CASE: I-751

APPLICANT: Costa Rican

LOCATION: Houston, TX

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

He is from Costa Rica and married a U.S. citizen in May 2011. Through his marriage, he obtained a 2-year conditional green card in March of 2012.  His conditional residency was expired in March 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 January 14, 2014 and our office prepared an I-751 application for our client with bona fide marriage evidence.

On January 21, 2014, 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 lease, and photos of our client and his wife to demonstrate the bona fideness of their marriage.

There was no RFE issuance or interview request for our client’s I-751 application. As a result, on July 21, 2014, the USCIS approved our client’s I-751 application and our client received his 10-year green card.

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Case: I-130/I-485

Potential Issue: Response to Notice of Intent to Deny

Client: Kenyan

Location: Dallas, Texas

Our client entered the United States in May 2001 from Kenya with an F-1 student visa.  Later, she married her U.S. citizen husband in July 2007. She retained our office on June 29, 2012 for her adjustment of status application.

Our office prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on July 9, 2012.  Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, fingerprint appointment, and work permits all came on time. Prior to the interview, Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office thoroughly prepared our client via conference calls for their USCIS adjustment of status interview.

On September 21, 2012, Attorney Yu accompanied our client and her husband at the Dallas USCIS office for her adjustment interview. The interview was extensive, and at the end of the interview, the USCIS officer scheduled another interview for them. The officer was suspicious regarding the bona fideness of our client’s marriage.

On October 24, 2012, Attorney Yu accompanied our client and her husband again at the Dallas USCIS office her second interview. The interview took two hours and the officer thoroughly asked our client and her husband about the bona fide nature of the marriage and some martial issues that the officer had suspicions on.

On January 10, 2013, the USCIS issued a Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID).  The NOID claimed that there was substantial and probative evidence that the marital union between the Petitioner and Beneficiary is not bona fide.  Moreover, the NOID points out that the submitted documentation of Petitioner and Beneficiary does not establish a continual significant combining of financial responsibility for their marriage. Lastly, the NOID claimed there were several discrepancies in their testimonies during the interviews.

In response to the USCIS’s NOID, our office helped our clients draft an extensive affidavit. Multiple supporting documents  and a four-page affidavit from our client were all included as well as letters from their friends and neighbors, joint bank statements, joint insurance, utility bills, and several pictures of our client and his wife in several occasions with different people.  Several legal authorities were cited based on particular issues discussed, and on February 6, 2013, we filed the Response to NOID prior to the 30-day deadline.

However, for more than a year, our client and our office never received any kind of response or a decision from the USCIS Dallas Field Office. Our client had appeared for multiple Infopass appointments at the Dallas USCIS office and our office and our client had made several USCIS customer service center inquiries since it was out of processing time.

Our office also filed a written follow-up request directly to the USCIS Dallas Field Office in May 2014.

Finally, on July 2, 2014, the USCIS approved our client’s case. Both the I-130 Petition and I-485 Green Card Application were approved. Our client is now a green card holder.

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CASE: PERM Labor Certification

EMPLOYER: Radio Broadcasting Company

BENEFICIARY: Zambian Business Operating Manager

LOCATION: Texas

Our client is a business operating manager from Zambia, who used to work at a radio broadcasting company in Texas under his OPT program. While he was working there, the company was willing to do an immigration petition for him, second-preference. Our client has a Master’s degree in Business Administration and has worked for this company for a year under the OPT program. Currently, our client is in F-2 status.

After talking to our client, our firm concluded that his potential employer can petition him as a Business Operating Manager. Based on our client’s educational, professional and working background as an engineer and management analyst, our office determined that he is eligible for EB-2 classification.

Prior to filing the PERM labor certification, 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.

Within a week from our retention, the prevailing wage request was filed.  On January 9, 2014, we filed the PERM labor certification application.  Eventually, on June 23, 2014, the PERM labor certification was approved – an EB2 position for the Zambian Business Operating Manager. Now our client can file the I-140 Petition and the I-485 green card application since his priority date is current.

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CASE: H-1B Visa Petition

PETITIONER:  E-Commerce Merchandiser

BENEFICIARY: Korean Staff Accountant in Dallas, TX

Our client is an E-Commerce Merchandising company located in Dallas, Texas.  They contacted our office in early March of this year to seek legal assistance for a possible H-1B petition for their foreign employee.

The beneficiary obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration / Accounting in South Korea and her Associate’s degree in the United States. The proffered position for the Beneficiary is a Staff Accountant which we argued qualifies as a specialty occupation.

Upon retention, our office prepared and eventually filed the H-1B visa petition with various supporting documents on March 31, 2014 via regular processing service. This H-1B petition was selected after the lottery. Our client’s H-1B application was approved on May 27, 2014.

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

NATIONALITY:Kenyan

LOCATION: Houston, Texas

Our client is from Kenya who came to the U.S. on a J-1 Visa in August 2001.  After she finished her J-1 program, she remained in the United States.

In July 2010, our client married her current U.S. citizen husband. However, she could adjust her status unless she got a waiver of the 2-year foreign residency program.

Our firm was retained an on January 21, 2014, the J-1 Waiver (Form DS-3035) Application was filed to the Department of State.  We also sent a request to the Kenyan Embassy to issue a No Objection Statement and recommend this waiver based on the fact that our client is eligible to adjust based on her marriage to a U.S. citizen spouse.

