Marriage to a US Citizen

Our client, from Japan, met her husband (United States Citizen) on the internet in May 2003. The seriousness of the relationship prompted both of them to meet each other in person. She decided to come to U.S in October 2003 to visit him and his family and friends. She returned to Japan and they were constantly in touch with each other thereafter. Finally they decided to get married and vows were exchanged in Ohio in May 2004. In the end of May 2004 we filed petitions for I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative), I-485(Permanent Residency or Green Card) and I-765 (Application for Employment Authorization).The I-765 was approved in three months. Her interview was scheduled in May, 2005 for permanent residency and she received her green card in June 2005. Since her marriage was less than two-years, her green card was valid for 2 years only. We advised them that she needed to file I-751 (Removal of Condition) later, three months before it expired. By February 2007 they came to see us again as they wanted to retain us to file the I-751, which we prepared and filed in March 2007. By providing USCIS with the complete and relevant information about a bona fides marriage we were able to prove that the marriage was performed with all the right intention and not to gain residency in the country. Her I-751 biometrics were scheduled for April 2008. Since she had already planned to travel to Japan to visit her family we had to reschedule it to May 2007.Within a month she got her Green card which is valid for ten years. Our clients were thankful and delighted and it means everything to us.

A Peruvian client came to see us with her American husband. She already had a temporary green card, with two-year validity, and it was time for her to file I-751 to Remove Conditions and get a ten-year permanent resident card. She came just a few days before her green card expired, but we were able to put all her documents together to prove that they were still married and that it was a true (bona fides) marriage. We filed the I-751 on May 24, 2007 and her green card was immediately extended for one more year while the process continued. In June 2007 she went for her fingerprints. Our client was also very concerned about a car accident she had had a couple of months ago when she had no insurance coverage, so the case against her was very complicated. She felt very safe and comfortable having us as her attorneys, so she insisted in retaining us to help her with the other case too. By the end of 2007 we were able to help her reach a very good settlement so the car accident case against her was dismissed. We followed up with her I-751 case and finally her immigration case was approved and she received her permanent resident card in April 2008. Our Attorney Troy Murphy handled the civil case and our paralegal Mr. Ding Reyes handled her immigration case.

Our Indian client came to U.S with an H-1B Visa in 2001. He worked as a Research Assistant and retained us in December 2003 to file his F1 visa, which was approved in January 2004. In 2007 he decided to retain our services again when he had to file his I-140 (Petition for Alien worker). Since he got married in September 2007, and his wife was a United State Citizen we also needed to file I-130(Petition for Alien Relative) and I-485(Application for Permanent Residency. So, in October 2007, we filed the I-140 separately and I-130, I-485, I-765(Working Authorization) and I -131(Application for Travel Document). Within a few days he got his fingerprint notice and in February 2008 he went for his interview. He was ecstatic when he got his approval in March 2008. We are happy when we see that smile on our client's face and as always we appreciate the hard work of the case workers, who in this case were Mr. Ding Reyes and Mr. Jackie Tong.

Our Hungarian Client came to U.S in September 2000 on a B-2 (Tourist) visa. Soon she had to rush back to Hungary for her father's funeral. She again came back in February 2001. After that she received two extensions in her visa. She had started working from October 2002. After 2 years, in January 2004 she met her husband, a United States Citizen. They started seeing each other frequently and soon he asked her to marry him. In March 2004 they got married and started a new life. The couple had filed for I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative) and I-485 (Green Card) in July 2004, with another law firm but decided to engage our services. They were very happy with our services, when we later prepared them for the interview and even more when they received her green card. They wanted us to take their case for I-751 as the marriage was not 2 years old, and the I-751 had to be filed before the two-year expiration of the conditional green card. In April 2007 an application was filed for removal of conditions with all the relevant documentation to prove the genuineness of the marriage. The biometrics examination was done within two months. Since we did not get any information after that, we followed up in February 2008. By April 2008 the client's I-751 was approved and she got her permanent resident card. Now she is also eligible to apply for citizenship. The case was handled by Mr. Troy Murphy and Mr. Ding Reyes. Our client called to say that she was happy to engage our services and would always consider us for any case in the future.

We met our clients in February 2004. They were planning their wedding in a few months and had many questions on how things would work out later for him. He had come from Romania as a technician with an H-1B work visa that would expire next year, and she was a US citizen working for the Army in medical services. We advised them on how their case could be handled and the documentation they would need. In July 2004 we filed three petitions: I-130 (Immigrant Petition for Alien Relative), I-485 (Green Card) and I-765 (Working Authorization). The I-765 was approved in three months. His interview was scheduled for mid March 2005 and he received his green card in two more days. Since the marriage was less than two-years, his green card was valid for 2 years only. We advised them that he needed to file I-751 (Removal of Condition) later, three months before it expired. By the end of 2006 he came to see us again and retained us to file the I-751, which we prepared and filed in January 2007. By then the wife was serving in Iraq. We had to help them collect the right information to prove that they did share a life together, despite the distances and also to explain that she might not be able to attend the interview with her husband. USCIS had a backlog and took very long to process their case, but we kept sending follow-up letters and calling them for several months. We obtained an Info-pass and the interview was scheduled for mid March 2008. Both husband and wife were interviewed, since the wife was back from Iraq. In April 2008 he received his new green card, valid for ten years. They were very happy and sent a thankful card to our office and the case worker, Mr. Ding Reyes. They have indicated their wish to retain us again, when it is time for him to apply for Naturalization.

