CASE: I-130/I-485 – Marriage Based Adjustment of Status
NATIONALITY: Filipino
LOCATION: Roswell, NM
Our client arrived in the U.S. from the Philippines in December 2020 on a J-1 Visa to work as a teacher. His J-1 visa subjected him to the two-year foreign residency requirement. He wished to file an adjustment of status based on his spouse’s I-130 petition. However, due to the residency requirement, he first needed to obtain a waiver.
Unlike many J-1 clients, our client could not pursue a waiver under the No Objection Statement, Interested Government Agency, or exceptional hardship standards. Instead, he pursued a J-1 waiver under the persecution category, as he believed he would be persecuted based on his same-sex marital relationship with his current spouse.
His marriage is culturally and religiously forbidden in the Philippines. After retaining our firm, we filed a waiver request based on persecution. On July 24, 2023, the J-1 Waiver was filed with the Department of State. Subsequently, our office prepared an affidavit from our client, an extensive brief, and other supporting documents. On July 27, 2023, our office filed an I-612 application with USCIS, requesting that they issue the waiver because our client would be persecuted if he were required to return to the Philippines for two years. The Department of State recommended a waiver for our client on January 24, 2025. Subsequently, USCIS issued his I-612 approval notice on January 28, 2025.
While his J-1 waiver was pending, he retained our office for his green card application. Our firm prepared the I-130 Petition and I-485 Application on July 22, 2024. On February 21, 2025, our client’s green card application was approved.