CASE: I-140 / National Interest Waiver
CLIENT: Korean
LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client contacted us in March 2011 and inquired about his chances of winning a National Interest Waiver self-petition. He is an extraordinary researcher and scientist in the field of Macromolecular Science and Engineering, a professor in Korea, who currently works as a visiting professor in an academic institution in Cleveland, Ohio.  Upon review of his credentials and qualifications, our office determined that he is a good candidate for the National Interest Waiver (NIW) category.

After our firm was retained, we prepared the application and coordinated with our client with his recommendation letters and supporting documents. We eventually prepared a 15-page cover letter for our client’s NIW filing, which included at least 10 letters of recommendation, his publication record, patents, and conference materials. In our brief, our office demonstrated the intrinsic merit of our client’s research in the United States, the national scope of his research, and asserted that our client would serve the national interest to a substantially greater degree than would an available U.S. worker having the same minimum qualifications. His NIW application contained 67 exhibits (Exhibit A to OOO).

Our office filed his I-140(NIW) petition to the USCIS Texas Service Center on May 2, 2011.  On August 19, 2011, the USCIS approved his I-140 petition without any Request for Evidence.  Once his I-140 was approved, our office worked on his J-1 waiver of the 2-year foreign residency requirement.

Attorney Yu contacted the Korean Consulate General Office in Chicago to pursue our client’s waiver. 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 October 11, 2011 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 adjust with an approved I-140 if he obtains the waiver.

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 December 2, 2011, the Waiver Review Division issued a favorable recommendation based on the No Objection statement. The CIS then issued an I-612 approval notice on January 12, 2012.

On January 24, 2012, our office filed an I-485 adjustment of status application for our client and his derivative family members. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices and fingerprint appointment came on time. However, on April 6, 2012, the USCIS Nebraska Service Center issued a request for evidence (RFE) on whether our client continued to be engaged in the occupation that is the basis of his national interest waiver. They mentioned that our client’s visiting professorship term ended three weeks after we filed his I-485 application and his employment with his home institution in South Korea was still ongoing.

The RFE letter from the USCIS requested us to submit evidence which established that the Applicant continued to be engaged in the occupation that is the basis of his national interest waiver. In our response brief, we noted that he is still engaged in the field which formed the basis of his National Interest Waiver. After the I-140 was approved, he proceeded to author more important publications, and was invited to several conferences and presentations in the world.  We also explained that his employment relationship with his home institution and the institution of his visiting professorship in Cleveland, OH, and explained why he applied for adjustment of status in the United States – to continue as a professor, researcher and scientist in the field of Macromolecular Science and Engineering / Chemistry / Polymer Science (Fiber System Engineering).  In our response to RFE, we included our client’s recent publications, invitation letters for upcoming conferences in the United States, and his on-going memberships with professional associations. Our office filed this response to RFE on April 16, 2012.

On April 26, 2012, the USCIS Nebraska Service Center approved our client’s adjustment of status application. The derivative applicants of this case (his immediate family members) also received the I-485 approval.  Now, our client and his family members are finally green card holders.

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CASE: Emergency Advance Parole Document (I-131)
CLIENT: Korean
LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client came to the United States in 2010, and through our firm, got his I-140 National Interest Waiver self-petition and his waiver of the J-1 two-year foreign residency requirement. We then filed I-485 adjustment of status applications for him and his family with the approved I-140 petition in January 25, 2012.  The application included I-131 advance paroled applications. His adjustment of status application is still pending at the USCIS Nebraska Service Center.

On March 2, 2012, our client contacted our office in urgency.  He informed us that his mother’s medical condition is critical, so he needs to go back to Korea to take care of her as soon as possible.  However, his I-131 was still pending at that time, and his biometrics and fingerprinting appointment was not issued yet. He wanted us to expedite the advance parole (travel) document so that he could visit his ailing mother.

According to USCIS policy, if the applicant is experiencing an extremely urgent situation, an emergency advance parole document may be requested at the local USCIS office.  The emergency situation must fall under the following categories:

• Severe financial need to the company or individual
• Extreme emergency situation
• Humanitarian situation
• Non-profit status of requesting organization in furtherance of the cultural and social interests of the United States
• Department of Defense or National Interest Situation (Note: Request must come from official United States Government entity and state that delay will be detrimental to our Government)
• USCIS error
• Compelling interest of USCIS

We obtained a letter from his mother’s doctor from Korea, explaining the emergency medical situation, and our office prepared a brief for submission to the USCIS Cleveland Field Office.  On March 5, 2012, Attorney Sung Hee Yu and our client appeared at Cleveland CIS office for an Infopass appointment to apply for the emergency advance parole.  The CIS Officer allowed our client to take biometrics on the same day, and reviewed our emergency advance parole application.  On March 6, 2012, only one day after the emergency application, the CIS Cleveland Field Office recommended approval for our client’s application and requested expedited service to Nebraska Service Center.  On March 7, 2012, the USCIS Nebraska Service Center approved our client’s I-131 advance parole document. Our client now is free to visit his mother in South Korea and come back to the United States with no issues during the pendency of his adjustment of status application.

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CASE: I-140 / National Interest Waiver
CLIENT: Korean
LOCATION: Cleveland, OH 

Our client contacted us in March 2011 about the possibility of doing a National Interest Waiver. He is a researcher and scientist in the field of Macromolecular Science and Engineering, a professor in Korea, and is currently working as a visiting professor in an academic institution in Cleveland, Ohio.  Upon review of his credentials and qualifications, our office determined that he was qualified for the National Interest Waiver (NIW) category. Being qualified for NIW is beneficial since one would not need an employer nor family member to petition for them for green card purposes. You’d be eligible for a self-petition and unless you are from China or India, in which 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. The landmark immigration case that discusses the standards for NIWs is Matter of New York State Department of Transportation , 22 I&N Dec. 215 (Comm.1998). This case held that the qualifying applicant must show the following elements in his or her I-140 NIW petition: First, it must be shown that the alien seeks employment in an area of substantial intrinsic merit. Next, it must be shown that the proposed benefit will be national in scope. Finally, the petitioner seeking the waiver must establish that the alien will serve the national interest to a substantially greater degree than would an available U. S. worker having the same minimum qualifications. 

Our office prepared a 15-page brief for our client’s NIW filing. We asked our client to obtain 10 or more letters of recommendation.  Our office also included his publication records, patents, and conference materials in the NIW application.  We demonstrated the intrinsic merit of our client’s research in the United States, the national scope of his research, and asserted that our client would serve the national interest to a substantially greater degree than would an available U.S. worker having the same minimum qualifications. His NIW application contained 67 exhibits (Exhibit A to OOO). 

Our office filed his I-140(NIW) petition to the USCIS Texas Service Center on May 2, 2011.  On August 19, 2011, the USCIS approved his I-140 petition without any Requests for Evidence.    

For more success stories, please click here. 

Also feel free to contact our office for free consultations.

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