CASE: I-601 Hardship Waiver of Inadmissibility
APPLICANT / BENEFICIARY: Cambodia
LOCATION: Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Our client’s wife is a U.S. citizen who resides in Columbus Ohio.  She contacted our office in September of 2011 about her husband’s immigrant visa application which needed an I-601 waiver for his inadmissibility. They married in December 2008 and our client filed an immigrant visa petition for her husband which was then denied in 2011 due to his inadmissibility. Our client’s husband was found inadmissible because he misrepresented his information when he applied for a visitor’s visa to come to the United States in 2003.  He used a different name when he applied for a visitor’s visa and this incident made him inadmissible under Section 212(a)(6)(C)(i) of the INA. (Any alien who, by fraud or willfully misrepresenting a material fact, seeks to procure a visa, other documentation, or admission into the United States or other benefit provided under this Act is inadmissible).  Thus, in order to obtain an immigrant visa, our client’s husband needed to have an approved I-601 waiver.

Our client retained us on September 26, 2011 for the I-601 waiver. Our firm thoroughly analyzed whether the I-601 waiver application will likely be successful. Based on her story and surrounding circumstances (hardship to U.S. citizen wife [our client] if our client’s husband is deported or if his wife would accompany him to Cambodia), our office determined that her husband has a good chance of winning the I-601 application.

If someone is found to be inadmissible under Section 212(a)(6)(C)(i) of the INA, INA Section 212(i) provides for a discretionary waiver of the fraud or misrepresentation 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 Section 212(i)(l). In addition to the equities presented, the USCIS may consider the nature of the fraud or misrepresentation.

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 husband’s I-601 application had a good chance since our client’s U.S. Citizen wife from Columbus Ohio suffers from Hepatitis B, Chronic Hepatitis, Bronchitis, and has been going to doctors and hospitals since July 2007.  She also suffers from depression, anxiety, and insomnia due to the hardship of not having a father for her son or a husband to help with the expenses of raising their son.  In the I-601 brief and supporting documents, our office included extensive medical reports from our client. We argued that if our client’s husband is barred to enter the United States, extreme hardship to her is clearly foreseeable and evident. Our client’s wife is required to have continuous medical check-ups with her doctors for her Hepatitis B, Chronic Hepatitis, and Bronchitis. Also, it would be extremely difficult for her to get the same level of medical attention and satisfactory access to medical services in Cambodia in case our client’s wife joins her husband there. Our office also included the U.S. Department of State Travel Advisory Section for Cambodia to highlight the extremely poor medical services in Cambodia.

In our brief, we also argued that our client has maintained strong family ties in the United States, that she will have difficulty in finding the same level of employment in Cambodia, and that their U.S. Citizen son and our client will face extreme financial and emotional difficulties if he is barred to enter to the United States or if our client is forced to relocate to Cambodia with her son.

On February 7, 2012, we submitted our I-601 waiver application to the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh, Cambodia which included the brief in support, our client’s medical records, and other documents that demonstrated hardship to her if her husband is barred from coming to the United States.  This application was transferred to the USCIS Field Office in Bangkok, Thailand for adjudication. The I-601 waiver for our client’s husband was approved on March 21, 2012.  Now, without any inadmissible grounds, our client’s husband becomes eligible and will get an immigration visa to come to the United States. Now he can be together with his wife and their son in Columbus Ohio.

For other I-601 hardship waiver success stories, please click here.

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

Our client came to the United States in June 2011 as a K-1 visa entrant from Korea.  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 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 August and consulted with us for her adjustment of status application. She retained our office on August 23, 2011.  Our firm quickly prepared and filed the I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on August 29, 2011 one week 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 on November 9, 2011. 

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 December 5, 2011, her green card application was approved.

For other marriage-based green card success stories, please click here.