Our client from Japan retained us for her green card application due to marriage with US citizen. She had met him in Japan some time ago when he went to visit and she would visit him from time to time. Her last arrival to USA was at the end of 2007 when she came to visit him and take some English classes. Suddenly there was a marriage proposal, and they decided to get married soon. The marriage took place only two months after her arrival, and the couple was very worried that USCIS would not believe their true love story. We filed three petitions in the first days of February 2008: I-130 (Immigrant Petition for Alien Relative), I-485 (Green Card) and I-765 (Working Authorization). We attached enough evidence to prove their case. The I-765 was approved in only two months. Their interview was scheduled for mid June and it all went very well and the petitions were approved and she got her green card only one week after the interview. They were very happy about how their case had gone so well and had been approved in only four months.

Our client retained us after her I-751 was denied by USCIS. We renewed the I-751 in removal proceedings and submitted significantly more documentation to show that her prior marriage was a valid marriage but ended in divorce due to her husband. We also called witnesses to testify as to the marriage. After considering the evidence, the Immigration Judge agreed that an I-751 waiver was warranted and granted our request to remove the condition of her permanent resident status. Thus, removal proceedings were terminated and our client was permitted to remain a lawful permanent resident. Scott Bratton represented our client.

A client from the Middle East entered on a visitor's visa and overstayed. He married a U.S. citizen, and they filed an I-130 Petition/I-485 Application (Immigrant Petition for Relative and Adjustment of Status) The couple got divorced before an interview was scheduled, and the I-485 Application was denied. The client was put into removal proceedings. The client met and married another U.S. citizen while in proceedings. Our firm filed an I-130 Petition for the second marriage. The client and the spouse attended the interview accompanied by one of our attorneys. The adjudicating officer pointed out several major discrepancies at the end of the interview. After the interview, our firm provided supplemental documents to explain the discrepancies and provided additional supporting documents demonstrating the bona fides of the marriage. The I-130 Petition was approved, and now the client is eligible to apply for adjustment of status as a lawful permanent resident. Deborah Lee and Ding Reyes handled the case for the firm.

A client from Eastern Europe hired our firm to file her green card application. She had first entered the U.S. on a fiancée visa and applied for her green card (I-485). She divorced her husband, and the I-485 was eventually denied. The client stayed unlawfully in the U.S. for more than one year and left the country. She re-entered the U.S. a second time on the visa waiver program. She fell in love and married a U.S. citizen. She retained our firm to file for her green card, but she now had a ten-year bar because she had accumulated more than one year of unlawful presence and left the country. Our firm filed the I-130/I-485 along with the I-601 hardship waiver. The waiver was approved, and the client received her green card. Deborah Lee handled the case for our firm.

In July 2006 a couple came to see us regarding their case. They had been married for two years and were living in USA together, but still could not get a green card for the wife, a Romanian citizen. She had entered the country with a K-3 visa, as the wife of an American citizen. Later, USCIS had denied the I-485 petition filed by another attorney declaring that she was inadmissible to USA for attempting to procure admission to USA by fraud or willful misrepresentation thirteen years before. The previous attorney filed a petition I-601 to Waive Grounds of Excludability based on the extreme hardship to the husband if she should leave the country, with no results. We started to work in her case immediately filing another green card petition (I-485) together with an I-765 form to get her a working authorization document. At the end of November 2006 her petitions were denied again for the same reason, so in December 2006 we appealed to the AAO (Administrative Appeals Office). We stated that she should not have been declared inadmissible in the first place, because she never attempted to "procure admission to USA by fraud or willful misrepresentation". She was under age in 1993 when she came to visit USA for the first time with a tourist visa. Her aunt and uncle, willing her to stay, made her sign an I-589 application for Asylum, but she never understood or sent it. As she declared years later to the Immigration officers, she never felt afraid to go back to her country. We showed evidence that the form was sent and prepared by her relatives. We also showed how she only stayed three out of the six months that she was allowed to, and returned back to Romania, showing no interest in a permanent admission in USA. The Asylum case was later denied and USCIS issued a deportation order in absentia, since she was already in Romania by her own decision. It took AAO almost two years to make a decision on this case, with constant follow up by our law firm. Finally, In May 2008 the AAO validated all our arguments and dismissed the appeal declaring that the I-601 was moot, and that she never willfully attempted to commit any fraud or misrepresentation. So there was no need to demonstrate hardship on the US husband. The case has been returned to USCIS to continue the I-485 and we are waiting for her to receive her green card approval.

