CASE: Marriage-Based Adjustment of Status
CLIENT: Filipino
LOCATION: North Las Vegas, NV
Our client entered the U.S. on a J-1 Visa in February 2021 from the Philippines to work as a teacher. His visa made him subject to the two-year foreign residency requirement, which meant he had to obtain a waiver before he could file for adjustment of status based on his U.S. citizen spouse’s I-130 petition.
Unlike our other J-1 clients, he was unable to pursue a waiver under the No Objection Statement or Interest Government Agency (IGA) categories. He also didn’t meet the standards for an exceptional hardship waiver. However, he was eligible to seek a waiver based on the persecution category. This waiver applies to individuals who believe they will be persecuted based on their race, religion, or political opinion if they return to their home country. The Waiver Review Division will only recommend this type of waiver after USCIS has made a finding of persecution.
Our client believed he would be persecuted in the Philippines due to his same-sex marital relationship, which is culturally and religiously forbidden in his home country. After retaining our firm, we prepared and filed his J-1 Waiver Application (Form DS-3035) with the Department of State on December 18, 2023. Our office then prepared an affidavit, an extensive brief, and other supporting documents to demonstrate the likelihood of persecution. On January 18, 2024, we filed the I-612 application with USCIS, requesting a waiver recommendation based on the persecution our client would face upon returning to the Philippines. USCIS approved the I-612 application on July 10, 2025.
While the J-1 waiver application was pending, our firm prepared and filed the I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application on March 3, 2025. All the paperwork went smoothly, and we received the receipt notices and a timely fingerprint appointment. We then thoroughly prepared our clients for their interview via conference calls. On August 27, 2025, our client was interviewed at the USCIS office in Las Vegas, Nevada. The following day, on August 28, 2025, his green card application was approved.