Eventually, the Kenyan Embassy issued a No Objection Statement for our client, and sent this letter to the State Department’s Waiver Review Division.  On April 21, 2014, the Waiver Review Division issued a favorable recommendation based on the No Objection statement. On May 14, 2014, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for the waiver of our client’s two-year foreign residency requirement. Now, our client can file an I-485 adjustment of status application along with her husband’s I-130 petition.

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

NATIONALITY: Australian

LOCATION: Houston, Texas

Our client is a citizen of Australia who came to the U.S. on a J-2 Visa in November 1999.  She came with her father who came on a J-1 Visa for his 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.

After our client came to the United States, she started to attend a community college in the Dallas area as a J-2 visa holder. In August 2000, she filed an I-539 change of status application to the USCIS, and this application was granted. She changed her status from J-2 to F-1. She completed her associate’s degree and proceeded to a Bachelor’s degree at a different academic institution. However, after she graduated in 2005, she failed to maintain her non-immigrant status in the United States.

She turned 21 in 2002.

She eventually got married to a U.S. citizen husband and her husband filed an I-130 petition for our client in April 2010. This I-130 petition was approved in July 2010. However, because of her two-year foreign residency requirement, our client could not apply for permanent residency.

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 August 2002.

Our firm was retained to do her J-2 waiver on February 28, 2014. On March 17, 2014, 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 April 2, 2014 the DOS recommended to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) that our client be granted a waiver.  On April 28, 2014, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for our client’s waiver request.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status.

NATIONALITY:Indian

LOCATION: Austin, TX

Our client is from India who came to the U.S. on a J-1 Visa in December 2006.  He came to the U.S. for business training, but his J-1 program made him subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement.

In October 2013, our client married his U.S. citizen wife.

He is eligible to get a green card through marriage to U.S. citizen; however, before we can file his I-130/I-485 application simultaneously, he had to get a waiver of his two-year foreign residency requirement. Therefore, prior to his marriage, in order to get a waiver of his two-year foreign residency requirement, he consulted with our office and decided to retain our office.

Our office worked on our client’s J-1 waiver..  Eventually, the Indian Embassy issued a No Objection Statement for our client, and sent this letter to the State Department’s Waiver Review Division.  On August 6, 2013, the Waiver Review Division issued a favorable recommendation based on the No Objection statement. The CIS has receipted the fee and issued an I-612 approval notice.

Our firm then prepared and filed an I-130 petition and I-485 adjustment of status application on October 25, 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 client through conference calls. On March 25, 2014, our client was interviewed at the San Antonio, Texas USCIS office.  On the same day, his green card application was approved.

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

CLIENT: Filipino

LOCATION: Dallas, TX

Our client came to the United States in November 2012 as a K-1 visa entrant from the Philippines.  Our client is the beneficiary of an approved I-129F petition. He came to the United States as a K-1 Fiancé of a U.S. Citizen whom he married within 90 days of his entry. By law, if you married your 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 February 2013 and consulted with us for his adjustment of status application. After retention, our firm quickly prepared and filed the I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on March 11, 2013.  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 February 19, 2014, his green card application was approved.

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CASE: Marriage-Based Green Card

CLIENT: Nigerian

LOCATION: Dallas, TX

Our client came to the United States in November 2010 with a B-2 Visitor’s Visa from Nigeria. After his authorized stay expired, he still remained in the United States.

He married a U.S. Citizen in February 2013.  Our client retained our office on February 28, 2013 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 April 4, 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 through conference calls. On July 12, 2013, our client was interviewed at the Dallas, Texas USCIS office.  Eventually, on January 23, 2014, her green card application was approved.

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CASE: H-1B Visa Petition

PETITIONER: Nursing Home Facility in Texas

BENEFICIARY: Nurse Manager, Filipino

Our client is a Nursing Home Facility near Houston, TX. They contacted our office in late February to seek legal assistance for their prospective foreign employee.

The beneficiary obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Nursing in the Philippines. The proffered position for the Beneficiary is a Nurse Manager. We argued that this position is a “specialty occupation” and that the minimum requirement for this position is a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing or its equivalent. We emphasized that Nurse Manager position is clearly different from a registered nurse because Nurse Manager will be responsible for both managerial and clinical duties.

After retention, our office filed the H-1B visa petition with various supporting documents on April 1, 2013 via regular processing. However, the USCIS Vermont Service Center issued a Request for Evidence (RFE) on September 9, 2013.

The USCIS argued that the offered position does not qualify as a “specialty occupation.” They claimed that a Bachelor’s degree was not required for this position.  They claimed that the beneficiary’s position is not specialized and complex enough to be qualified as a specialty occupation as the law requires.

In response to the RFE, our office argued in a response brief with  multiple exhibits that the nature of the specific duties are so specialized and complex that knowledge required to perform the duties is usually associated with the attainment of a Bachelor’s degree.  We also included a detailed statement regarding the number of registered nurses that the Beneficiary will supervise. Moreover, we argued that the degree requirement is common to the industry in parallel positions among similar organizations. Furthermore, we included the organization chart for the department where the beneficiary will be assigned.

Our office filed the response to the USCIS Vermont Service Center on October 30, 2013. Eventually, our client’s H-1B application was approved on January 8, 2014. Now the Beneficiary can work for the Petitioner on an H-1B status until September 12, 2016 as a Nurse Manager.

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