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!

USCIS Approves H-1B for Software Engineer

Getson  & Schatz, P.C. provides all of the immigration representation to a software company that supplies document and quality management software solutions for life sciences companies. Our software company client came to us seeking help in hiring a new employee for a change of status from F-1 to H-1B for the position of Software Engineer.  We prepared and filed a H-1B petition.  The first step in preparing an H-1B petition is filing the Labor Condition Application (LCA) with the Department of Labor (DOL). The LCA lists the prevailing wage for that industry and the wages to be paid to the employee. Once the LCA was certified by DOL, we filed Form I-129 along with the H Supplement and Form I-129 H-1B Data Collection Supplement. Our firm organized a detailed packet with the aforementioned forms, along with a letter from our client discussing the requirements of the position, and information about the business of the company and the background of the foreign national.  USCIS approved the H-1B nonimmigrant change of status petition and our client's H-1B status will take effect on October 1st.  In the meantime, under the H-1B cap gap regulation, the F-1 OPT EAD of the foreign national will be extended through September 30th.

Cap-Exempt H-1B Extension Petition Approved for One of the Largest Hospitals in Pennsylvania

Getson & Schatz, P.C. provides immigration representation to one of the largest Hospitals in Pennsylvania.  For many years the Hospital has been classified by USCIS as a “cap exempt” H-1B employer because documentation was provided by our firm to USCIS that it should be considered an Affiliate of a University and should also be considered a non-profit research facility.  Based upon USCIS interim guidance that all H-1B employers who were found to be cap exempt after June 6, 2006 should continue to be cap-exempt, we filed an H-1B extension petition on behalf of one of the Hospital’s H-1B employees.  Based upon our firm’s understanding of USCIS policy on H-1B cap exemptions, the H-1B extension petition was granted.

H-1B Cap Petition Approved for Change of Status from F-1 to H-1B

Getson & Schatz, P.C. represents a major software corporation in all of its immigration matters. The corporation is a leading producer of software for life sciences companies who utilize electronic records. We prepared an H-1B petition on behalf of our client for a new employee to change from F-1 student status to H-1B specialty occupation worker status. The new employee was present in the United States in lawful F-1 status working for our client in connection with an Optional Practical Training work authorization following receipt of a United States Master’s Degree in Computer Science.  The employee worked to configure, customize and implement the Company’s software products for its clients.  The H-1B change of status petition was approved by USCIS.

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-140 Petition Approved For EB-2 Biostatistician

Our client came to us with an approved EB-2 PERM labor certification filed for a  biostatistician with job requirements of a Master’s Degree in statistics or bio-statistics plus 3 years experience as a programmer, analyst or junior biostatistician and requested that our firm file the I-140 Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker on his behalf.  Our client came to us because his prior attorney had failed to obtain a degree equivalency evaluation on his behalf or the required work experience letter prior to filing the PERM case.  It is always prudent to obtain such documentation prior to filing the PERM case as when filing the I-140 Petition it is necessary to demonstrate that the foreign national meets the requirements for the position set forth in the PERM labor certification.  In addition to proving the qualifications of the foreign national, it is necessary to prove the company has the ability to pay the wage.  We guided our client on obtaining the appropriate degree equivalency evaluation, work experience letter and proof of the Company’s ability to pay the wage and filed an I-140 Immigrant Petition with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) which was approved.

Filing of Writ of Mandamus in United States Federal District Court Leads to Approval of Naturalization Application

Our client had gained his United States Permanent Resident Status following a grant of asylum.  The basis of his asylum claim was that he had participated in a non-violent military overthrow of an existing government in his home country but following the change of government the new government that he had helped bring into power changed its policies and he feared persecution by the new government if he were forced to return to his home country.  After the requisite time period passed following receipt of his green card our client applied for U.S. Citizenship.  The N-400 Application for Naturalization asks whether the applicant has ever advocated the overthrow of a government by force and our client truthfully answered this question yes as that had been the basis of his asylum claim.  The Code of Federal Regulations specifically states that the mere involvement in the overthrow of a government is not in and of itself a basis for denial of a Naturalization Application and that an individual could not establish good moral character only if that individual believed in the overthrow of all governments.  Following his Naturalization Interview at the USCIS Philadelphia District Office, our client's Naturalization Application remained unadjudicated by USCIS for over 1 year.  When USCIS did not timely decide his Naturalization Application he sought the assistance of an attorney with expertise in filing a Writ of Mandamus to compel USCIS to decide his Application.  Our client contacted us through our "contact us" form on our website and we timely responded to his inquiry indicating that we could be of assistance.  Our client met with several attorneys and chose our firm to file a Writ of Mandamus Action on his behalf in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in an effort to obtain an order from a Federal Judge compelling USCIS to decide his Naturalization Application.  Upon filing of our Complaint for Writ of Mandamus, we were contacted by the U.S. attorney handling the matter on behalf of USCIS.  The U.S. attorney indicated to us that based upon our Complaint USCIS had agreed to decide our client's Naturalization Application and we agreed that we would not oppose a Motion by the U.S. attorney to Remand the case to USCIS for a final determination of the Naturalization Application within 14 days of the Court Order.  The Federal Judge entered an Order granting the Motion.  The next day our law firm received a call from an Immigration Officer at USCIS indicating that our client needed to take new fingerprints and a notice was sent to us for our client to be promptly fingerprinted.  The day after the fingerprints were taken our client received a notice for an oath ceremony within the 14 day time period mandated by the Court Order and he was sworn in as a United States Citizen at the oath ceremony.  Our client was overjoyed that we had helped him become a U.S. Citizen so quickly after filing the Writ of Mandamus when USCIS had delayed his Application for so long.  This was a true success story!!!

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.

Outstanding Researcher Petition Approved for Researcher in the Academic Field of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology who was Offered a Permanent Research Position at a Prominent University

Our immigration law firm has successfully handled hundreds of petitions for medical researchers across the United States in the Extraordinary Ability Alien, Outstanding Researcher, and National Interest Waiver categories.  Our most recent approval was received in 3 days via premium processing in the Outstanding Researcher Category for an individual conducting research to understand the molecular mechanisms of disease who was offered a permanent research position with a prominent University.  We submitted evidence to show the researcher had received international recognition as outstanding the following categories:  1.  original scientific contributions; 2.  authorship of scholarly articles in scholarly journals with international circulation; 3. discussion of work by others in the media and top-ranked international journals; and 4.  membership in associations that require outstanding achievement.  Following approval of the I-140 Petition, our client filed an I-485 application for adjustment of status.

H-1B Change of Employer Petition Approved for Analytical Quality Control Chemist at One of the Largest Pharmaceutical Companies in the United States

Our Philadelphia Immigration Law Firm represents one of the largest generic pharmaceutical companies in the United States.  The Company wished to hire an individual for the position of Analytical Quality Control Chemist who was in the United States in H-1B status working for another employer.   The H-1B portability law permits an individual in valid nonimmigrant status who previously held H-1B status to begin working for a new H-1B employer upon the filing of an H-1B petition to change employers.  It is necessary to demonstrate to USCIS that the individual is maintaining lawful nonimmigrant status at the time of filing of the petition and for those individuals currently in H-1B status that is accomplished by providing USCIS copies of recent pay stubs from the current H-1B employer.  An individual in H-1B status filing for an H-1B change of employer should not leave the current employer at least until the new H-1B Petition is filed and some individual prefer to wait until the H-1B petition is approved in which case the use of premium processing is recommended.  The H-1B change of employer Petition filed by our firm was approved.

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