I-130 Petition Approved for Spouse of US Citizen Residing Overseas Following USCIS Request for Evidence; Consular Processing Successfully Completed

Getson and Schatz, P.C. provided representation in the process of a United States Citizen sponsoring her husband for an immigrant visa through consular processing as her  husband lived overseas.  The marriage between our client and her husband took place in the husband’s home country.  We prepared and filed Form I-130 Petition for Alien Relative and United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) then sent a Request For Evidence (RFE) requesting additional evidence regarding their relationship.  In response to the RFE, we submitted a detailed evidence package to establish the bona fides of the marriage between our client and her spouse.  USCIS approved the I-130 following our response and forwarded the case to the National Visa Center (NVC) to complete the immigrant visa process.  We assisted our client in submitting the required NVC documents including the DS-230 Forms, the I-864 Affidavit of Support and all necessary police records.  The NVC forwarded case to the US Embassy and our client's husband was scheduled for an immigrant visa interview.  We provided our client's husband detailed instructions about what he needed to do to prepare for the interview.  Following the interview at the US Embassy he was granted an immigrant visa and traveled to the United States to become a permanent resident to live with his wife.

USCIS Approval of I-765, I-485, and I-130 for Client of Getson & Schatz, P.C.

Our firm represented a United States citizen who married a citizen of another country who entered the U.S. legally with a visa in B-2 visitor status but overstayed his authorized period of stay.  The wife and husband were both competitive tennis players and had met at a tennis tournament.  We guided our clients through the immigration process required for a US Citizen to petition a “visa overstay” spouse for US Permanent Resident Status.  We prepared and filed Form I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative), Form I-485 (Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status), and Form I-765 (Application for Work Authorization) on behalf of our clients.  We prepared our clients for the interview and attended the interview with our clients at the USCIS Philadelphia District Office.  The spouse received his green card within a week of the interview.

USCIS Reschedules Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status Interview for Getson & Schatz, P.C. Client on Emergent Basis and Approves Green Card

Our firm provided legal representation in the process of a United States Citizen sponsoring her husband for a green card.  The foreign national held H-1B status and needed to travel outside the US while his adjustment of status application was pending.  Under the immigration laws, an individual in H-1B status with a valid H-1B visa may use the H-1B visa to travel in lieu of an Advance Parole Document during the time an adjustment of status application is pending.  Our client successfully traveled with his H-1B visa during this time period.  When petitioning for a green card through marriage, both spouses must attend an interview at the local United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office with an immigration officer.  The US Citizen spouse was pregnant and on the morning of our client’s interview, she went into labor.  Our clients called us that they would be unable to attend the interview because of the birth of their child so we immediately called the local USCIS office and were able to reschedule the interview.  The interview was rescheduled a month later and the green card application was approved.  The parents and their new US Citizen child are all doing well!

Visa Applicant’s Case Re-opened By NVC After 1 Year Submission Deadline Had Passed

Getson and Schatz, P.C. represented a petitioner who came to us after the petitions for immigrant visas he had filed on behalf of his wife and children living overseas were terminated by the National Visa Center (NVC) because the petitions were not pursued in the required time period. Under current immigration laws, petitions for immigrant visas must be pursued within one year of notification from the NVC or they will be terminated.  Our client missed this deadline.  Our client was unable to pursue the immigrant visas due to a family emergency that caused significant emotional and other distress.  We requested that the petitions be re-opened and provided evidence in the form of Affidavits and other documentation that the failure to pursue the immigrant visas within the required time period was due to circumstances beyond the control of the petitioner and beneficiaries. Following our request the NVC re-opened the petitions and the immigrant visa processing continued.