On November 30, 2007 we helped our clients, a German electrician and his US citizen wife, to file three petitions: I-130 (Immigrant Petition for Alien Relative), I-485 (Green Card) and I-765 (Working Authorization). They were concerned because he had come to USA on an E-2 visa (investor visa) twice before, when he was single. His last entry on an E-2 visa was in June 2000, but he got married to an American citizen two weeks later. They feared USCIS would not trust that the marriage was in good faith. We filed their petitions with evidence showing that at the time of last entry he had a job offer in Germany. We were also careful to file Form I-508 where E-2 visa holders applying for a Green Card waive their privileges and immunities and start filing taxes in USA. In February 2008 he received his working authorization. We then prepared them for the interview, which took place in April 2008. Finally, in May 2008 the I-130 and I-485 petitions were approved and our client received his green card. Our attorney, Kristie Lumakin, worked in this case.

A married couple came to see us in April 2007, after having a hard time in their efforts to get the wife's green card. She was teacher from Israel who had first come to USA in July 2004 on a J1 Visa Exchange Program, sponsored by her government. After a month the program ended, and she went back to Israel. Shortly after that she met an American citizen who was visiting in Jerusalem and they fell in love. The next year, in July 2005, she came back with an approved K-1 visa (as the fiancée of a US citizen), and they got married two weeks later. The following month she and her husband filed I-130 (petition for Alien Relative) and I-485 (Adjustment of Status to Permanent Resident) by themselves. At this point, they were not aware that her previous entry under a J-1 visa would be a problem when applying for her green card. When they went to the interview in March 2006, they were informed by the Immigration officer about the obligation of J-1 visa holders to have a two-year residence in their country, or have the requirement waived, before being eligible to apply for a green card. They were instructed by the officer on how to file an I-612 petition (Waiver of Two Year Residence Requirement) which they filed by themselves, but it was denied later. They had based the Waiver request on the extreme hardship that the US husband would suffer if she had to leave the country, but USCIS determined they had not submitted enough evidence. They filed an appeal with the help of an attorney in their family, which was also denied. At this point they came to see us. We started their case by filing a new petition I-612 in April 2007, with new arguments and evidence to support the petition, including a No Objection letter issued by the Embassy of Israel in USA. In four months, the waiver was granted. We started gathering new information to properly file a new I-485 petition, and also I-765 (Working Authorization). Both were filed in December 2007. In January 2008 her fingerprints were taken, and in February she received her working authorization. Their interview took place in March, and finally in April 2008 her I-485 was approved and she received her green card. Our clients were happily surprised and they wish to retain us again in three years, when it is time to file for her Naturalization. Our attorneys JP Sarmiento and Larry Hadfield worked in this case.

In 2001, our client, a citizen from Argentina, entered the United States under the visa waiver program (WT), which allowed him to stay for 3 months only. He overstayed and got engaged in various seasonal type of work to be able to survive, by frequently traveling to different cities in the United States. He met a nice young lady from a nice family in Ohio. They got married in Chicago in September 2007. Before consulting our firm, they had also planned to have a church wedding in Argentina in February 2008. In fact they had already spent time and money preparing for the event. He was very excited at the thought of visiting his family after so long, and to introduce his bride to all his family in Argentina. They retained us, and we committed ourselves to help them, so they could have their dream wedding as they both had planned. We filed the case (I-130 and I-485) in October 2007, having the goal of finishing the case in 3 to 4 months. USCIS issued the initial work permit, and after the interview, their applicatons were approved in January 2008

Our Australian client had a girlfriend in USA. He had visited her before and even overstayed before going back to his country. In September 2007 he came to visit her again and in a few weeks they decided to get married. They planned a unique wedding in an artistic and unconventional setting, since they were not a conventional couple. They got married in mid December and we filed their petitions one week later. The I-130 (Petition for Relative), I-485 (Adjustment to Permanent Resident) and I-765 (employment Authorization) were processed timely. In a month he had his fingerprints taken, and in more month his work authorization was approved. Their interview was scheduled for the beginning of March 2008. We prepared them for the interview, as there were issues like his previous overstay in USA. By the end of the month the I-130 and I-485 petitions were approved and he received his green card.

We were retained by a nice couple for the wife's permanent residency. Our goal was to finish the marriage case in six (6) months, as the wife's extended non-immigrant status was coming to an end. She is an outstanding international student with an Indonesian citizenship, though she was born in Germany. Her husband, an Engineer, is a naturalized United States Citizen born in China. They had traveled a lot in Asia, with a last stop in Japan, and then back to USA, before and after their marriage in Indiana, USA in 2000. They finally settled in Ohio in 2007. On December 11, 2007, we filed husband's petition (I-130) and wife's adjustment of status (I-485) along with her application for employment authorization (I-765). Her work permit was issued on March 17, 2008 and after the interview, her case was completed. By the end of March 2008 the petitions were approved, within four (4) months since we filed, and wife's permanent green card issued.

