CASE: Marriage-Based Green Card (Same Sex Marriage Case)

CLIENT: Filipino

LOCATION: Philadelphia, PA

Our client came to the United States from the Philippines on a J-1 exchange visitor’s visa. He got his J-1 waiver for his two-year foreign residency requirementl.  In May 2018, he married his U.S. Citizen same-sex spouse in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 

On June 26, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court held that restricting U.S. federal interpretation of “marriage” and “spouse” to apply only to heterosexual unions, by Section 3 of the defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), is unconstitutional under the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment. United States v. Windsor, 570 U.S. ___ (2013). After Windsor decision, the USCIS implemented a new policy that the USCIS officer must review immigration via petitions filed on behalf of a same-sex spouse in the same manner as those filed on behalf of an opposite-sex spouse. As long as a same-sex couple is married in a U.S. state that recognizes same-sex marriage, their marriage shall be considered a valid marriage under the immigration law. 

They married in Pennsylvania where same-sex marriages iares recognized. Our client contacted our office and retained us in April 2019 for his 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 July 3, 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 via conference calls. On July 29, 2020, our client was interviewed at the Philadelphia, PA USCIS office. The interview went well and his green card application was approved on the same day.

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

 NATIONALITY:  Pakistani

 LOCATION: Pittsburgh, PA

Our client came to the U.S. on a J-1 Visa in January 2015 from Pakistan.  She came to the U.S. for her undergraduate program, and her J-1 visa made her subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement. Our client would like to be eligible for adjustment of status or other visas in the future.  However, due to the two-year foreign residency requirement, she had to obtain a waiver first.

Our client believed she could pursue her J-1 waiver under the persecution category since she will be persecuted based on her culturally forbidden marriage. 

A person can file a 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 she would be persecuted if she goes back to Pakistan based on her marriage. After she retained our firm, we prepared and filed a waiver request through the  persecution basis. On June 18, 2019, the J-1 Waiver (Form DS-3035) Application was filed to the Department of State.  Thereafter, our office prepared an affidavit for our client, an extensive brief in support for our client’s J-1 waiver application, and other supporting documents to show that she will be persecuted in Pakistan if she goes back. On October 8, 2019, our office filed the I-612 application to the USCIS. 

On January 15, 2020, the USCIS issued a Request for Evidence (RFE) and requested our client to submit more evidence to support her persecution claim. Our office prepared an extensive Response to the RFE and submitted it on March 13, 2020.  Eventually, the Department of State recommended the waiver for our client on May 5, 2020. Subsequently, the USCIS approved her I-612 waiver on July 14, 2020.

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CASE: PERM Labor Certification

EMPLOYER: Nutrition Management Company

BENEFICIARY: Taiwanese Consulting Dietician

LOCATION: Kittanning, PA

Our client has a current employer that was willing to petition her for a second-preference petition (I-140).  Our client has a master’s degree in nutrition, a valid state dietician license, and has worked for her current employer since November 2018. Based on our client’s education and work background, our office determined that she is eligible for EB-2 classification for her I-140 petition.  

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 the PERM application could be filed at least 60 days from the job posting date or 30 days from the last ad. Within a week from our retention, the prevailing wage request was filed.  After we obtained the PW determination, our office filed the job order on October 8, 2019, and eventually the advertisements and in-house job posting.  On February 22, 2020, we filed PERM. 

Eventually, on June 18, 2020, the PERM Labor Certification was approved – an EB2 position for the Taiwanese beneficiary. Since her priority date is current, our client can file the I-140, I-485 green card application, and I-765 simultaneously as well.

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CASE: I-140 / National Interest Waiver

CLIENT: Chinese Born, Canadian Citizen

LOCATION: Hershey, PA

Our client contacted us about the possibility of doing a National Interest Waiver self-petition. She is a post-doctorate researcher born in China (but a Canadian Citizen) and she is an exceptional researcher and scientist in the field of biomedical research. 

Our client’s significant contributions have placed her at the pinnacle of her field. She has been focused on understanding neuronal development and neurodegenerative disease in various regions of the central nervous system. She has done this through optimizing cutting edge methodologies in molecular and stem cell biology and, through her unique training as a physician scientist, integrated these findings by translating them to laboratory models of various central nervous system diseases. Moreover, her research 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 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. 

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 10 letters of recommendation from her colleagues and internationally-recognized researchers. Our office also included her 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 her field of endeavor, that she 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 her I-140(NIW) petition to the USCIS Texas Service Center on July 18, 2019. Eventually, on April 30, 2020, the USCIS approved her I-140 petition without any Requests for Evidence.  She can file her adjustment of status application once her priority date becomes current.

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CASE: I-485 / I-140 / National Interest Waiver

CLIENT: Korean

LOCATION: Akron, OH

Our client contacted us in December 2017 about the possibility of doing a National Interest Waiver self-petition. He is a Ph.D. student from South Korea and has a Master’s Degree in Engineering. Though he is a Ph.D. student, he is already considered as an exceptional researcher and scientist in the field of polymer engineering and nanofabrication research. 

Our client’s significant contributions have placed him at the pinnacle of his field. He has made important contributions to the field of nanofabrication based on layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly using two-dimensional (2D) materials. LbL assembly technique can create ultrathin films and highly tunable surfaces using diverse combinations of nanomaterials on various supports. Our client has incorporated 2D materials (e. g. graphene and molybdenum disulfide) into thin films using LbL assembly technique to produce materials with designed functionality. 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 22-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 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. His NIW application contained 26 exhibits (Exhibit A to Z).

