Source: http://azharlawfirm.com/case-victories/page/12/
Timestamp: 2018-04-24 16:14:02
Document Index: 21159806

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 103', '§ 656', '§ 204', '§ 212', '§ 316', '§ 1427', '§ 316']

June 13, 2012 – Legal Permanent Resident Set to be Deported Learns he is a US Citizen
Client, a 19 year old from Eritrea, had been in jail serving a sentence for a burglary conviction. The immigration authorities placed an ICE detainer on him and had charged him as an aggravated felon. This charge prevented him from being released from immigration custody.
Client's mother came to Azhar & Azhar Law Firm asking if we could help get her son released. After consulting with Sunny, it was revealed that because client's mother had become a US citizen before her son became 18, he had in fact derived US citizenship from her under the Child Citizenship Act. Sunny took evidence of client's US citizenship to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office in Dallas, and the immigration detainer was promptly lifted. Client was released from custody, and Sunny filed an N-600 citizenship application for him, which was approved.
May 04, 2012 – O-1 Visa Approved for Australian Country Music Singer
Noaman secured an O-1 visa for our client, a professional country music singer who currently resides in Nashville, Tennessee. Noaman was able to prove that our client qualified for the O-1 since she had been recognized on the national and international stage through many major print and media outlets, and having earned a considerable amount of money through concerts, royalties, and endorsements.
Our client’s debut album reached as high as number 3 on the Australian Country Music Charts. Her album was buoyed by the success of her two featured singles, each of which rose all the way to number 1 on the Country Music Charts in Australia. Our client has attended multiple red carpet events including the Country Music Awards, the Country Music Channel Awards, American Country Awards and many Hollywood movie premiers. She currently holds endorsements with Cruel Girl Country Clothing, Maui Jim sunglasses, and Corral Western Boots while being featured in national magazines and newspapers.
Although USCIS recently changed their guidelines for approving O-1 application, making it increasingly difficult for musicians and performers to come to the United States in O-1 status, Noaman earned an approval on our client’s case.
Our client will now begin work on her second album as she continues to tour the United States performing before thousands of fans at sold out shows.
April 20, 2012 – Immigrant Visa for Mexican Child Approved, Despite Illegal Entry
Our client, a citizen of Mexico, arrived in the United States more than 10 years ago with his family, and without lawful immigration inspection. Our client’s father, a permanent resident, filed an immigrant petition for our client in the F2A category as the child of a permanent resident. Eventually the visa became available but our client’s family abandoned the application at the National Visa Center (NVC).
Noaman filed a request to reinstate the petition with the NVC, the NVC granted the reinstatement request and continued processing the case. With the visa available and the proper documents provided to the NVC, our client was scheduled for an immigrant visa interview in Ciudad Juarez. Because our client was under the age of 18, she did not require an I-601 waiver for her unlawful presence. The immigrant visa was subsequently approved, and client has returned from Mexico as a permanent resident.
April 17, 2012 – Asylum Approved for Iranians Claiming Political and Religious Persecution
Our clients, a couple from Iran, had entered the US on a visit visa. The wife applied for asylum based on political persecution as a member of the Green Revolution. She and her husband also converted to Christianity, and claimed a fear of returning to Iran based on their status as apostates. The cases were denied by the Houston Asylum Office, and they then hired attorney Sunny Azhar to represent them in immigration proceedings. After three individual merits hearings, the immigration judge granted the client's cases and they are now permanent residents.
April 10, 2012 – I-130 Approved by USCIS After Previously Considered Abandoned
Our client, a citizen of the US, had filed an I-130 for his brother, a Pakistani national. USCIS issued a Request for Evidence ("RFE") in the case, but our client never received it, so it was denied for abandonment. 3 years later, client hired Azhar & Azhar Law Firm, and Sunny filed an I-290B Motion to Reopen. USCIS then approved the I-130, thus saving our client's family an additional 8 year wait through the filing of a new I-130. In addition, our client's niece was now protected under the Child Status and Protection Act (CSPA), and could ride on the application in order to become a permanent resident.
March 14, 2012 – I-290B Motion to Re-Open Approved and 2002 Priority Date Preserved
On April 01, 2002 our client filed an I-130 petition for her sibling. In January of 2009 she moved to Texas and notified USCIS of her address change. USCIS incorrectly sent a Request for Evidence (RFE) to her old address shortly after her move. Our client never received the RFE, so her case was denied due to abandonment. Practically, this meant that our client would have to file a new I-130, and her sibling would have to wait approximately 10 more years for her visa to become current.
Client hired Azhar & Azhar Law Firm to seek to re-open the case through an I-290B, in order to preserve the original 2002 priority date. Sunny filed the motion, although untimely, and argued that USCIS should reopen the case pursuant to their sua sponte power as set forth in 8 CFR § 103.5. USCIS has the authority to re-open a case sua sponte , in its discretion, if they determine that there is an obvious error. The USCIS adjudicating officer agreed with the arguments Sunny made and exercised their discretion in re-opening the case. The I-130 was reopened and approved.