In 2006 a Polish permanent resident lady married a Nigerian citizen. With their previous attorney, they filed her application for Naturalization (N-400) and while it was pending, they also filed an I-130 (Immigrant petition for the husband). Because of some unresolved major issues, her N-400 was denied. Later they retained us to file an appeal for the denied N-400. With our representation, wife's N-400 was approved after just one hearing. After the Oath Ceremony, her certificate of naturalization was issued, and she became an American Citizen. Our office wasted no time to file husband's adjustment of status (I-485) and application for employment authorization (I-765). His work permit was issued and he was able to work. They had the problem that their income together was below the requirement of USCIS poverty guidelines and they had no joint sponsor willing to sign the affidavit of support. We managed to obtain more detailed supporting evidence from overseas and his case was finally approved. Since the marriage was less than two years, he obtained a conditional green card valid for that period. Clients have expressed their commitment to hire our office to get husband's change from conditional to permanent residence (I-751) and possibly his naturalization in the future.

Our client from Dominican Republic entered the country in December 1999 with a visitor's visa. In May 2000, days before her visa expired, she got married to a permanent resident. She overstayed, but her husband filed an Immigrant Petition (I-130) which was initially approved. However, they got divorced in 2002. After a couple of years she started a new relationship, this time with a US citizen. They got married in July 2005 and three months later they retained us to apply for her green card. In March 2006 we filed her I-130 (Petition for Immigrant Relative) and I-485 (adjustment to permanent resident). However, in September 2006 while her cases where pending, her previous I-130 was revoked because of the divorce from the first husband. There were some major issues in this case: 1) impact on her adjustment case of her previous marriage and the I-130 revoked recently; and 2) the years she had of unauthorized employment. We prepared them for the interview and covered all possible issues and finally the case was approved. Her conditional green card, good for two (2) years was issued. She will be able to remove the conditions easily by the time her two year residence expires.

Our Peruvian client came to USA under a J-2 visa, as a daughter of a J-1 (exchange) visa holder. The father, a university teacher, died later and the family continued to live in USA for some time. She got engaged to a US Citizen and got married in March 2006 and therefore wanted to stay in the country. Due to her status as J-2, she was subject to the J-1's original obligation of having to return to their country for at least two years, and she needed to waive that before trying any other petition to stay. We filed a Waiver (I-612) in September 2006 and it was granted two months later so she became exempt of the two-year residence in Peru requirement. In mid 2007 we simultaneously filed I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative), I-485 (Adjustment to Permanent Resident) and I-765 (Working authorization). She had her fingerprints taken in October 2007 and received her working authorization (I-765) the last day of year 2007. She and her husband had their interview on February 21 2008. In less than a month after that, her I-130 and I-485 petitions were approved and our client received her green card.

A Chinese alien was already in removal proceedings when she married her United States citizen spouse in 2006. The I-130 interview (regarding Petition for Alien Relative) was scheduled and the couple was nervous because the beneficiary already had a final order and might get picked up by Immigration Officers. Our firm suggested that the wife not go to the interview. One of our attorneys flew to the place of the interview and accompanied the petitioner. We were trying to at least get the interview done as some officers do not conduct interviews at all without both the petitioner and the beneficiary. We knew it is a good marriage, and they have a 5-month old daughter born in the United States. They also recently bought a house to raise a family. This officer, together with two other "immigration personnel" where there in the room to interview the petitioner. Fortunately, due to the ample evidence we asked the petitioner to bring as an incentive for the officer to go on with the interview, the I-130 interview was conducted despite the beneficiary's absence. The interview went very well. Since the beneficiary had a final order, the fact that the I-130 went through was a huge relief to our clients. An approved I-130 Petition will give them hope.

Our client came from Romania in 2005 under a J-1 visa (Exchange Visitor) to work as an Au Pair (nanny). She overstayed and lost legal status. She started a relation with a permanent resident who was willing to marry her as soon as possible. He became a US Citizen in March 2007 and they got married in July 2007. They brought all their supporting documents on September 24, 2007, and two days later we filed her I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative), I-485 (Adjustment of Status) and I-765 (Employment Authorization Document). She was asked to go for her Fingerprint examination in October and her I-765 was approved the last day of 2007. Her interview took place in February 2008, and after a last security check, her petitions were approved on February 25, 2008. Shortly after that she received a welcome notice and her green card.