Our office filed his I-140(NIW) petition to the USCIS Nebraska Service Center on July 30, 2018. Eventually, on February 14, 2019, 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 3, 2019, our office filed an I-485 adjustment of status application for our client and his wife. 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 as well. On February 20, 2020, our client was interviewed at Pittsburgh Pennsylvania USCIS office. The interview went well, our client and his wife’s adjustment of status applications were approved by the USCIS on the same day of the interview.

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

 APPLICANT: Korean

 LOCATION: Erie, PA

Our client is an assistant professor from South Korea, who is currently teaching at a state university which was willing to petition him for a second-preference petition (I-140).  Our client has a Ph.D. degree and has worked for this school since August 2017. He has maintained her 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 July 5, 2018.

In November 2018, he contacted our office and retained us for his I-485 adjustment of status application. Our office filed an I-485 adjustment of status application for our client on November 21, 2018. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices and fingerprint appointment came on time.

Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our client via conference call as well. On August 26, 2019, our client and his wife were interviewed at Buffalo New York USCIS office. The interview went well; however, the visa number was not available after the interview.  Eventually, on October 28, 2019, his and his wife’s green card applications were approved.

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

NATIONALITY: Canadian                                                                                                           

LOCATION: Pittsburgh, PA

Our client is from Canada who came to the U.S. on a J-1 visa in January 2014 to work as a short-term scholar at one of the national laboratories in the United States. Currently, she is in the U.S. with her F-1 status and is pursuing her Ph.D. program. With our legal assistance, her husband got his I-140 self-petition approval (National Interest Waiver Category) in February 2019.  They were about to file their adjustment of status applications based on the approved I-140 petition; however, our client would like to double-check whether she was subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement for that J-1 program.

Upon our client’s request, our office checked with the State Department by filing an advisory opinion request.  According to the Department of State, “if you are not sure whether the two year foreign residence applies to you, you may make a written request for an advisory opinion for the applicability of the residence requirement to your situation.”  Our office promptly filed this advisory opinion request on January 16, 2019 to the Waiver Review Division of the Department of State.

Unfortunately, the decision of the Department of State stated that our client is subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement. After our office received this decision from the Department of State, our office promptly prepared for filing a waiver request through a No Objection Statement (NOS) from the Canadian Embassy in the United States. 

On April 1, 2019, the J-1 Waiver (Form DS-3035) Application was filed to the Department of State.  We also sent a request to the Canadian Embassy to issue a No Objection Statement and recommend this waiver based on the fact that our client is eligible to adjust with an approved I-140 if she obtains the waiver.

Thereafter, the Canadian Embassy issued a No Objection Statement for our client, and sent this letter to the State Department’s Waiver Review Division.  On May 15, 2019, the Waiver Review Division issued a favorable recommendation based on the No Objection statement. The CIS has issued an I-612 approval notice on May 25, 2019. Now, our client can file her adjustment of status application along with her husband’s approved I-140 petition.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status

CLIENT: Mexican

LOCATION: Pennsylvania

Our client came to the United States from Mexico on a B-2 visitor’s visa in 2002. He has remained in the United States since then.  He married a U.S. Citizen in February 2018 and 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 March 20, 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 March 12, 2019, our client was interviewed at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USCIS office. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office also accompanied our client as well.

The interview went well. However, the USCIS issued Request for Evidence (RFE) for our client to submit his updated medical record (I-693) and certified court disposition for his previous minor criminal record.  Our office filed the Response to RFE on April 4, 2019. Eventually, on April 12, 2019, his green card application was approved.

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CASE: J-2 Waiver of Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement / Over 21-year-old dependent child

NATIONALITY: Chinese

LOCATION: Pennsylvania

Our client is a citizen of China who came to the U.S. on a J-2 Visa in 1995.  She came with her mother who came on a J-1 Visa for her research program in the United States. Both were subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement, meaning they had to go back to their home country for two-years before they can apply for permanent residency or some non-immigrant visa such as the H, L, and O visas.

She turned 21 in May 2010. She would like to get a waiver because she has a prospective employer who will file an H-1B petition for her. However, because of her two-year foreign residency requirement, our client cannot change her status in the United States without the fulfillment of requirement or the waiver.

Although J-2 dependents cannot independently apply for a waiver, in cases where a J-2 child reaches 21, the Waiver Review Division may consider requests for waivers on behalf of the J-2 dependent.  The Department of State’s policy allows for that process in instances where the J-2 dependent obtains a divorce form the J-1 principal, the J-1 principal dies, or in cases where the J-2 dependent turns 21, which is our client’s case. In fact, our client turned 21 in May 2010.

Our firm was retained to do her J-2 waiver, and on January 28, 2019, the J-2 Waiver application (Form DS-3035 and supporting documents) was filed to the Department of State. We also sent a request to the DOS to be an interested government agency and recommend this waiver based on the fact that our client reached the age of 21 and was not a dependent of a J-1 visa holder anymore.  Eventually, on March 4, 2019, the DOS recommended to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) that our client be granted a waiver. On March 19, 2019, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for our client’s waiver request.

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CASE: N-400 (Citizenship / Naturalization)

APPLICANT: Nigerian

LOCATION: Pittsburgh, PA

Our client contacted us in November 2018 to seek legal representation for his naturalization and citizenship N-400 application. He came to the United States from Nigeria and obtained his green card in October 2015 through his marriage to his U.S citizen spouse.

After retention, his N-400 application was filed on November 26, 2018 with all supporting documents. Prior to his citizenship interview, our office prepared him via conference calls.  On January 31, 2019, our client appeared at the Pennsylvania, PA 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 February 15, 2019. His oath

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