Petition of Alien Relative (Family Based Immigrant Visas)

In 1996, this client came from Philippines to visit her parents, who were living in USA for three years. They had come with a visitors' visa and had overstayed. After being with her parents for a while she decided to take the same risk as them, and stayed too. Later she met a good man who was a US Citizen and they got married. She received her green card and was very happy, but she felt sorry for her parents, who had no legal status. In 2005 we had worked on her case for I-751 (removal of conditions to receive a permanent resident card instead of two-year, due to marriage). We advised her that she could file a petition for her parents, but her chances would be better if and when she became a US citizen. In 2007 she had been a resident for 3 years, so she retained us to file for her naturalization, which we did. By September 2007 she became a US citizen, so in December 2007 we filed I-130 and I-485 (Petition for relative and green card) for both parents. They were all very happy just to be able to start this case. In January 2008 their fingerprints were taken and we received an RFE (request for evidence), where they were asking for the father's birth certificate. Problem is, he did not have one and it would be too expensive and would take a long time to have him get one in his country. We replied the RFE with a sworn affidavit from the father regarding his basic biographical data. Shortly after that, they were scheduled for an interview which took place in the end of June 2008. We prepared them for the interview and one of our attorneys assisted. In the end we were told that our clients would be approved and that USCIS would not require his birth certificate. Three weeks later the parents received their green card and the family was lawfully reunited and happy. Well almost everyone: they have a son who is still living in Philippines, and chances are they will ask for our help to file a petition for him.

The arduous process of immigrating into the United States, along with the many challenges involved, proved to be a test of resolve, character, and commitment for our client from Ghana. Furthermore, the diligence and persistence through which our client's case was handled undoubtedly led our client to obtaining a green card, and securing a future abounding with opportunity. Although our client was fully committed to becoming a permanent resident of the United States, his heart was devoted to reuniting his family; a family separated by distance, but held together by the dream of a new life in a new country. Our client was the direct beneficiary of an immigrant petition, filed by his wife, a citizen of the United States. Soon thereafter, I-130's-an immigrant petition for a relative-were filed for his three children, all of whom were waiting half a world away in Ghana, while our client was hard at work in Cleveland, Ohio. After months of dedication, the longest of hours, and personal devotion, our attorneys, paralegal caseworkers, and various staff were very much pleased to receive a phone call from our client, both excited and proud to inform us that he received his green card in the mail! Our client is now an excited permanent resident of the United States, and is proud father of three children, all of whom are now together, living a new life in a new country.

Our client, a native of Canada, had been living in the United States, continuously, for over thirty years. Our client's father lived in Cleveland, Ohio, working under the auspices of a work authorization document, while he patiently awaited approval for permanent residency. In the meantime, his wife still resided in Canada, pregnant with his son, our client. Our client's family remained separated by distance until our client's father, who was now a permanent resident of the United States, brought his wife and new born son to live with him in Cleveland. Our client remained in Cleveland his entire life, obtaining an education via the Cleveland Public School System and making economic and industrial contributions as a machinist. In November of 2007, our client contacted us with hope of becoming a permanent resident. Our client filed an I-485, an application to adjust to permanent resident status. Soon thereafter, his status was adjusted based on continuous residence, and became a proud permanent resident of a community of which he was so long a part.

This story is about a man who was a Canadian citizen married to a United States Citizen woman. They got married in 1998 and since then they have been coming to USA to visit the in-laws. Now that the wife's parents are retiring, the couple wants to move from Canada to USA so that they can be close to them. The love and affection for parents knew no borders, so in December 2006 our clients decided to approach us and find out a solution. As always, our office was ready to help them. For that purpose we first filed I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative) in January 2007, since the wife was a US Citizen and it was approved in June 2007. Now our next step was to apply for an Immigrant Visa. Since he was residing in Canada, the DS-230 forms and supporting documents evidencing their purpose to live permanently in USA were sent to the National Visa Center (NVC) in November 2007. In April 2008 he was scheduled for an interview in U.S Consulate in Canada. We worked hard to prepare the client for his interview and as a result he got his Immigrant Visa in May 2008. Now the couple has moved to USA and is happily living close to their parents.

On May 24, 2005 we filed an H-1B for a Slovakian MBA accountant. We requested Premium Processing and she got her approval within fifteen days. This enabled her to work for three years under a non-immigrant status. A year after that, her employer was willing to sponsor her for an I-140 (Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker). We started her papers, but in the meantime she got married to an American Citizen. She and her husband chose to stop processing the I-140 application and to apply for I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative) instead. We filed it in August 2007, together with I-485 (Adjustment of Status) and I-765 (Employment Authorization Document). She received her I-765 in November 2007 and her I-485 and I-130 were approved in January 2008.

Our client from Mexico came to USA with an illegal entry before 1997. In 2001 she had married a US citizen and filed for a Green Card with another lawyer, but had been rejected. We started her case in the last days of July 2007, when we filed simultaneously the I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative), and I-485 (Adjustment of Status), both for her and her son. We also filed an I-765 (Employment Authorization Document) for her. The I-130 was based on her marriage to the US citizen but also in Section §245(i), of the Immigration and Nationality Act, since she was present in USA before 2001 and her mother had filed a visa petition for her in 1998. Her I-765 was approved in November 2007. We prepared her for the interview and also explained her circumstances to the immigration officer. Both she and her son were approved in January 2008 and they received their Green Cards three days later.

Our client retained Margaret Wong and Associates after her I-130 had been denied. We appealed to the Board of Immigration Appeals. We argued the CIS' decision was erroneous and was based on factors it could not consider in adjudicating the case. The Board agreed and remanded the case to CIS for adjudication under the proper legal standard. Scott Bratton and Kristie Lumakin handled the case.

On July 2006 we were hired by a family from Mexico. The mother had married a US citizen and they needed to file I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative), Adjustment of Status to Permanent Resident (I-485) and Employment Authorization Documents (I-765) for the mother and her three daughters (stepdaughters of the petitioner). They were in a hurry because the oldest daughter would be 21 in March 2007 and it would take years for her to get a green card after that. We filed all petitions for the mother and each of her daughters on the same day, in October 2006 (the family did not have much funds to get all required documents sooner). We requested expedite processing for the oldest daughter, since she would soon age out. The four of them got their Fingerprint appointments within a month. Inexplicably, USCIS did some unusual things while processing these cases: they expedited all the petitions for the second daughter, who got all her approvals in the end of November 2006, and USCIS sent the rest of the papers to another city for processing. We had to complain and insist to bring them back to the previous service center.
On January 2007 they sent interview notices for the mother and youngest daughter only, forgetting about the oldest, to which we submit a Mandamus Complaint. We insisted that they needed to set an interview for her before she turned 21. In the meantime we discovered that both the oldest and youngest daughters had criminal records with Juvenile Court (for under aged alcohol possession and other). We followed up and talked to Immigration officers and Juvenile Court on how to make sure those records would not affect the case (the charges in one daughter's case had been dropped). We finally got a call from the Immigration officer in charge of Mandamus complaint and got an appointment for the oldest daughter...for two days before her 21st. birthday! The mother and second daughter got their approval notices shortly after their interview, and the oldest one was approved eight days after her 21st. birthday. Later we heard that everyone had got their green cards by mail, except for the youngest daughter, so we had to work with USCIS follow up her case until she received it.