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. Attorney Furqan filed a new foreign education evaluation which concluded that our client had an advanced degree. Attorney 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, Attorney 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). Attorney 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. Attorney 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 Attorney Noaman’s arguments and certified the ETA 9089. Attorney Furqan immediately filed his I-140 under premium processing, which was approved. Attorney Furqan 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.