I-751 Waiver Petition Approved for Terminated Marriage that was Entered into in Good Faith

Our immigration lawyers represented an individual who had received a 2 year conditional resident green card but had divorced her U.S. Citizen husband because his drinking problem had caused their marriage to become irretrievably broken.  The two had attended marriage counseling sessions in an effort to save their marriage and we provided evidence of the marriage counseling along with other substantial evidence to show that the marriage was entered into in good faith such as jointly filed tax returns, bank statements, insurance, photographs, etc.  As with every waiver case prepared by our law firm, we provided an Affidavit from the green card holder setting forth the nature of the relationship prior to the marriage, the nature of the relationship after the marriage, and the circumstances that led to the termination of the marriage.  The I-751 Petition was approved by USCIS without an interview.

I-751 Waiver Petition Approved Following Divorce by Documenting that Marriage was Entered into in Good Faith

When an individual receives a green card through marriage and the marriage is less than 2 years old, the individual receives a green card valid for 2 years.  Prior to the expiration date of the green card it is necessary to file an I-751 Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence.  There is a requirement that the Petition be filed jointly but the joint filing requirement can be waived in certain circumstances.  The most common type of waiver of the joint filing requirement is for the green card holder to obtain a divorce either prior to filing the I-751 Petition or within 87 days of USCIS issuing a Request for Evidence for the Divorce Decree and to document that the marriage was entered into in good faith but has been terminated.  We successfully represented an individual in the filing of an I-751 Good Faith Waiver Petition which was approved without an interview.  We submitted extensive evidence of the bona fides of the marriage along with an Affidavit from both the green card holder and the US Citizen spouse explaining the nature of the relationship and marriage and that the marriage ended over infertility issues.

I-751 Waiver Petition Approved without Interview for Conditional Green Card Holder who was Divorced but entered into the Marriage in Good Faith

When an individual receives a green card through a marriage that is less than 2 years old, the individual receives a conditional green card that is valid for a period of 2 years from the date of issuance of the green card.  It is necessary to file an I-751 Petition to Remove the Conditions on Residence prior to the expiration date of the green card.  When the couple remains in a marital relationship they jointly file the I-751 Petition within the 90 day period prior to the expiration date of the green card documenting the bona fide nature of the marital relationship.  If there are difficulties in the marital relationship, the green card holder may file for a waiver of the I-751 joint filing requirement.  The most common waiver ground is showing that a divorce is finalized and that the marriage was entered into good faith at the time of its inception.  We represented a client in an I-751 waiver petition who had experienced marital difficulties with his wife because he wanted children and she was infertile but had not disclosed this to him prior to their marriage.  The two had met and work, had lived together for 3 years, and had extensive documentation of the bona fide nature of their relationship.  In support of the petition we included joint tax returns, bills, leases, insurance, bank statements, photographs, and Affidavits regarding the relationship including an Affidavit fro the U.S. Citizen wife regarding the bona fide nature of the marriage and the reasons why the marriage did not work out.  As a result of our efforts the I-751 Petition was approved without an interview and our client received his permanent green card.

Approval of I-130 Petition Reaffirmed by USCIS Following Consular Return

We represent a U.S. citizen client who sponsored his wife for permanent resident status.  At the consular interview, the consular officer asked many questions about the relationship and how often the U.S. citizen spouse had traveled overseas to see his wife.  The couple talked with each other on the phone nearly every day but the U.S. Citizen spouse was solely responsible for caring for his sick mother who cannot live independently on her own and therefore had not been able to visit his wife overseas as often as he wanted.  The U.S. Citizen spouse could not leave the U.S. as there was nobody to provide his mother the care that she needed.  The consular officer refused to accept any information about the mother's illness and unfairly denied the immigrant visa application on the basis that the couple were not in a bona fide marriage because the husband had not traveled to see his wife.  The consular officer returned the I-130 Petition to USCIS and USCIS issued a Notice of Intent to Revoke the I-130 Petition.  In response to the Notice of Intent to Revoke, we submitted Affidavits regarding the reason why the husband had not been able to travel overseas to visit his wife, detailed medical records of the mother's condition, and extensive documentation of the bona fide nature of the marital relationship.  Following the submission of our response, USCIS affirmed the approval of the I-130 Petition and sent the Petition back to the U.S. Consulate for another immigrant visa interview.  Consular Officers can make incorrect decisions.  It is important to continually fight for justice and to overcome any obstacles that may arise in the immigration process.

