Getson & Schatz, P.C. Represents H-1B Employee in Filing For Green Card Based Upon Marriage to US Citizen

Our law firm provides immigration representation to many companies and organizations  throughout the United States.  One of our corporate clients supplies computer software and consulting services to North American manufacturers and the U.S. federal government.  The company wanted to employ a nonimmigrant as a software engineer in H-1B status on a full-time temporary basis.  We organized and submitted all of the forms necessary to apply for an H-1B Status.  In connection with the H-1B Petition we utilized the services of a credential evaluation company with which we have a long term working relationship to evaluate the nonimmigrant’s foreign degree to demonstrate that the degree was equivalent to a degree issued in the United States at the Master’s level.  USCIS approved the H-1B petition and our client was granted H-1B status as a software engineer for 3 years.  Towards the end of the 3 year period, the company came to us seeking help with extending the H-1B status of the same employee.  Getson & Schatz, P.C. successfully petitioned for this extension.  After successfully working with the company and employee on two H-1B visas spanning almost 6 years, the employee married a US Citizen whom he had met while living in the United States and sought our help applying for a green card. Although the H-1B status is a temporary status, it has dual intent, meaning that a person can simultaneously express an intention to immigrate to the United States by filing an I-485 and also maintain lawful H-1B status.  This is important because an individual with a pending I-485 green card application can travel using an H-1B visa instead of an Advance Parole Travel Document so long as they maintain H-1B status by continuing to work for the H-1B employer while the green card application is pending.  We filed Forms I-485 and I-130 based upon the marriage, prepared the employee and his wife for the USCIS interview, and attended the USCIS interview with them.  The green card was approved.

USCIS Approves I-130 for Step-Child of US Citizen After Conclusive DNA Maternity Test

Our firm provided immigration representation to a US Citizen client petitioning for his stepson to obtain a green card.  Our client had married the stepson’s biological mother.  To obtain a green card by petitioning for an alien relative, a familial relationship must be established by submitting evidence.   We submitted the child's birth certificate but USCIS requested DNA evidence to establish that our client's wife was in fact the biological mother of the child.  We contacted a USCIS approved clinical laboratory to conduct a DNA forensic test.  This test examined the likelihood that the client’s wife was the stepson’s biological mother.  The test results showed that the chance of maternity was 99.99%.  We submitted these results to USCIS and USCIS approved the petition.

USCIS Approval for I-485 and I-130 for Client Who Was Formerly an F-1 Nonimmigrant

Getson & Schatz, P.C. provided immigration representation to a US Citizen petitioning her spouse for a green card based upon their marriage.   The spouse had originally entered the U.S. using an F-1 nonimmigrant student visa.  The F-1 visa is granted to applicants wishing to pursue a full course of academic study at an educational facility in the U.S.  The F-1 visa has “durational status,” meaning the visa-holder will be “in status” so long as he/she is enrolled full-time in school.  At the time our client came to us, her spouse was out-of-status.  Our firm expeditiously prepared and filed Form I-485 Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, Form I-130 Petition for Alien Relative, and Form I-765 Application for Employment Authorization.  We also filed Form I-864 Affidavit of Support. This document is signed by a sponsor on behalf of the intending immigrant – the person applying for an immigrant visa or adjustment of status.  By signing this document, the sponsor agrees that if the intending immigrant becomes a public charge, the U.S. government can look to the sponsor’s assets and income for support.  Following an interview at the local USCIS office, the green card was approved.

USCIS Approves I-751 Petition Requesting Waiver of Joint Filing Requirement Based Upon Good Faith Marriage that Ended in Divorce

Our firm provided immigration representation to a client who was a conditional resident of the United States. Conditional residency is granted for a 2 year period based on a bona fide marriage to a United States citizen that is less than 2 years old at the time the green card is issue.  Within 90 days prior to the 2 year expiration date of the green card, the conditional resident must petition for removal of the conditional status.  Our particular client’s marriage had been entered into in good faith but had been terminated through divorce during the 2 year conditional period after the marriage became irretrievably broken. We filed Form I-751 Petition to Remove Conditions of Residence requesting a waiver of the requirement to file a joint petition on the basis that the qualifying marriage was entered into in good faith but was terminated. Our firm prepared a packet evidencing the bona fides of the marriage. This packet included an affidavit from our client detailing the nature of the marriage and divorce, a copy of the divorce decree and settlement agreement, affidavits from friends, pictures of the couple while they were married, and strong evidence that they had lived together as husband and wife during the 2 year conditional period including bank statements, bills, insurance, and jointly filed tax returns. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) granted the waiver and approved Form I-751. The conditional status was removed and our client received a 10 year permanent resident card.

