A long overdue case status update! The Shapiro Law Firm has been very busy over the last couple of months and the approval notices have piled up! This means lots of happy clients! Here is a rundown of the latest approval notices that we have received:

H-1B Renewal & H-4 Dependents Approvals – First up is an approval notice for an H-1B (and H-4) renewal. The employer is a successful tech company and the employee, (hereinafter “X”) is a native and citizen of France. X is been in the U.S. with his wife (a native and citizen of Vietnam) and his two sons (one is also a native and citizen of France and his other son was born in the U.S. this year).

We also filed for a foreign labor certification for X that was approved earlier this year. Now that X’s H-1B renewal is approved, X and his employer can focus on filing the Immigrant Visa Petition for an Alien Worker so that X can concurrently file for his employment-based Green Card. If X or his employer choose not to pursue the Green Card, X will not be able to renew his H-1B again (you can be in the U.S. for a maximum of 6-years as an H-1B Visa Holder) and will have to leave the country when his H-1B expires in a few years. X’s H-1B Renewal Petition was not subject to the annual H-1B cap.

Petition to Remove Conditions on Residency for Abused Spouse and Son Approved – Next is an approval notice for an I-751 Petition to Remove Conditions on Permanent Residency for a client, (hereinafter, Y”), and her son who are natives and citizens of Jamaica. Y’s had to self-petition to remove the conditions on her residency after she was subjected to extreme cruelty by her U.S. Citizen Spouse.

Y met her U.S. Citizen Spouse in 2008 on the F Train and married 3 years later. Y and her son received her Conditional Residency in May of 2012 based on the Marriage Petition filed by her U.S. Citizen Spouse. Everything was going great between Y and her husband until shortly after they got married when Y’s behavior began to change. He became extremely jealous and controlling and act out in public by yelling at Y if another man even looked at her. He would not even let Y travel to Jamaica to see her family without him. Y’s husband’s behavior escalated from verbal abuse to physical abuse very quickly, at one point violently slamming a car door on her leg, leaving bruises. Despite their marital woes, Y did not know where to turn for help so she tried to make it work with her husband. In May of 2014 Y filed her first I-751 as a joint petition with her husband. While the I-751 was pending, Y’s husband’s behavior continue to get worse, his verbal threats became death threats and he continued to use more and more physical force against her. Y was so fearful that she stopped going home after work, opting to sleep at friend’s houses or sit in the 24 hours Dunkin’ Donuts across the street. Y finally had the last straw when her husband took away her keys and phone and changed the locks without her knowing.

In February of 2015 Y attempted to file a Family Offense Petition against her husband but it was dismissed at the first appearance because why was unable to miss work to attend. In April of 2015, Y started to get concerned that she did receive any correspondence from USCIS and asked her lawyer if there were any updates. Y eventually learned that her I-751 was denied in July of 2015 after she did not respond to a Request For Evidence. Y’s husband hid the correspondence from USCIS. Y was confused why her attorney failed to inform her of the denial. Shortly thereafter, Y contacted The Shapiro Law Firm after her cousin met Attorney Shaffer and discussed Y’s case. Attorney Shaffer said that something did not sound right because Y’s attorney should have also received all of the correspondence from USCIS and should have appeared in Family Court for Y to request an adjournment so the case was not dismissed. Attorney Shaffer quickly learned that Y’s attorney was disbarred in 1999! Y immediately hired us and switched attorneys upon learning this information. We then re-filed Y’s Family Offense Petition and the I-751 as a self-petition based on the abuse suffered by Y at the hands of her U.S. Citizen husband. The family court granted the family offense petition for Y, and although we re-filed the I-751 as quickly as possible, Y and her son were placed into Removal/ Deportation Proceedings as a result of the initial I-751 denial. Now that the I-751 was approved, we have filed a motion to terminate removal proceedings with the immigration court which should be promptly granted.

Marriage Petition (I-130) Approval for Spouse of U.S. Citizen after Stokes Interview –Another I-130 immigrant visa approval for a client, (hereinafter, “U”), a native and citizen of Mali. U and his wife did not use an attorney to file the applications and came to us for help after they attended their first marriage interview and were told they would receive a request for evidence in the mail, but did not receive any further correspondence from USCIS for over a year!

We personally delivered a letter to the interviewing officer and a few weeks later U and his wife were scheduled for a Stokes Interview. We accompanied the couple to the Stokes Interview and a few days later we received the approval notice in the mail! U should receive his Green Card as soon as his background and security checks are complete. U and his wife have been married for over 2-years so U will receive a 10-year Green Card.

Marriage Petition (I-130) Approval – We also received an I-130 marriage petition approval notice for the spouse of a U.S. Citizen (hereinafter, “S”). S is a native and citizen of Mexico. S entered the country without inspection (EWI) so he now needs to file a I-601A waiver for his unlawful entry. An I-601A waiver, known as the Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver is based on the extreme hardship that certain U.S. Citizen and Lawful Permanent Spouses and/ or Parents of the Applicant would suffer if he or she is unable to obtain legal status. Once the waiver is approved, the applicant must depart the U.S. for his or her visa interview at the U.S. Embassy/ Consulate abroad.

The nice thing about this waiver, as opposed to other waivers of inadmissibilities is the Applicant will not have to depart the country until the visa interview is scheduled, and thus will only be out of the country a few weeks. Other waivers require the applicant to first depart the country then file the waiver and wait outside the U.S. while it is adjudicated, which can take 6 months to a year or more!

S’s waiver will be based on the extreme hardship to his U.S. Citizen wife and they are very eager to start the next step in the process of obtaining S’s Green Card.

DACA Renewal Approved – We also received an approval notice for a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Renewal for a client, (hereinafter “Z”), who is a native and citizen of Indonesia. Remember, you only have until THIS THURSDAY OCTOBER 5 to send your DACA renewal applications to USCIS before they stop accepting the applications. It MUST BE RECEIVED by OCTOBER 5! Call us immediately if you need help filing!

Fortunately for Z, although this will be the last time she can renew her DACA, she already has an approved I-130 petition filed by her LPR Step-father and just finished the Consular Visa Processing. As soon as Z’s visa interview is scheduled in Jarkata, she will leave the U.S. for the interview, and if all goes according to plan, she will re-enter the U.S. as a Lawful Permanent Resident!

Green Card (I-485) Approval for VAWA and (previous) Withholding of Removal Beneficiary – We also received an approval for a Green Card for a VAWA and Withholding of Removal Beneficiary who is native and citizen of Mali (hereinafter client “W”). W entered the U.S. in 1998 with a B-2 Visitor Visa to join her husband, who previously fled Mali and was eventually granted asylum.

W applied for asylum long after the 1-year filing deadline so she was placed into removal proceedings, eventually the court granted her Withholding of Removal in 2012. Around the same time, W’s husband adjusted status to a permanent resident based on his asylee status and then filed a marriage petition on W’s behalf. Unfortunately, shortly thereafter, W’s husband started to abuse her and he was arrested on domestic violence charges and W obtained an order of protection against him. W left her husband so we filed a VAWA petition for her. Once the VAWA petition was approved, we filed a joint motion with DHS to terminate W’s Removal Proceedings so she can apply for a Green Card! W is thrilled to finally be a Lawful Permanent Resident!

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*)