Marriage to US Citizen Green Card Approval for Indian Client in Cleveland Ohio

CASE: Marriage to US Citizen Green Card

LOCATION: Cleveland, OH

Our client came to the United States from India. Currently, he is working for his employer under an H-1B visa. Later, he married his current wife, who was a green card holder at the time of filing, in June 2011.

Our client retained our office in early September 2013 for his I-130 petition and I-485 adjustment of status application. Although the Petitioner was a green card holder, we could file the I-130 / I-485 simultaneously at that time because the priority date for the F2A category was current in August and September 2013.

Our office prepared and filed an I-130 petition and I-485 adjustment of status application, together with all necessary supporting documents, on September 26, 2013. Everything went smoothly and the receipt notices, fingerprint appointment, and work permits all came on time.

While his green card application was pending, our client’s wife took her naturalization test and interview on January 7, 2014. Prior to the interview, we thoroughly prepared our clients at our office. On January 10, 2014, our client was interviewed at the Cleveland, Ohio USCIS office.

The interview went well, however, our client’s green card application could not be adjudicated because of the retrogression of the priority date.

On February 7, 2014, our client’s wife finally took her oath and became a naturalized U.S. citizen. After the ceremony, our client’s wife gave us a copy of her naturalization certificate which our office eventually submitted to the USCIS office on the same day.

By doing this, our client’s case can be upgraded from the F2A category to Immediate Relative, which has available immigrant visa numbers all the time. Eventually, on February 10, 2014, the USCIS approved our client’s green card application.

Here are the reasons why anybody who is in the market for an immigration attorney should retain JP Sarmiento.

But before we get into the reasons, a little bit of context/background regarding our immigration case and the search that led to JP. So – please bear with me as I go about setting up this scenario.

I was an H1-B holder (8th year of H1-B, having already started my employment based EB-2 case, Indian passport holder). I got married to my wife, a Green card holder (Kenyan Passport holder). In August 2013, the priority date for FB2A category became current. For those uninitiated, FB2A is the “spouses of GC holders category”. So, once this priority date became current, I decided to apply for my Green Card through my wife. As it turns out, my wife was also nearing the date by which she would be eligible to apply for citizenship (naturalize). So, we had twin-immigration cases, my FB2A plus her impending citizenship. While not exactly a walk in the park, both my wife and I felt that we should have a competent attorney, who is knowledgeable, reliable and economical – who can handle our situation.

NOW, here are the reasons why we chose JP(and in all honesty, why YOU should as well).

a) I believe that JP is the most economical firm on the market in the North-East Ohio Area (NEO).In full disclosure, I have not conducted an extensive study of prevailing rates as it pertains to immigration lawyers in and around Cleveland area. However, about 3 to 4 sample data points from Cleveland area, and about 2 data points from the Houston, Texas area – led us to believe JP would be well within our budget. It is pertinent to note that as of writing this review (Feb 2014), JP does NOT charge by the hour (in the context of our immigration case). He charged us a flat fee, accepted American Express as a form of payment (so, I did get cash back) on my immigration expense.

b) So, he fit well within our budget. What about the quality of legal advice, you might ask ? Fear not. For starters, JP and his staff (Arty and Glenn) are very knowledgeable about the general immigration process, laws/rules and MOST importantly, are masters of minutiae, the details, the fine print. By that, I mean – they understand every crook and crevice of the immigration handbook. In my opinion, you definitely need such a team to navigate the labyrinth, that is US Immigration. To cite a few examples: JP and his team, worked with us extensively when my wife and I filled out the various forms needed to submit my GC application (Forms I-131, I-485, 765 etc). We had several questions – ALL of which were promptly answered by JP (or his staff) via e-mails and phone calls. yes – you read that right, we called JP several times and he always got back to us regarding the right answers to be filled in. Most importantly, he did not charge ANYTHING extra for the phone conversations/e-mail correspondences. Every single time we spoke to him, he was kind, polite, courteous, friendly, to the point and most importantly confident in his answers. Thus, my wife and I felt very comfortable and confident in his abilities. Needless to say, even though the paperwork is a chore, we were able to get it done – Thanks to JP and his team.

c) Communication – Arty (who is on JP’s staff), kept a constant and direct stream of communication via e-mails, wherein she intimated us of the acceptance of our application, the various receipt notices, the fingerprinting appointments, the interview notices etc. My wife and I were consistently and constantly in the loop regarding the status of our case. It is a well known fact that the USCIS timelines for processing are not exactly very linear. Some stages can go by rather quickly, followed by a sudden lull of inactivity. Luckily in our case, everything moved through at a very steady pace. To give you an idea of the timelines, we contact JP in September (mid-month), had our documents ready for intake by September 30th, 2013. During this time of document prep, we were constantly in touch with JP. Once the documents were submitted, JP and his team kept us abreast of that proceedings.

d) Attorney Coaching/Guidance – Since my GC case in effect depended on proving the validity of our marriage to the USCIC officer, we had a session with JP’s peer (Glen) – who helped us understand the most common questions asked by Immigration officer during the interviews. We went with our sample questions – jotted down our answers and compared notes. Subsequently, Glen also reviewed with us the biographical information that we had submitted during the initial document submission stage. We came away with some key learning points – During the interview stay calm and composed, and stay true to yourself and the relationship. As long as our answers are consistent and in-line with the information we submitted, we should be ok. Glen also coached my wife for some potential citizenship questions – since she had to take the citizenship test as well.

e) Attorney Presence at the Interviews – Glen (Attorney) came to my wife’s Citizenship interview and to our joint Green Card interview.He sat in the room with the immigration officer and even helped clarify some aspects of the case to the officer. It is always a relief and source of support to have an attorney with you (i.e physically present and sitting less than 2 feet from you) during the entire process. It gave my wife and I a lot of confidence and re-assurance. This service from JP’s office (Attorney accompaniment) must be valued singularly for the succour and support that it provides to the clients.

In summary, you get very good service, excellent legal representation and an overall pleasant experience from JP/Glenn and Arty.
My wife passed the citizenship test and her oath taking ceremony in Feb 2014. She is now a proud American. A few days later, my Green Card was approved and I am a “Permanent Resident” of the United States. As one journey ends, the next one begins. Thanks to JP and his team. I highly recommend him to one and all in need of legal advice.

Thanks
Sincerely
R and R
Cleveland, Ohio