We started this case in 2002 for a German client. She was married to a US soldier serving in Germany. He feared he would be sent back to USA and they wanted to be prepared for that moment. When they started an I-130 case with another lawyer (Immigrant Petition for Alien Relative) her petition was denied twice, since she had a record for a small crime in the past. She didn't hide the information from USCIS and she truly believed it was a minor offense. She and her husband first filed for a waiver on their own, and after first denial hired us, and we filed an I-290 appeal for I-601 (Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility). We worked thoroughly for this client with constant follow up in Germany and USA. However, in 2003, our clients were desperate. In October, we learned the appeal was denied, but by that time she had become pregnant, and surprisingly they were told that the husband would be able to stay in Germany through December 2007, with acceptance additional deployments to Iraq. In September 2007, we began researching their case for additional material and in October 2007 filed another I-601 (Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility). We believed we could build a better case now that time had passed and they had a USC daughter. The Consulate had said it would likely take another 60-90 days for the waiver to be adjudicated. The couple needed to know since the end of February was the ship date for their furniture and if the German wife could not receive the waiver approval, the couple had decided that he would have to leave the US military when he first could and she would keep the furniture to find housing in Germany or Canada. After contact with the Consulate resulted in delay and no decision, our office worked with Senator Voinovich's office to have the case reviewed. Finally, the I-601 was reviewed "early" at the request of the Senator's office, and approved within one week. The wife was scheduled for an interview at the American Consulate by the end of February 2008, and the visa issued just in time. We helped her prepare all her paperwork for that day. Days later, she told us the interview went very well and she was given her "Welcome to USA Guide for Immigrants" and was told her green card would arrive soon. She got busy preparing to relocate to USA with her family, not before writing to us: "Thank you so much to everybody that worked for us on the case all those years!". This case was handled by our attorney, Lori Pinjuh.

A client from Venezuela came to see us for the first time in mid July 2007. He was studying under an F-1 visa but was planning to get married soon. He wanted us to have his wife file an I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative) after the wedding, and also his Adjustment of Status (I-485) to Permanent Resident. He also wished to be able to work as soon as possible. On the 25th of July 2007 he came with all the documents we had asked for, and he asked us to file his case the very next day. We took the challenge and on July 26 we filed his I-130, I-485 and I-765 (Employment Authorization Document) simultaneously. Within a month he was scheduled for his Fingerprints and he received his work authorization in November. His final interview (for which we prepared him and his wife) took place in mid January 2008. After waiting only two more weeks, finally our client was happy to receive the approval of his I-130, and his Green Card.

Our client came from Peru in April 2006 under a tourist visa (B2). She encountered health problems and was approved for visa extension twice, in order to follow her medical treatment. In the meantime she fell in love with a US citizen and they got married in July 2007. She came to us to start her case. Since we told her that USCIS was about to increase their fees, she had us file her I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative), I-485 (Adjustment of Status) and I-765 (Employment Authorization Document) by the end of the month, right before the fees increased. In three months she got her EAD and was able to start working. Her interview took place in mid January, and by the end of the month she got her approval notice and her green card.

Our client, a citizen of Jamaica, entered in the U.S. in January 2006 with visitor's visa. In July 2006, we filed for his B-2, tourist visa extension. The application was approved in less than two months in 9/06. naturalized United States Citizen sought permanent residency for his 2nd wife from Azerbaijan. The wife entered the United States in July of 1999 and had overstayed her visitor's visa/status that expired in 2000. The appropriate I-130 (USC husband's petition), I-485 (Wife's application for green card) and I-765 (Application for Employment Authorization) were filed in mid-March 2007. While the usual processing period for these forms is from 8-12 months, the case was approved within 120 days or 4 months from filing. She is now a Conditional Permanent Resident with green card valid for 2 years. She is of course allowed to work and to travel back to her home country to visit and see her family for the first time after about 8 years.

We have advised them that it is necessary to file Form I-751 to apply for permanent green card valid for 10 years 3 months before expiration of her conditional green card in 2009.
He got married to a U.S. citizen and retained us again to file I-130 (Petition by USC wife), I-485 (Green card application) and I-765 (Application for work authorization). We received an approval for the I-765 in April of 2007. In July of 2007, we received approvals for both the I-130 and I-485. The case was processed and approved in 5 months from date of filing. His green card is conditional good only for 2 years and we have advised them to file I-751 in 2009 to get the permanent green card.

After we obtained 6-month B-2 extension approval for our client in September 2006, our office also assisted her in her adjustment of status application as she was later married to a US citizen. Complete I-130 immigrant petition and application for permanent residence were submitted to USCIS office. Within two months we received notice for client and her husband to appear before examiner for interview. Our experienced attorney went through the possible questions they might be asked beforehand and also accompanied the couple to interview. During the interview, the couple answered questions individually. Examiner recommended approval for the application and client received her green card after three weeks.

A Canadian musician who initially entered the US on student visa later married her US citizen husband and we were retained to assist her in getting family-based immigrant petition. After the application was submitted, husband and wife were called for interview within two months. With our attorney accompanying to interview, the interview went well and approval was recommended by the USCIS officer. Green card arrived within a week after the interview.

