[Please note: The Client’s name and case key details may have been altered to preserve the identity of the client. This Success Story is not intended to be an offer of service or case plan. Every case is unique. The Success Story is presented for information purposes only.]
A good-looking young man of sophistication from Brazil in his mid-twenties, Paulo journeyed to Florida in 2018 on a B-2 visa to visit his father, Jorge, a green card holder.
Once here, Paulo, a very talented musician and composer, really took to the Miami nightlife and announced his intention to remain here by any means necessary.
Another reason for his wanting to remain here was that he had really taken to a delightful young woman named Audrey who loved music as much as Paulo did and just happened to be the daughter of a nice but crafty guy named Morris who both owned and managed the nightclub where Paulo loved to jam with fellow enthusiasts.
For sure, Jorge realized that when his son made up his mind, that was it, and thus he was worried that the young man might do something that would land him in disfavor of President Trump and homeland security.
Therefore, Jorge enlisted the services of the [nap_names id=”FIRM-NAME-1″]. Wong team in Cleveland to see what could be done. We explained that green card holders could petition for adult, unmarried children but the wait was quite long especially for applicants from Latin America.
Over the course of the next several years we obtained for Paulo at least two extensions on his B-2 and encouraged him to check out local learning institutions to explore possibilities for him to continue his education via an F-1 visa or obtain a teaching position via an H-1B visa or even an O-1 visa reserved for those of extraordinary ability.
As expected, however, Paulo only vaguely pursued these options because he only cared about the music scene and Audrey with whom he was becoming increasingly enraptured. Finally, Audrey proposed to Paulo that he forgo the immigration bureaucracy which was plainly frustrating him and simply marry her which Paulo was extremely glad to do.
So, in September of 2019, Paulo and Audrey were married and, from what we heard, Morris put on quite a party on their behalf. Meanwhile, our team got busy and filed a package for Paulo that included an I-765 (Application for Employment Authorization Document aka EAD) so that Paulo could accept a job as “entertainment chairperson” working with Morris, his new father-in-law, who sponsored Paulo on the required I-864 (Affidavit of Support) thus eliminating the chance that Paulo would ever be a “public charge.”
Eventually, in January of 2021, Paulo’s USCIS interview took place in Florida and one of our attorneys flew down to Miami to accompany the very happy couple who did just fine at the interview because they obviously so enamored with each other that it was obvious that their marriage was genuine. What’s more, both Jorge and Morris showed up to offer their support to their impassioned offspring.
Along these lines, Paulo was quite convincing as he rambled on for a minute, against our advice, about how discouraged he was about the whole immigration process; fortunately, we caught a smile on the ISO’s face indicating that he agreed with Paulo more than he didn’t.
In the end, Paulo was approved for a marriage-based green which he received in the middle of February of 2021. To no surprise, Audrey, Jorge, and Morris were both relieved and excited.
Yet Paulo, himself, wasn’t entirely happy because USCIS policy commanded that he file for an EAD extension and pay for it two weeks before his USCIS interview took place. Now that he had his green card, Paulo correctly surmised that the EAD was no longer necessary, so he wanted the filing fee back.
Our team certainly admired Paulo’s audacity, so we made a good case to USCIS to have the fee refunded and, two weeks later, a triumphant Paulo received a reimbursement check.