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CASE: I-130 and Consular Processing – Marriage-Petition
CLIENT: US Citizen Petitioner; Chinese Beneficiary
LOCATION: Petitioner: Sacramento, CA; Beneficiary: Hubei, China

Our Chinese client contacted our office in the middle of May 2011. He is a U.S. Citizen living in California and sought legal assistance for his wife’s case in China. The USCIS, based on a request from the U.S. Embassy in Guangzhou, issued an intent to revoke his I-130 petition.
Our client married his Chinese citizen wife back in November 2008. This was the first marriage for both him and his wife. He mentioned that he never even had a girlfriend before, all the time consumed with work and school here in the United States. He is a civil engineer in Sacramento California.

Our client filed an I-130 petition for his wife in January 2009.  On March 20, 2009, the Director of the California Service Center approved the I-130 petition and his wife was eventually interviewed at the U.S. Embassy in Guangzhou. Her U.S. Citizen husband was even there during the interview. However, the U.S. Embassy denied her immigrant visa application, and the approved I-130 petition was subsequently returned to the California Service Center by the Department of State for further review and action. The USCIS then issued a Notice of Intent to Revoke.

After our office was retained, we filed a Response to Intent to Revoke on July 7, 2011 with the USCIS California Service Center. Over 200 pages of documents and 30 exhibits were submitted in our response. On July 21, 2011, the USCIS determined that they will not to revoke our client’s I-130 petition.   After the affirmation of the I-130 petition, the US Consulate in Guangzhou, China set another interview date for our client’s wife for her immigrant visa.  On November 9, 2011, the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou, China conducted the immigrant visa interview for our client’s wife and simultaneously approved and issued her immigrant visa on the same day.

With the approved Immigrant visa, our client’s wife can come to the United States immediately, and she will get her green card within two weeks of entry. She finally would be able to be with her husband.

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CASE: I-130 and Consular Processing – Marriage-Petition
CLIENT: US Citizen Petitioner; Chinese Beneficiary
LOCATION: Petitioner: New York; Beneficiary: Shanghai, China 

Our client is a U.S. citizen who married her Chinese girlfriend in China in 2008. He had his marriage ceremony with his wife in the China, and had resided there until December 2010.  When he came back to the United States, he wanted to bring his wife over here. He contacted our office in late January 2011 and retained our office to help bring his wife to the States.  As we explained in previous success stories, an alien cannot adjust his or her status (get a green card) outside the U.S. by filing an I-130 and I-485 simultaneously. Since the client’s wife was not in the United States, and their marriage occurred in China, our office promptly filed the I-130 to the National Visa Center first on April 10, 2011.  

After the I-130 was filed, everything went smoothly and the receipt notices came on time. The I-130 Petition was approved by the USCIS on June 20, 2011.  After the I-130 approval, we filed the immigrant visa packets to the National Visa Center on August 23, 2011, who in turn forwarded the client’s materials to the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou, China. An interview notice was set for the client at the US Consulate in Guangzhou, and we prepared her for her interview. On October 31, 2011, the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou, China approved and issued her immigrant visa. 

With the approved Immigrant visa, our client’s wife can come to the United States immediately, and she will get her green card within two weeks of entry. 

For other consular processing success stories, please click here. 

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CASE: I-130 and Consular Processing – Marriage-Petition
CLIENT: US Citizen Petitioenr; Filipina Beneficiary
LOCATION: Petitioner: Ohio; Beneficiary: Manila, Philippines

Our client is a U.S. citizen who married a Filipina lady in the Philippines in 2008. He had his marriage ceremony with his wife in the Philippines, and had resided there until late 2010.  The couple has a son as well.  When he came back to the United States, he wanted to bring his family over here. He contacted our office in December 2010 and retained our office to help bring his family to the States. It is important to note that an alien cannot adjust his or her status (get a green card) outside the U.S. by filing an I-130 and I-485 simultaneously. Since the client’s wife was not in the United States, and their marriage occurred in the Philippines, our office promptly filed the I-130 to the National Visa Center first on January 9, 2011. 

After the I-130 was filed, everything went smoothly and the receipt notices came on time. The I-130 Petition was approved by the USCIS on May 13, 2011.  After the I-130 approval, we filed the immigrant visa packets to the National Visa Center on June 27, 2011, who in turn forwarded the client’s materials to the U.S. Embassy in Manila, Philippines. An interview notice was set for the client at the US Embassy in Manila, and we prepared her for her interview. On September 7, 2011, the beneficiary went to her interview in Manila. On October 20, 2011, the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines approved and issued her immigrant visa.