I-130 Petition for Alien Relative Filed by Father for Child Born out of Wedlock Approved

In order to obtain approval of an I-130 Petition for Alien Relative filed by a father on behalf of a child born out of wedlock, it is necessary to show that the father was actively engaged in the welfare, maintenance and support of the child prior to the child turning 21 years of age.  A client came to us who had won the visa lottery but could not bring his child to the United States at the time he immigrated due to financial reasons.  His 12 year old child had been born out of wedlock but he was very much involved in the child's life.  In support of the Petition we provided correspondence between the father and child, family photographs, Affidavits from the child's mother and other relatives, and copies of Western Union Money Order receipts for funds sent by the father overseas to support the child.  The I-130 Petition was approved by USCIS.

Client Smuggled on the Golden Venture Ship Granted Green Card After 17 Years

On June 6, 1993, the Golden Venture, a cargo ship carrying 282 immigrants being smuggled from China, crashed at Rockaway, New York, near New York City.  The passengers paid about $5,000 each to their smugglers and promised to work off an additional $30,000 when they reached the U.S.  They were given one ration of rice and peanuts a day and were kept in dirty storage containers. As the ship crashed, many of the immigrants fell into the ocean.  They had been at sea for 112 days with little food or water, and lots of abuse from vicious snakeheads.  The water was cold, and many of the immigrants were very weak due to the length of their trip and their mistreatment and lack of food.  Ten of them were unable to survive in the cold and rough water, and drowned that day. Those who survived were arrested by immigration officials and sent to immigration jails.  Most of them applied for political asylum, but many lost their cases and spent many years in jail awaiting their deportation.  About 140 were deported to China and about 50 more were sent to other countries that accepted them.  Some won their asylum cases in immigration court, and others lost their cases, but were eventually released from jail by order of President Clinton in 1997.  A client of ours who was smuggled on the Golden Venture came to us about 4 months ago, recommended to him by a friend who had been smuggled to the United States on a different ship and who had already received his green card.  This new client from the Golden Venture explained that he had been released from jail and had been reporting his address to immigration as required by law for many years.  He had received a letter ordering him to go to the Deportation Office at the Immigration Service’s headquarters at 16^th and Callowhill Street in Philadelphia and was afraid that he would be arrested.  He was married to a U.S. citizen and they had children together, but a previous attempt to reopen his court case had been denied.  Our client’s previous lawyer had not understood the current law regarding green card applications for immigrants with deportation orders.  A new Board of Immigration Appeals that we reported on late last year allows certain immigrants with final orders of deportation to apply for a green card directly to the immigration service without reopening their court cases.  There are too many factors to discuss in this article, but this client qualified.  We sent him to his deportation office appointment with a legal memorandum explaining that he was eligible to apply for a green card according to an appeals court decision and provided a copy of the decision for the officer to read.  Our client was relieved when the officer let him go home and he returned to our office to begin working on his green card application. We filed his green card application soon after the appointment and his interview was scheduled only two and a half months later.  Our client received his green card after the interview and has now become one of the only, or possibly the only person to survive the Golden Venture and get a green card even after a final order of deportation.  Shortly after he received his green card, we received a call from his Congressman’s office which informed me that they were unaware of any other immigrants from the Golden Venture receiving green cards after losing their appeal.  We explained how the law applies to this particular situation, and the Congressman’s assistant thanked me and said that she was very surprised.  Unfortunately, for the many immigrants who came on the Golden Venture who were already deported, and for the 10 that drowned, it is too late.  Hopefully, there are other survivors who are still in the U.S. who will be able to get their green cards as our client did.

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