From India by Way of Canada, Trained Medical Worker and Wife Obtain Green Cards

| Apr 14, 2022 | Firm News, Success Stories

[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.]

In  2019 to 2021, the Margaret W. Wong team in New York worked with a man named Adityas who, as a boy, had immigrated to India from Canada and was now a Canadian citizen. Adityas, however, now wanted to obtain legal permanent residency in the United States where he had been working in various capacities for almost twenty years.

For sure, Adityas had traveled frequently between the United States and Canada for most of his life, and, as a trained medical worker, first sought employment here via an EB-3 (skilled worker) visa. Eventually, he worked for a clinic that helped him secure an I-140 (Employment-Based Green Card) just before he first came to us in 2019 seeking to become a legal permanent resident.

Because a labor certification had been filed by another employer on his behalf in early 2001 (just prior to the April 30th cutoff date) and Adityas was able to prove that he was, indeed, present in the United States on December 21st of 2000, he was therefore eligible for 245 (i) relief under the LIFE Act of 2000 thus making him eligible for a green card for which his wife, Lakshmi, also qualified as a derivative beneficiary.

Lakshmi, like her husband, had immigrated to Canada from India, and had become a Canadian citizen in 2011.

In January of 2020, we accompanied Adityas and Lakshmi to their USCIS interview and in August, we received word that Adityas had been approved for legal permanent residency but a few anxious months later, in November, we learned that a NOID (Notice of Intent to Deny) had been placed on Lakshmi’s application due to questions regarding arrivals in/departures from the United States around 2014-2015.

Upon review of her records, indications were that Lakshmi had inadvertently resided in the United States for over a year since her visa expired due to confusion over certain provisions.

If necessary, we were prepared to file an I-601 (Application for Waiver) on Lakshmi’s behalf but we countered the NOID by contending that all her entries were documented and, as a Canadian citizen, she had duration of status.

Of course, there was a delay due to the Covid-19 spike over the holidays, but in March of 2021 our team was notified that Lakshmi’s green card was approved.