Part 2 of 2 – As promised, here are more of our case approvals over the last several months. We already have more case approvals that we were unable to add to this update so look for another case status update in the next few weeks! Congratulations to all of our clients whose case was recently approved!

I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residency – Client (hereinafter, client “Y”), is a native and citizen of the United Kingdom. She received a Conditional Green Card based on her marriage to a U.S. Citizen. After receiving her Conditional Green Card, Y began to suspect that her husband was actually gay and cheating on her with a man. Her husband’s behavior started to change in other ways as well and he began to verbally and physically abuse Y. Y was able to leave the marital home and get away from the abuse, but she was worried that it would result in losing her Green Card as well.

Y was relieved when we told her that we could file a waiver of the joint filing requirement, based on the fact that she entered into the marriage in good faith in good faith, but was subjected to physical battery or extreme mental cruelty be her U.S. Citizen spouse.

Y was also in the process of divorcing her husband, and we informed her that should her divorce become final before the I-751 was approved, we could send a letter to USCIS with the divorce decree and request that she also be considered for a waiver based on a marriage that was entered into in good faith but was terminated through divorce. Y’s divorce was final before the approval and we did just that. A few months later Y’s I-751 self-petition was granted. Y is relieved to be safe from the abuse now and no longer has to worry about her legal status in the United States.

Fiancé Visa Petition Approved:

• Our client, (hereinafter, client “Q”), is a naturalized citizen from Cote d’Ivoire. Q filed a petition for his fiancée who is a native and citizen of Mali. This is the second fiancé visa that Q has filed. The first one was denied because Q failed to establish an exception to the requirement that you have met your spouse in-person within the 2 years immediately preceding filing. Q had seen his fiancée just outside the 2 years before filing, but was unable to go back abroad because he his rigorous nursing school schedule. Despite proving proof of Q’s eligibility for the exception, the petition was denied. Fortunately, Q was finally able to get a break from school and go see his fiancée again. This time we were able to file the petition for him within those 2 years and it was approved without any issues. Q and his fiancée are now waiting for the approval to be transferred to the National Visa Center (NVC) so she can begin the next step of obtaining her K-1 visa.

• We also received a fiancé visa approval for our client, (hereinafter, client “P”), who is a native and citizen of the Netherlands. P is also waiting for approval to be transferred to National Visa Center (NVC) to start the next step.

I-130, Alien Relative Petition Approvals – We received the following approvals Family-based petitions:

• Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) filing for his spouse and minor children:

  • Client, (hereinafter, client “X”), is a Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) who filed for his spouse and minor children, who are natives and citizens of Uzbekistan.

  • X initially became a Permanent Resident after winning a visa through the Diversity Lottery.

  • X came to us after he received his Green Card in order to file a Form I-130, Alien Relative Petition, for his spouse and kids who are still living in Uzbekistan

  • After filing the I-130, USCIS sent a Request for Evidence (RFE) because X did not indicate on his Diversity Visa application that he was married so USCIS did not believe that the marriage was real and that he really had 3 minor children with his wife.

  • X hired some type of “diversity lottery agency” back in Uzbekistan to help him complete the application, and despite telling the person who prepared his application that he was married with 2 kids (his 3rd child was born after the application was filed), the preparer listed him as single and did not tell X.

  • At X’s visa interview abroad, he was not asked asked about his marital status or if he had kids, so the mistake in his application was unknown to X until he received the RFE.

  • Fortunately for X, the experienced immigration attorneys at The Shapiro Law Firm, LLC, have seen this type of issue many times before and knew exactly how to handle it. We helped X prepare an affidavit (that is sworn to under penalty of perjury) explaining all of the details surrounding the agency he hired to fill out his diversity visa application and the fact that he was unaware the information was incorrect until he received the RFE because he did not read or understand english. We also submitted proof that X has gone back to see his wife and children since he initial entered the U.S. and provides financial support to them. It only took a few weeks after USCIS received our response to the RFE for the I-130 to be approved!

  • Now, X’s wife and kids have to wait for the I-130 approval to be forwarded to the National Visa Center (NVC). They will then complete the immigrant visa application, submit the required civil documents and then attend their visa interview. X is excited for his family to finally join him as Permanent Residents in the United States!