With the approved Immigrant visa, our client’s wife can come to the United States immediately, and she will get her green card.

For other consular processing success stories through marriage, please click here. For those wishing to read on fiancé visa success stories, please click here.

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CASE: I-130 Response to an Intent to Revoke
CLIENT: Chinese
LOCATION: Sacramento, California; Guangzhou China

Our Chinese client contacted our office in the middle of May. He was a U.S. Citizen living in California and sought legal assistance for his wife’s case in China. The USCIS, based on a request from the U.S. Embassy in Guangzhou, issued an intent to revoke his I-130 petition.

Our client married his Chinese citizen wife back in November 2008. This was the first marriage for both him and his wife. He mentioned that he never even had a girlfriend before, all the time consumed with work and school here in the United States. He is a civil engineer in Sacramento California.

Our client filed an I-130 petition for his wife in January 2009.  On March 20, 2009, the Director of the California Service Center approved the I-130 petition and his wife was eventually interviewed at the U.S. Embassy in Guangzhou. Her U.S. Citizen husband was even there during the interview. However, the U.S. Embassy denied her immigrant visa application, citing five reasons: failure to show a continuous bona fide relationship; their work, educational, and income discrepancy; the fact that they met through a “third party”; the lack of a wedding reception after the wedding; and the immediacy of the wedding from the U.S. Citizen’s entry to China. The approved I-130 petition was subsequently returned to the California Service Center by the Department of State for further review and action. The USCIS then issued a Notice of Intent to Revoke. 

On its Notice of Intent to Revoke, the CIS specifically addressed the five issued brought up by the U.S. Embassy.  After our office received the Notice, our office spoke several times at length with our client. We obtained in detail their history, how they met, how many times they’ve seen each other, who in their respective families do they both know and who among them could provide affidavits attesting to their relationship, how they continue to communicate with each other and if documentation can be provided to prove those, etc. Our client realized that there were so many possible evidence to support his case, evidence he was not able to think of prior to his wife’s interview.

We then prepared a response brief, clearly separating our explanations and the respective supporting documents to address each of the five issues. We also worked with our client in obtaining supporting documents and affidavits, making sure we were as thorough and complete as possible, considering how strict the U.S. Embassy in Guangzhou is.

In our 14-page response brief, we addressed each of the issues thoroughly. We went through Respondent’s background and how his personality fits the simple and traditional nature of his Chinese wife, backed by affidavits from his own parents and family members. We emphasized the four trips our client had spanning the past 3 years, and attached over 100 pictures of him and his wife on several occasions with both their families and friends. Documentation about money wire transfers, gifts sent by international mail, detailed phone bills showing the international phone number of his wife and the local phone number of her husband in Sacramento, and over 10 affidavits from friends and families. We explained the reasons why they did not have a reception immediately after, and showed that 3 post-wedding “receptions” were actually held.
Our response to the Notice of Intent to Revoke contained 59 exhibits (Exhibits A to GGG) in support of the response brief.

Our office filed the Response to Intent to Revoke on July 7, 2011 with the USCIS California Service Center.  On July 21, 2011, the USCIS determined that they will not to revoke our client’s I-130 petition.  Since the I-130 petition remains approved, finally, after two and half years of separation since their marriage, our client’s wife can now obtain her Immigrant Visa in China, come to the United States, and obtain permanent residency.

For further family-based success stories, please click here. For all other success stories, please click here.

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CASE: I-130 and Consular Processing for Petitioner’s two minor stepdaughters
LOCATION: Petitioner: Maryland; Beneficiaries: Philippines

Our client is a U.S. citizen who married a Filipina in Maryland. Thereafter, he filed an I-130 Petition for his wife and his wife eventually obtained a green card.  However, his two stepdaughters did not get green cards at the time his wife adjusted her status.  His two minor stepdaughters were residing in Philippines. Apparently, they did not know that the Petition could have also been simultaneously filed for his stepchildren.

