CASE: I-130/I-485 – Marriage Based Adjustment of Status
NATIONALITY: Filipino
LOCATION: Corona, CA
Our client arrived in the U.S. from the Philippines on a J-1 Visa in December 2020 to work as a teacher. His J-1 visa subjected him to the two-year foreign residency requirement. Our client 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.
He was ineligible to pursue a waiver under the No Objection Statement, Interested Government Agency, or hardship standards. Our client was eligible to pursue 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 forbidden in the Philippines. After retaining our firm, we filed a waiver request based on persecution. On March 9, 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 March 20, 2023, our office filed an I-612 application with USCIS, requesting they issue the waiver because our client would be persecuted if he were required to return to the Philippines for two years.
However, on May 22, 2024, USCIS issued a Request for Evidence (RFE), asking our client to submit additional evidence to support his persecution claims. Our office prepared an extensive Response to the RFE and submitted it on June 20, 2024. Eventually, the Department of State recommended a waiver for our client on July 12, 2024. USCIS then issued his I-612 approval notice on August 1, 2024.
While his J-1 waiver was pending, he retained our office for his green card application. His U.S. citizen spouse had already filed the I-130 petition, which was pending when we filed our client’s I-485 application. Our firm prepared the I-485 on January 16, 2024. Before the interview, we prepared our client via conference calls. On March 11, 2025, our client was interviewed at the USCIS office in San Bernardino, CA. The following day, his green card application was approved.