OUR EXPERIENCE

Client L is planning to work for an international religious organization located in the U.S. Her proposed job title is Liason for Chinese Mission Affairs and Spiritual Empowerment. We prepared the R visa petition for the organization and the petition was approved quickly. Now the client can begin her work here in the U.S.

Mr. O and his family are in the United States on an R-1 visa. His initial R-1 was about to expire, so we approached him about filing an extension six months before the expiration. We meticulously prepared the petition in February 2024. It took about 5 months total, including a straightforward Request for Evidence for approvals for Mr. O and his three dependents to be issued.

We filed an initial R-1 petition for Mr. Q in March 2024, with a voluminous packet of evidence about the petitioner, the beneficiary, and the derivative beneficiaries. USCIS approved this petition in less than four months, so Mr. Q could begin his work as an Associate Pastor.

K, a South Korean national, aimed to work as a Director of Korean Translation and Spiritual Education for a religious organization. Various considerations arose regarding K's potential ordination and duration of involvement in the religious organization. We meticulously reviewed the organization's Book of Order, prepared the petition, and clarified that K was a member of a subsidiary organization affiliated with the employing religious organization. K's approval was promptly granted.

S had been employed as a pastor and denomination member for over two years immediately preceding the filing of I-360. We closely collaborated with the employer and S to establish the requirements. One challenge was confirming the extensive list of petitions the employer filed in the last five years. The I-360 was filed in June, and approval was received in less than 4 months.

A received her R-visa in 2022, but her husband delayed applying with her as he was still studying on his F-1. In June 2023, we collaborated closely with A and her husband to prepare the petition. It was submitted to USCIS in late June and approved in September, in just 3 months.

Client L applied for R-1 extension and received a RFE by USCIS due to a compensation-related concern stemming from her prior R-1 visa approval. We assisted the client in crafting a comprehensive RFE response letter, supported by relevant evidence. Remarkably, her R-1 extension received approval within a mere 10 days.

D is currently working towards a Doctorate of Divinity at a prestigious higher education institution. Recently, he was presented with an opportunity to serve as the Deacon of Professional Spiritual Care for a religious organization. D approached us for support in preparing his R visa petition. Our team assisted him by drafting petition letters, and collected all the necessary organization documents. Thanks to our commitment in ensuring that we had the latest and most accurate information about the organization, we swiftly obtained approval for his R visa application.

Mr. K is a director of International Member Care in a large religious organization, we helped him file his initial R in the past, and prepared his R visa extension as well. We prepared detailed information regarding the applicant's work expeirence and religious background, in addition to the employer's information. After thorough preparation and review, the case was approved shortly.

Mrs. S is a Chinese National who has been in the US for 9 years. S first came to the US in 2014 on a F-2 visa and over the years, was a very active volunteer in the member churches. Her employer is a long standing client of the firm, and we regularly apply for R visas on behalf of the client. We worked closely with S and our client, and obtained all necessary information for her R-1 visa application very quickly. With premium processing, we obtained a successful R-1 visa application within 2 weeks.

Mrs. C has been working as an associate pastor with a religious organization on R-1 status since December 2021. At the time of filing the extension, the organization was undergoing renovations and USCIS had conducted a site visit after construction began. We were able to get C's R-1 extension approved quickly and without an RFE.

W works as a pastor for a religous organization in D.C., we helped with W's initial R visa and R amendement to change work location. W retained us again to assis with the R visa extension, we organized all documents needed and provided a thourough introduction to avoid any concern from the immigration officers. The case was approved swiftly. We also received the approval notice for W's I-360 approval, which we also helped submit.

Mr. L works as a Pastor for a religious organization with various locations. After filing an R-1 amendment for a change in work location, and an I-360 for special immigrant status, Mr. L received an RFE, and then a NOID, for both applications. USCIS cited to a telephonic compliance review that resulted in discrepancies. We found that USCIS had conducted a single site visit at one of the three locations of the organization, without providing notice or properly communicating their expectations to our firm or the petitioner, after the visit. Both Mr. L and his employer were not at the location for the visit because of this lack of notice. In response, we provided several documents evidencing the organization's activities in each location while also addressing the problems with the current site visit process. We submitted the I-360 NOID response first, and as we were preparing the R-1 NOID response - before we even submitted it, we received an approval notice for both petitions based off the single I-360 response.

Client A works for a large religious organization as a Pastor, we filed his initial R visa a year ago, and filed a follow-up petition for extension. We carefully prepared all the documents regarding the applicant, the organization, and made sure all information was accurate and up to date. The petition was approved shortly after submission, followed by an R-2 approval of A's partner.

Z works as an Assistant of Director of Education for a religious organization. Z received a RFE to her R visa application, where the USCIS raised questions about compensation. We prepared a list of documents, including the organization's bank statement, other employees' W-2s and pay stubs, organizational chart, etc. We communicated efficiently with the client and put together a compelling response letter for Z to prove the employer not only has the ability to pay, but also has been providing consistent compensations to other employees working in similar positions as Z. The RFE was approved shortly after we submitted the response and Z can begin working for the organization.

Mr. F is a student currently pursuing his Master of Divinity in the US. He has over 5 years of ministry experience and was ordained as a pastor in 2015. However, he still received an RFE from USCIS when he applied for an R visa for the position of “Chinese Director of Spiritual Care” in a church. USCIS requested the petitioner to provide more evidence regarding the nature of this position, whether it is a religious occupation or a minister position. Because it was really urgent for Mr. F, we communicated with the client diligently, researched a lot of cases in the database, prepared the evidence zealously, and eventually put together a coherent and compelling response letter for Mr. F in a short period of time. The following day after the USCIS received the response letter, we received the approval notice for his R visa.

Client Y applied for a change of status from F1 to R2 in July 2022. Y was a student in a Christian University, and is now applying for the R-2 based on her partner's R-1 visa. She received a RFE for maintenance of her F1 status, USCIS asked to prove that Y was properly maintaining her student status. We prepared her response to the USCIS, and the R-2 was approved within 8 days.