Obtaining Certificate of Non-Availability of Birth Certificate along with Secondary Evidence of Birth Results in Approval of Immigrant Visa

We provided immigration representation to a United States citizen petitioning for permanent resident status for her mother who was a citizen of India.  The I-130 Petition was approved by USCIS and forwarded to the National Visa Center wherein one of the required documents to submit was the mother's birth certificate.  However, at the time period when the mother was born in India, no formal government birth certificate was issued. In lieu of a birth certificate, we instructed the mother to obtain a certificate of non-availability from the local government in India along with secondary evidence of her birth such as school records, hospital records, and Notarized Affidavits from family members setting forth the particulars of the birth.   The National Visa Center accepted the birth related documents and the mother was recently issued an immigrant visa.

Successful Consular Processing of Immigrant Visas for Child and Step-Child of US Citizen

We assist a US Citizen client petition for his daughter and step-daughter who were residing in Africa to obtain immigrant visas to the United States. We prepared and filed Form I-130 on behalf of each child which were approved.  Following the approval of the I-130 Petitions the cases were sent to the National Visa Center.  We thereafter prepared and filed  Form DS-230 Application for Immigration Visa and Alien Administration Part 1 and Part 2.  This is an application from the Department of State. The Department of State is the U.S. government agency that issues immigrant and nonimmigrant visas.  We also provided the National Visa Center (NVC) with the other required documents including proof of the marriage between our client and his spouse (the mother of his step-daughter). The immigrant visa applications were approved and the daughter and step-daughter are now in the United States.

USCIS Approves I-485 and I-130 for Spouse of US Citizen

Getson & Schatz, P.C. provided immigration representation for a United States citizen petitioning for her spouse who had entered the US in B-2 visitor status and overstayed.  Our firm prepared and filed Form I-765 Application for Employment Authorization, Form I-130 Petition for Alien Relative, and Form I-485 Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, including evidence of the bona fides of the marriage.  We also prepared our client and her spouse for their interview with USCIS, advised them of what they could expect to occur at that interview, and attended the interview with them at the Philadelphia Immigration Office.  The green card application was approved.

USCIS Approves I-130 Petition for Alien Relative For Spouse After US Embassy Had Denied K-1 Fiancee Visa

A client contacted us who had self-filed Form I-129F Petition for Alien Fiancée.  This form allows the fiancé(e) of a United States citizen to obtain a non-immigrant K-1 visa.  An approved I-129F petition is valid for 120 days. USCIS had approved the I-129F but at the interview at the U.S. Embassy, the consular officer denied the K-1 visa on the erroneous basis that the relationship had been entered into solely for immigration purposes.  The denial was sent back to USCIS for revocation but once the I-129F petition expires USCIS takes no action on it.  Our client came to us and explained these circumstances.  We advised our client to travel to his fiancee's home country, marry her, and then return to the US and File Form I-130 Petition for Alien Relative on her behalf to sponsor her for an immigrant visa.  Our client followed our advice and USCIS approved the I-130 Petition.  We thereafter submitted all the necessary paperwork to the National Visa Center which forwarded the file to the US Embassy for an immigrant visa.  The same US Embassy that had denied our client's spouse a K-1 visa now approved an immigrant visa on her behalf.

Getson & Schatz, P.C. Helps Client Obtain Approval of I-130 That Had Previously Been Withdrawn

Our firm provided immigration representation to a client whose spouse had previously filed Form I-130 Petition for Alien Relative then subsequently withdrew the petition because of marital difficulties.  This resulted in our client being placed  into deportation proceedings. Our client and his spouse did not divorce and reconciled their marital difficulties.  Once they reconciled, we prepared and filed a second Form I-130 and accompanied our client and his spouse to their interview with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to establish the bona fides of their marriage. USCIS approved the second I-130 and we motioned to terminate our client's removal proceedings.

USCIS Approves Green Card for Parent of US Citizen

Our firm represented a US Citizen client in the process of sponsoring her mother for a green card.  Our client had previously applied for a green card through marriage but her prior green card application had been denied due to abandonment as her marriage was bona fide but she had separated from her husband prior to the USCIS interview and did not attend.  Our client's mother had initially entered the US as a B-2 visitor and overstayed.  Although our client's mother was out-of-status, she was eligible to apply for a green card through adjustment of status as she had entered the US lawfully and had never left the US following her initial B-2 entry.  We obtained a copy of our client's mother's immigration file through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request and when we saw that the prior green card application had been denied through abandonment we proceeded to file a new green card application on behalf of the mother with the daughter as the petitioner.   USCIS approved the  relative petition and our client’s mother adjusted to a permanent resident.

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