CASE: I-130 / I-485
NATIONALITY: Philippines
LOCATION: South Carolina
Our client came from the Philippines on a J-1 in July 2008 to work as a teacher. She was subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement. After her authorized period of stay expired, she remained in the United States.
In April 2011, 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 promptly prepared a waiver request through the No Objection Statement (NOS) route from the Philippine Embassy in the United States and eventually the EVP in the Philippines.
On September 21, the J-1 Waiver Application (Form DS-3035) was filed to the Department of State. We also sent a request to the South Carolina State Government to get authentication for the necessary documents. Later, these authenticated documents and No Objection Application (for the Philippines Government) were sent to the Philippine Consulate in D.C. for further authentication. On November 20, 2012, our office sent our client’s materials to the Waiver Review Committee in Manila, Philippines. Then, the Waiver Review Committee forwarded the materials and favorable recommendation to the Philippine Embassy in D.C. who eventually issued a No Objection Statement.
On June 29, 2015, the Waiver Review Division issued a favorable recommendation based on the No Objection statement. Eventually, on August 12, 2015, the USCIS issued an I-612 approval notice for the waiver.
Once she gets the waiver, she retained our office again for her and her daughter’s adjustment of status application. Once retained, our firm prepared and filed the I-130 petition and I-485 adjustment of status application on November 3, 2015. 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 via conference calls. On March 28, 2016, our clients were interviewed at the Charleston, South Carolina USCIS office. After the interview, however, the USCIS issued the Request for Evidence (RFE) and requested our client to submit more evidence to demonstrate bona fide nature of her marriage to her US citizen husband. We promptly filed the Response to RFE and on June 27, 2016, the USCIS approved our client and her daughter’s green card applications.