Nigeria student and her US citizen husband retained our firm to assist the wife in getting her green card; their previous application had been denied due to lack of evidence to establish a bona-fide relationship. The couple was summoned to appear for interview and our attorney was present at the interview. The interviewing officer raised several issues due to the former denial and the fact that father's name does not appear on their child's birth certificate. Our attorney argued that sufficient evidence had been submitted to prove their marriage and USCIS officer agreed to ask for further evidence before issuing approval. In less than one month we helped our client gather what was needed and USCIS issued her green card. Client was extremely happy and grateful for our work and we congratulate our client on getting her permanent residence.

Client from Azerbaijan came on visitor visa in 2000. In 2004, she married a naturalized US citizen who is also a native of her home country. Our law firm applied for permanent residence on her behalf in 2007. Interview was scheduled three months after filing and despite the fact that she had been out of status for several years, we were able to get the interviewing officer to agree to recommend approval and issue green card.

Client from Romania came to the US on J visa. She later was married to a US citizen and retained our law firm to assist her in obtaining permanent residency. The couple was notified to attend interview after only two months of our filing and after being prepared by our attorney for the interview, they confidently appeared for their interview with our attorney accompanying. The USCIS officer recommended approval right away and client received her green card in the mail 10 days later. We look forward to working with her again in two years to remove her conditions and getting her ten-year green card.

We were retained by a citizen of Ireland to work on an I-130 / 485 marriage petition.  We filed on 12/22/2007 and the beneficiary and US citizen wife were interviewed on April 3, 2007 at USCIS.  We received the Welcome Notice (approval) in the mail on May 22, 2007. 

A Chinese national and a US citizen met in Germany and they got married there. Later husband returned to America and wife came to visit him on a tourist visa from Germany. Our law firm was retained to assist the wife in adjusting to the status of permanent resident during her visit in the US. Our attorney accompanied the couple to their interview in Cleveland District Officer and the interviewing office stated wife will receive her green card once background check is complete. Within 1 week wife received her green card.

Polish national came to the US on B-2 visa in 2004 but overstayed. In 2006 she married a naturalized US citizen, who was originally a citizen of Poland. Based on this marriage, our office was able to help them apply for I-130 Immigrant Petition for Alien Relative and at the same time apply for a green card for the alien wife. During the three months after the petition and application were submitted, wife was fingerprinted and the couple was interviewed, with one of our experienced attorneys present at the interview. Green card was promptly mailed to her a few days after the interview.

Mexican mother traveled to the United States with her three daughters on tourist visa. Their visas were valid for six months. Three months after their entry, the mother married a US citizen and therefore the whole family was able to adjust status in the US through the filing of I-130 immigrant petition. Our attorney attended their interview in Columbus and presented abundant evidence of bona-fide relationship. The interviewing officer recommended approval and I-130 was approved two days afterwards and all four members received their green card at the same time.

Chinese client married USC in China and later entered the United States on a K-3.  Although our client was told and shown that her USC husband was a caring and loving man with whom she envisioned she would spend her life and begin a family, when she arrived to the US, she found the complete opposite to be true.  The man was controlling down to the last penny, quit his job and required her to work and give him the money she earned, uncleanly and foul smelling, prohitibed her from taking showers, prevented her from using heat in the apartment, drank heavily and was verbally and sexually abusive, repeatedly demanding that our client perform sexual activities repulsive to her, and ultimately wanted her to join in threesomes.  With the help of some newly found USC friends and neighbors who witnessed the abhorrent behavior and drinking bouts demonstrated by the husband, our client was able to seek our assistance, divorce her USC husband, receive an approved special immigrant petition (I-360) based on battered spouse of a USC, and recently obtained lawful permanent residence in the United States.

Client from Slovakia entered the US on B-2 visa and married a US citizen before her visa expired. I-130 and I-485 were concurrently filed. In order to gain time, we omitted part of the required documents in the initial filing. As expected, we received Request for Evidence soon after we filed the petitions. As we had been communicating with our client all along, we submitted our response in a timely manner. Interview was set to follow and our attorney was present during the interview. Officer stated he would recommend approval. However, I-485 was later erroneously denied as client’s I-94 bore the annotation that no change of status was allowed. USCIS advised client to file for waiver. Our attorneys insisted that waiver was not needed as there is no ground of inadmissibility. In addition, we assisted our client in writing a detailed affidavit. After several communications with the USCIS field office through the phone and mail, we got the issue resolved and our client received her green card soon after.

Naturalized US citizen, national of Mexico, married a Mexican citizen who is a mother of three daughters. In August 2006, he retained our law firm to file I-130 and I-485 for his three new daughters, one of whom would turn 21 in March of 2007. Fortunately, all of them were under the age of 18 when the marriage took place. To avoid aging out, we sped up the process and filed in October as soon as we gathered all necessary supporting documents. One daughter received her green card in December but the other two daughters’ applications remained pending as of February 2007.Faced by the prospect of one of them turning 21 in weeks, our attorneys filed writ of mandamus with US District Court in March. USCIS soon issued interview notices but then cancelled the interview and issued green cards to both of them without interview.

Husband applied I-130 for wife, a client from South Korea, and it was approved after RFE was responded. I-485 application was filed concurrently with I-130 and welcome notice was received two weeks after I-130 approval notice reached our office. Client will receive her green card in the coming weeks.