March 12, 2012 – I-360 VAWA Approval for Battered Spouse
Our client, a citizen of Mexico, entered the United States without inspection and married a U.S. citizen. She had 2 children with her spouse. Our client’s spouse, however, was extremely abusive to our client, both physically and emotionally. He threatened her that if she told anybody about the abuse he would have her deported. Sunny completed a special immigrant petition for her under the Violence Against Women's Act (VAWA). The VAWA petition was approved, and client is now a Lawful Permanent Resident.
March 05, 2012 – Green Card Approved Through Interfiling Request
Our client, a citizen of Canada, was the beneficiary of a 3rd preference I-140 petition that was still 2 years away from becoming current. Our client’s employer hired Azhar & Azhar Law Firm to file his EB-2 labor certification and I-140, in order to upgrade his case and afford him and his family a visa for permanent residency. Sunny filed a new foreign education evaluation which concluded that our client had an advanced degree. Noaman then prepared and filed an EB-2 labor certification.
The Department of Labor elected to audit the labor certification, filed on behalf of a Chief Financial Officer (CFO), for a consulting firm in Addison, Texas. The Department of Labor argued that the required job experience, 15 years, was not normally required for the job opportunity as defined by O*NET. In response, Noaman argued that CFO positions generally require at least 15 years of experience and requiring that much experience is consistent with the regulations as outlined in 20 CFR § 656.17(h)(1). Noaman supplemented the audit response with considerable research from across the country demonstrating that employers looking to hire CFO’s typically require at least 15 years of experience. Noaman also provided a detailed letter from the company’s President outlining the exact reasons why 15 years of experience is necessary for the CFO position at their firm and is not beyond what is normally required for the job opportunity. The Department of Labor was convinced by Noaman's arguments and certified the ETA 9089.
Sunny immediately filed his I-140 under premium processing, which was approved. Sunny then mailed and E-mailed the new EB-2 I-140 approval notice to the Nebraska Service Center, where our client’s I-485 applications were pending, and requested interfiling pursuant to 8 CFR § 204.5(e), the 05/09/2000 Pearson Memo and the USCIS Adjudicator’s Field Manual (AFM), Chapter 23.2(I). The Nebraska Service Center honored our request and approved our client’s I-485 applications, thus saving our client’s years in possible visa wait time and thousands of dollars in unnecessary filing fees.
March 01, 2012 – Green Card Approved for Client, Despite 2 Sexual Assault Arrests
Our client, a citizen of Nepal, arrived in the U.S. on an F-1 student visa in 1998. In 2000 he was arrested for sexual assault and convicted of the crime. In 2003 he was arrested a second time for sexual assault, but that case was dismissed.
Our client then married a US citizen and had 2 US citizen born children with her. Sunny filed our client’s adjustment of status application and prepared a waiver application based on Immigration and Nationality Law (INA) § 212(h), which allows for a waiver of crimes if the applicant can establish that his removal from the United States would result in ‘extreme hardship’ to his qualifying family member(s).
On January 06, 2012, Sunny appeared with our client and his wife, in connection with their permanent residency interview, and argued the merits of case before the immigration officer. In light of the equities in the case and the arguments made, the officer decided not to require a waiver. Instead, the case was approved on March 01, 2012, officially making our client a lawful permanent resident of the United States.
February 08, 2012 – US Citizenship Application Approved, Despite 10 Month Stay Outside of U.S.
Our client, a Pakistani citizen, became a permanent resident in 2005 through a family based petition. Shortly after obtaining U.S. permanent residency, our client returned to Pakistan to complete medical school. Our client left the United States for 10 months to return to complete medical school, and that break of more than 10 months rendered our client possibly ineligible for citizenship.
Noaman was able to provide considerable evidence to demonstrate our client did not abandon his residence pursuant to INA § 316(b), 8 U.S.C. § 1427(b), 8 C.F.R. § 316.5(c)(1)(i). The evidence provided included a re-entry permit issued in 2007, IRS transcripts of federally filed tax returns for 2007, 2008, 2009, U.S. bank statements from 2007 to 2008, and medical school transcripts, letters, and diplomas, from 2007 and 2008, as evidence of our client studying abroad in medical school.
During the interview, Noaman explained to the immigration officer that our client has provided considerable evidence to overcome the rebuttable presumption that he had abandoned his residence. Furthermore, Noaman provided the officer with the case of Li v. Chertoff, and the court in that case held that studying abroad did not result in an abandonment of residency. 490 F.Supp.2d 130 (D. Mass. 2007). Noaman then explained the similarities between the facts in our case and the facts in Chertoff.
After discussing the matter with his supervising officer, the interviewing officer agreed to approve our client’s case on February 08, 2012. Our client is now a US citizen.