I-485 adjustment of status application, but we also included an affidavit from both of them to explain why they had to live separately (work, school, family etc.). We filed the application together with all necessary supporting documents on November 20, 2013. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, fingerprint appointment, and work permits all came on time. Despite them living apart, due to the bona fide evidence submitted as well as the affidavit, there were no Requests for Evidence.

Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our clients at our office. On January 28, 2014, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, Ohio USCIS office. Our attorney accompanied them at their interview as well. The interview went well, and the priority date for our client was current at the time of the interview. Despite potential issues that our clients were worried about prior to retaining our firm, the green card application was approved on the same day.

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CASE: I-130 (Petitions for Parents) and Adjustment of Status
CLIENT: Egyptians
LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client retained us to petition for his parents for a green card. Our client was born and raised in Egypt, but was naturalized in the United States in 2012. He contacted our office in early April of 2013 and discussed with us the green card process. After consultation, he retained our office on April 23, 2013.

Once retained, our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and Adjustment of Status Application on May 2, 2013 for his parents.  Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, fingerprint appointment, and work permits all came on time.  Eventually, on January 21, 2014, our client’s parents’ adjustment of status applications were approved. Now, they are green card holders.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Green Card

CLIENT: Indian

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client came to the United States in October 2011 with an H-1B Visa from India to work for his employer in the United States. He still has his H-1B status and works for his employer.

He married a U.S. Citizen in October 2013.  She lived in Union City, California and they intent to live together in the future, either in California or Ohio. They had joint properties, joint insurance documents, several pictures together, and joint bank statements. We told them living apart does not automatically result in a denial, and that each application is adjudicated on a case by case basis. We told them we will prepare them for the interview, and accompany them as well.

Our client retained our office on October 24, 2013 for the I-130 petition and I-485 adjustment of status application. Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 petition and I-485 adjustment of status application, together with all necessary supporting documents, on November 1, 2013. 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 clients at our office. On January 21, 2014, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, Ohio USCIS office. Attorney JP Sarmiento accompanied them as well.  On the same day, his green card application was approved.

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CASE: Diversity Immigrant Visa Based Green Card

CLIENT: Taiwanese

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client came to the United States from Taiwan and he is currently pursuing his Ph.D degree in Cleveland, OH on an F-1 student visa. Currently, he is residing with his wife who is also from Taiwan with an F-2 visa.  In 2013, our client applied for the  Diversity Visa program and got an immigrant visa for him and his wife.

The Diversity Immigrant Visa program is a United States congressionally mandated lottery program for receiving a United States Permanent Resident Card. It is also known as the Green Card Lottery. The lottery is administered on an annual basis by the Department of State and conducted under the terms of Section 203(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Section 131 of the Immigration Act of 1990 (Pub. L. 101-649) amended INA 203 to provide for a new class of immigrants known as “diversity immigrants” (DV immigrants). The Act makes available 55,000 permanent resident visas annually to natives of countries deemed to have low rates of immigration to the United States.

Our client retained our office on September 13, 2013 for his and his wife’s I-485 adjustment of status applications. Our office prepared and filed the I-485 adjustment of status applications, together with all necessary supporting documents, on October 10, 2013. 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 at our office. On December 9, 2013, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, OH USCIS office. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu accompanied them at their interview as well. The interview went well, and eventually on January 14, 2014, he and his wife’s green card applications were approved.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Green Card

CLIENT: Chinese

LOCATION: Akron, Ohio

Our client came to the United States in April 2013 with a B-2 Visitor’s Visa from China. She married a U.S. Citizen in October 2013.  Our client retained our office for her I-130 petition and I-485 adjustment of status application. Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 petition and I-485 adjustment of status application, together with all necessary supporting documents, on October 16, 2013. 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 clients at our office. On January 9, 2014, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, Ohio USCIS office. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu accompanied them as well.  On January 13, 2014, her green card application

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CASE: Marriage Based Green Card

CLIENT: Thai

LOCATION: Cleveland, Ohio

Our client married his current U.S. citizen husband in May 2013 in Thailand. After that, his U.S. citizen husband filed an I-130 petition in Thailand. However, while it was pending, our client’s US Citizen husband had to come back to the United States for his employment.

Though the I-130 was pending, our client (beneficiary of the I-130) came to the United States in June 2013 with a B-2 Visitor’s Visa. Consular processing was their intent, however, while they were staying in the United States, our client and her husband changed their mind and wanted to pursue our client’s adjustment of status process in the United States. The tricky factor in their case was that there was already an I-130 pending, and yet she came to the United States on a non-immigrant visa. It was thus very important to prove non-immigrant intent despite the background of their case.

Our client contacted our office and retained us on September 4, 2013. We decided to re-file the I-130 here in the United States, file it together with an adjustment of status application, and explain RIGHT AT THE FILING STAGE (instead of waiting for the interview) that our client did not have any immigrant intent on her recent entry, despite the pending I-130 petition.

Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 petition and I-485 adjustment of status application, together with all necessary supporting documents including documents and an affidavit which demonstrated that she had an intention to return to Thailand when she came to the U.S. in June 2013.

We filed the applications on October 17, 2013. 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 clients at our office, especially on any possible “immigrant intent” issue. This was very important, as a denial on those grounds would not simply be a denial, but would add a possible requirement for a hardship waiver should a re-file be done. It they deny it, it’s as if our client would’ve been better off, sans the expensive cost of going back, pursuing consular processing.

On January 10, 2014, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, Ohio USCIS office. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu accompanied them as well.  The interview went well, and Attorney Yu explained that our client did not have any immigrant intent at the time of her most recent entry to the United States. On the same day, her green card application was approved.

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