Jamaican client came to the US in 1997 and got married to a US citizen in 2003. Our office was retained and we filed I-130 for him. While it was pending, client was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana and gun. This aggravated his situation as he was already out of status. This initiated a NTA and he was deported. We did not abandon the I-130 and stuck with it. While client was in his home country, an I-130 interview noticed was issued to his wife. Our attorney attended interview with client’s wife and Request for Evidence was issued after the interview. We assisted wife in gathering documents to demonstrate their relationship and I-130 was finally approved. It was then forwarded to National Visa Center for consular processing, by which means we will bring our client back to the United States to reunite with his USC wife.

Naturalized Chinese client retained our law firm to file alien relative petition for his two minor sons. Both petitions were approved in only a month and a half. NVC has sent approval notices to US Consulate in Guangzhou for consular processing and we will continue to represent and work with our client.

Our Iranian client obtained his permanent residence and US citizenship through our law office. After that he continued to retain us to bring his fiancée, an Italian national, to the United States to join him. We therefore filed I-129F petition on their behalf in February 2006. The consulate in Italy soon scheduled her interview to take place in September. We meticulously prepped her for the interview and she successfully obtained her K-1 visa. After she arrived in the United States on her K-1 visa, we immediately filed I-485 for her after their marriage. An interview is normally required in such cases. In this case however, our client received her green card without an interview.

Our German client married a naturalized US citizen while she was in H-1B status. Their marriage was also blessed by the birth of their USC daughter. In August we submitted their I-485 application along with their I-130 petition. Four months later we received Request for Evidence on the I-485 application. As soon as further evidence was filed, our client and her husband were scheduled to appear for interview in March 2007. The approval notice of the I-130 petition and a welcome notice approving her green card arrived in our office in a week. We offer our sincere congratulations to this family.

Ms. V arrived in the United States on a J-1 visa from Thailand. She fell in love with Mr. T and they happily married. After a consultation with attorney Margaret Wong, the couple retained our law firm to represent them in getting her permanent residence. We quickly gathered all necessary documents and information and filed I-130, Immigrant Petition for Alien Relative, and I-485, Application for Permanent Residency, with Chicago in November 2006. After her biometrics was captured, we soon received her interview notice in February 2007. Our experienced attorney scheduled a prep to acquaint them with the interview and also appeared with our client on the date of their interview. The interview went smoothly and the interviewing officer immediately recommended approval upon completion of required security checks. Two weeks after their interview our office received her I-485 welcome notice and our client received her green card. The whole process only took 3 months and a half. We look forward to working together with our client to remove her conditions in about a year and a half

Our office was retained to assist with filing an I-130/485 based on marriage to a US citizen.  We filed in September 2006, the alien was interviewed on January 9, 2007 and the alien received her I-485 approval on January 22, 2007.  Margaret Wong was the attorney and Brian Marek assisted as a paralegal.

Our client retained our firm to assist with an I-130 petition based on his marriage to a US citizen while in student status.  He also retained us to apply for lawful permanent resident status.  We filed all the appropriate paperwork and attended the interview in Newark, New Jersey.  At the interview, CIS granted the I-130 and adjustment of status applications and placed a stamp in our client’s passport to reflect that he was now a lawful permanent resident.  Scott Bratton handled the case for our firm.

Our client retained us to file an I-130/485 based on her marriage to a United States citizen.  US CIS conducted an interview in May 2006.  However, despite several inquiries, the case had not been approved due to background checks.  We recommended filing a mandamus action in U.S. District Court seeking to compel US CIS to adjudicate the I-130/485 petitions.  We then prepared and filed the mandamus action in federal court.  The I-130/485 petitions were approved less than three weeks after filing the lawsuit in federal court.  Our client is now a lawful permanent resident.  Scott Bratton handled the case for Margaret Wong & Associates.

A Jamaican National married a United States Citizen back in April 2006.  He contacted us at the end of May in order to establish permanent residency and renew his work authorization before it was to expire at the end of May.  We immediately filed a petition for an alien relative, application for permanent residence and work authorization.  He received approval notice at the end of September and received his actual green card at the beginning of October.  It took us less than 4 months to get him permanent resident status!

One of our clients who was in Asylum proceedings had a son, also in asylum proceedings, who married a United States Citizen in April.  We filed a petition for alien relative in May 2006 and the I-130 was approved at the beginning of August, less than three months for a petition approval based upon marriage.

After an arduous appeal of an immediate relative I-130 denial, going through several attorneys before our office became involved, our clients are finally happy and relieved to receive the marriage based approval for the immediate relative petition that the USC spouse filed on behalf of her foreign national husband from Senegal, and the I-485 application for permanent residence was also approved.