• U.S. Citizen filing for his Father:

  • Our client, (hereinafter, client “O”), filed an alien relative petition for his father who is a native and citizen of the Dominican Republic. O is a U.S. Citizen over the age of 21, so his father is considered an immediate relative, meaning that he does not have to wait for a visa # to become available, and is able to immediately begin the process of permanently immigrating to the Untied States through consular processing.

I-485, Adjustment of Status Approvals:

• I-485 Approval for VAWA Self-Petitioner (Battered Spouse of U.S. Citizen):

  • The first I-485 approval if for our client, (hereinafter, client “R”), who is a native and citizen of Nigeria. R’s Employment Authorization Document (EAD) renewal, based on his adjustment of status application was approved, and then a month later he attended his I-485 interview. R’s VAWA petition, (filed as the abused spouse of a U.S. Citizen), was approved a few months ago and his Green Card was approved immediately following his I-485 interview.

• I-485 Approval for Spouse of U.S. Citizen:

  • We also received an approval notice for a client, (hereinafter, client “U”), who is a native and citizen of Indonesia. U initially entered the U.S. with F-1 student visa. Thereafter, U married a U.S. Citizen and he and his wife applied for the marriage petition and Green Card without the assistance of a lawyer.

  • The marriage petition was approved, but the Green Card was denied. The USCIS denial claimed that U committed fraud and misrepresentation because he did not attend school when he first entered the country on his F-1 visa. USCIS told him to apply for an I-601 waiver of inadmissibility, which he did, but it was also denied.

  • U then came to the experienced attorneys at The Shapiro Law Firm. After discussing the situation surrounding his entry, we discovered that he, along with many others, was tricked into thinking they would be attending school, but after attending school for a few days, U’s school suddenly shut down and he was forced to travel to Florida from California by the person who assisted him in obtaining the student visa in order to work for next to nothing. U did not realize that he was a victim of human trafficking! He never misrepresented his intentions in coming to the United States, so we decided it was best to reapply for Permanent Residence with an explanation of what happened to him, as too much time had past to pursue a Trafficking Victims Visa.

  • The experienced immigration attorneys at The Shapiro Law Firm were correct and U’s Green Card was finally approved!

Motion to Reopen (MTR) Removal Proceedings Granted: – MTR in absentia granted for a client, (hereinafter, client “Y”), who is a native and citizen of Cote d’Ivoire.

• Y is an Asylum Applicant who had interview at asylum office in September of 2017.

• The asylum office did not approve his asylum application and referred him to immigration court. He was given a Notice to Appear (NTA) but was told a separate notice would be sent with the date of his first master hearing.

• The experienced immigration attorneys at The Shapiro Law Firm, did not initially file the I-589, application or asylum and withholding of removal, but we did file a notice of entry of attorney with USCIS and the asylum office in June of 2015, and thus have been the attorney of records since that time.

• Neither we, nor Y, ever received a subsequent notice from the Immigration Court stating when his first hearing would be.

• On May 8, 2018, Y frantically called us and said that he received an order from the immigration judge, (“IJ”), stating that he missed his hearing a few days earlier and thus was ordered removed in absentia.

• We immediately filed a motion to reopen and explained to the IJ that Y did not receive proper notice of the removal proceedings and thus his due process was violated.

• DHS did not submit a motion in opposition, but that by no means guarantees that IJ will reopen removal proceedings for a person who has been removed in absentia. Good cause still must be shown for failing to appear.

• The IJ agreed with us that good cause had been shown in Y’s case and granted our motion.

• Y is nowscheduled to continue his asylum claim before the IJ in January of 2019.

N-400, Naturalization Approvals – Finally, we have a new U.S. Citizen!

• Native and citizen of Burkina Faso who received his Permanent Residence through marriage to a U.S. Citizen. Congratulations!

We wish all of our recently-approved clients the best of luck!

**If you need representation in Removal/ Deportation proceedings or with help filing for immigration benefits, contact an experienced immigration attorney at The Shapiro Law Firm today to get started!**

(*please note that all identification information has been removed in order to protect our clients’ privacy and in order to fully comply with attorney advertising rules and regulations*)