CASE: I-130/I-485 – Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status
NATIONALITY: Filipino
LOCATION: Altoona, PA
Our client came to the U.S. on a J-1 Visa in March 2016 from the Philippines to work as a teacher. His J-1 visa made him subject to the two-year foreign resident requirement. Our client wanted to file an adjustment of status application based on his U.S. citizen spouse’s I-130 petition. However, due to the two-year foreign residency requirement, he had to obtain a waiver first.
Our client could not pursue his waiver under the No Objection Statement or Interest Government Agency. Our client could not pursue his J-1 waiver based on exceptional hardship standards. Nonetheless, our client could pursue a J-1 waiver under the persecution category since he believed that he would be persecuted based on his same-sex marital relationship with his current spouse.
Our client believed that he would be persecuted if he went back to the Philippines based on his marriage in the U.S. After he retained our firm, we filed a waiver request on a persecution basis. On March 7, 2022, the J-1 Waiver Application was filed to the Department of State. Thereafter, our office prepared all supporting documents to show that he would be persecuted in the Philippines if he went back. On March 10, 2022, our office filed an I-612 application to the USCIS and asked them to issue and recommend this waiver because our client will be persecuted if our client needs to go back to the Philippines for two years.
On September 21, 2022, the USCIS issued a Request for Evidence (RFE) and requested our client to submit more evidence to support his persecution claims. Our office prepared an extensive Response and submitted it on February 13, 2023. Eventually, the Department of State recommended a waiver for our client on March 17, 2023. The USCIS issued his I-612 approval notice on May 3, 2023.
Once he obtained his J-1 waiver, he retained our office on July 17, 2023, for his green card application. Our firm filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Application on September 5, 2023. All went well and the receipt notices, fingerprint appointment, and work permits came on time. On November 7, 2023, the USCIS issued a Request for Evidence and requested our client to submit additional bona fide marital documents between him and his spouse. Our office filed our client’s response to RFE on November 20, 2023. Shortly afterwards, our client’s green card application was approved.