The history for this case begins in 2001 when our client from Senegal first married a USC with whom he had lived for five months prior to marriage.  He and wife file an I-130/I-485 after they marry.  Although the marriage began with the best intentions, shortly after the marriage vows were taken, huge and radical differences were noticed, tension and verbal disputes were common, and my client determined to move out after 2 incidents with the police when his then-wife called to report domestic verbal disputes.   Senegal client divorces wife and mails a request to withdraw his I-485 application. 

Senegal client ends up re-kindling a friendship with a prior acquaintance, and later marries a second USC.  He and second USC wife file I-130/I-485, and attend an interview in 2002. The Service demands that second USC wife prove that the marriage the Senegal husband had with former USC spouse was bona fide, before her I-130 petition could be approved.  The couple who had retained a different attorney than his original attorney from his first marriage responded to the Intent to Deny but failed to provide much evidence.  Eventually, in 2004, the Service denied the I-130 and the corresponding I-485 concluding that the Senegal man could derive no benefit from a new family petition due to the previous marriage which was perceived to have been entered into for the sole purpose of evading the immigration laws.

In steps our office.  We file a notice of appeal, and a brief, explaining the nature of the first marriage, providing evidence of the marriage through friends, neighbors and acquaintances, and even the police reports of disturbance at the residence showing that the Senegal husband and his wife were living together and experiencing marital problems (no domestic violence involved). 

We also attended an additional interview where the couple could provide additional and more current information concerning the second marriage and several important affidavits from previously unfound neighbors who had willingly come forward to testify concerning the first marriage.  Over four years after the the second USC wife had filed for the marriage-based immigrant visa for her husband, they are finally happy to receive the agreement of the Service that they had met the burden of establishing that the first marriage had not been entered into for the sole purpose of evading the immigration laws, and instead, had been a bona fide marriage entered into on the basis of love, even though the marriage did not last for more than six months in total.  The family is relieved and overjoyed that they can remain together and the Senegal client now enjoys lawful permanent residence.  Lori Pinjuh from our firm handled this case.

One client committed material misrepresentation during her entry on a fiance visa, which became a main obstacle in her green card application. Our office assisted her in filing for a waiver of grounds of excludability (I-601) based on her marriage to a US Citizen. We submitted evidence documenting the extreme hardship to her US Citizen husband. We filed inside the United States and 16 months later the waiver was granted and the I-485 was approved. With help from Jilan Zhang and Brian Marek, the case had a successful ending.

Our client hired Margaret Wong and Associates after he was placed in removal proceedings based on the denial of his first I-485. The I-485 was denied because our client’s wife withdrew the I-130 petition filed on behalf of our client due to divorce. Our client subsequently married a United States citizen. We filed an I-130 on behalf of our client which was subsequently approved. We then filed our client’s adjustment of status application with the Immigration Judge. Our client needed INA Section 245(i) to adjust status because he entered without inspection. We argued that the I-130 filed by his first wife prior to April 30, 2001 served to grandfather our client under section 245(i) because the petition was approvable when filed. Although the petition was withdrawn, it was withdrawn due to circumstances that arose after the time of filing. The Immigration Judge agreed with our argument and granted adjustment of status under INA Setion 245(i). Scott Bratton and Troy Murphy represented our client.

When our client came to Margaret Wong & Associates, the I-130 filed on his behalf by his U.S. citizen wife had been denied due to CIS' belief that his former marriage was entered into in an attempt to gain his green card. Our client was also in removal proceedings when he retained our office. Once retained, our office filed another I-130 on his behalf. We were able to convince CIS that his prior marriage was valid and that the current I-130 should be approved. Upon approval of the I-130, we filed an adjustment of status application with the Immigration Judge. After a hearing on the adjustment of status application, the Immigration Judge granted adjustment of status. Scott Bratton and Margaret Wong handled the case for our office.

Our client retained us after her initial I-751 application had been denied because the Service concluded that she did not establish her prior marriage was entered into in good faith. Our office filed a second I-751, with additional information and affidavits, to establish that the marriage was entered into in good faith. After another interview, the CIS Office approved the I-751. Scott Bratton represented our client in this matter.

With our firm's assistance, our client's I-751 petition was granted based on the good faith marriage exception. When our client hired us, he was in removal proceedings as his conditional residence had been terminated and his first I-751 denied. We filed a second I-751 with additional evidence and were able to get his removal case administratively closed pending disposition of the newly filed I-751. Subsequently, the CIS granted the I-751 petition. The Court then granted our Motion to Terminate Proceedings. Scott Bratton and Larry Hadfield represented our office in this matter.

Our client came to us to file an adjustment of status application based on his marriage to a US citizen. However, when we looked into the case, we discovered that he had previously been ordered deported. Upon obtaining the Freedom on Information Act request, we discovered that the Immigration Court did not have the authority to issue an in absentia order of deportation because our client did not receive and could not be charged with receiving his notice to appear and hearing notice. We filed a Motion to Reopen as granted. This will allow him to pursue adjustment of status based on his marriage to a United States citizen. Scott Bratton handled this case for Margaret Wong & Associates.