Once his wife got her green card, our client filed the I-130 petition on behalf of his two stepdaughters in the Philippines.  He filed the I-130 by himself and the USCIS issued an extensive RFE in October 2010.  Upon the issuance of RFE, our client contacted our firm and sought for legal assistance from us.

We initially set up an appointment with our client at our Washington DC office. He is the CEO of his own company and apparently did not have time to go to DC, so we drove to Columbia Maryland and met him there to discuss the case. He retained our office immediately, and our office started to work on the Response to RFE and Packet 3 and 4 for his stepdaughters.  

Our office filed the Response to RFE on November 24, 2010.  In the Response brief, our office fully explained that the marriage between our client and his wife is bona fide and explained why his wife and step-daughters’ petitioners were not filed concurrently.  Everything went smoothly, and the daughters’ I-130 and immigrant visa interview was scheduled on May 4, 2011 at the U.S. Embassy in Manila, Philippines.  The U.S. Embassy in Manila eventually approved the immigrant visas for his stepdaughters.

Our client’s step-daughters are now here in the United States reunited with their mother and step-father.

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Case: Immigrant Visa Appeal / Consulate Processing
Applicant/Beneficiary: Tunisian
Location: Tunisia

Our client contacted our office in January of 2011.  She was from Washington DC and was seeking help regarding her husband’s immigration matter.  Her husband was in Tunisia, and the U.S. Embassy in Tunisia denied his Immigrant Visa application by stating that the couple’s marriage is not bona fide.  She previously filed an I-130 petition on behalf of her husband in Tunisia.  This I-130 petition was approved by the USCIS, but at the Embassy interview in Tunisia, the consul denied the immigrant visa application of her husband.

She retained our office on January 19, 2011 and our office first contacted the Tunisian Embassy. We explained that our client would like another opportunity to prove their relationship. Typically, one would have to re-file and go through the entire process, but they were nice enough to schedule another interview for our client, and allow him to provide more documents this time with the help of us as his attorneys. We prepared an extensive brief in support of their marriage, all the while communicating with our client to provide details about their relationship, and we also attached numerous evidence of bona fide marriage, documents of which were not submitted at his previous interview. We sent this packet to our client and had him present this at his interview.

On February 8, 2011, our client’s Tunisian husband had his interview for his Immigrant Visa application.  The interview went smoothly, and as a result, on April 12, 2011, the U.S. Embassy in Tunisia decided to issue an Immigrant Visa for her husband. It’s always good to communicate with the Embassy first, introduce yourself as newly retained lawyers, and explain the case, as they may provide you an alternative procedure which may save your client and your firm both time and money.

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CASE: I-130 and Consular Processing – Marriage-Petition

CLIENT: Indian

LOCATION: Petitioner: Cleveland Ohio; Beneficiary: Pakistan

Our client is a U.S. citizen who married a Pakistani lady in Pakistan. He had his marriage ceremony with his wife in Pakistan, so he wanted to file an Immigrant visa for his wife by filing an I-130 petition.  It is important to note that an alien cannot adjust his or her status (gets a green card) outside U.S. by filing I-130 and I-485 simultaneously. The Petitioner also had questions on the fact that he was married before and filed an I-130 Petition for his previous wife. We explained that as long as that marriage was bona fide and the second one is bona fide (in good faith), there should be no problem.  Since the client’s wife was not in the United States, and their marriage occurred in Pakistan, our office promptly filed the I-130 and I-129K (for the wife’s K-3 visa) to the National Visa Center. 

The I-130 and I-129K were filed on May 21, 2010 to National Visa Center in New Hampshire.  Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices came on time. After the I-130 approval, we filed the immigrant visa packets to the National Visa Center, who in turn forwarded client’s materials to the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan. An interview notice was set for the client at the US Embassy in Islamabad, and we prepared her for her interview. On November 29, 2010, the beneficiary went to her interview in Islamabad, Pakistan and the officer right after informed them that the case was to be approved.

With the approved Immigrant visa, our client’s wife can come to the United States immediately, and she will get her green card.

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