CASE: I-485 Adjustment of Status / I-140 (EB-3)
CLIENT: Korean In-House Graphic / Web Design Specialist
LOCATION: Cleveland, OH
Our client had a prospective employer that was willing to petition her for a third-preference petition (I-140). Our client has a bachelor’s degree in a graphic design in the United States and work experience. Based on our client’s education and professional background, our office determined that she is eligible for EB-3 classification for her I-140 petition. Our client eventually retained us in May 2016.
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 November 4, 2016. On April 7, 2017, we promptly filed PERM.
However, on August 22, 2017, the Department of Labor issued a request for audit. The DOL requested documents from Petitioner to determine whether the recruitment process was done properly. In response to the Audit request, our office prepared the response to Audit brief along with Employer’s declaration, notice of filing, and recruitment documentation on September 5, 2017. Eventually, on December 11, 2017, the PERM Labor Certification was approved – an EB3 position for the Korean beneficiary.
We then proceeded with the I-140 Petition filing. We submitted the “ability to pay” letter for the I-140 petition application. We included the job offer letter, employer’s tax records, and other necessary supporting documents.
The I-140 Petition was filed on January 31, 2018 via premium processing service. Eventually, on February 12, 2018, the I-140 EB3 Petition for our Korean client was approved without any Request for Evidence (RFE).
Once her I-140 petition was approved, she retained our office again and determined to file an adjustment of status application for her. On February 20, 2018, our office filed an I-485 adjustment of status application for our client. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices and fingerprint appointment came on time.
Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our client at our office as well. On July 30, 2018, our client was interviewed at Cleveland Ohio USCIS office. Attorney Sung Hee (Glen) Yu from our office also accompanied our client as well. However, the priority date of Eb-3 category for the Korean national backlogged. Our client had to wait until the priority date becomes current. In October 2018, her priority date becomes current. Eventually, her I-485 application was approved by the USCIS on October 12, 2018.