CASE: Marriage Based Green Card (I-130 / I-485)
NATIONALITY: Philippines
LOCATION: Cherry Hill, NJ
Our client came from the Philippines on a J-1 in January 2018 as an exchange student. Based on her DS-2019, she was subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement. After her authorized stay period expired, she remained in the United States.
In December 2018, she got married to her U.S. citizen husband and later on consulted with our firm for her J-1 visa waiver prior to applying for adjustment of status. If someone is subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement, he or she cannot get a green card in the United States until he or she fulfills the requirement or obtains a waiver.
Upon retention, our office prepared a waiver request through a No Objection Statement (NOS) from the Philippine EVP in the Philippines.
On January 30, 2019, the J-1 Waiver Application (Form DS-3035) was filed to the Department of State. On September 11, 2019, our office sent our client’s materials to the Waiver Review Committee in Manila, Philippines. They granted a No Objection Statement.
On December 18, 2019, the Waiver Review Division issued a favorable recommendation based on the No Objection statement. Eventually, on January 13, 2020, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for the waiver.
Once her J-1 waiver was approved, our client retained our office again for her adjustment of status application. Our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on December 30, 2019. 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 October 8, 2020, our client was interviewed at the Mount Laurel, NJ USCIS office. The interview went well, and eventually, on the same day of the interview, her green card application was approved.