O-1 Petition for Construction Professionals Approved in 3 Days

Year: 2018
Nationality: Chinese
Applicant company (U.S. employer): A U.S. technology company
Beneficiary (expatriate employee): Mr. Ji
Beneficiary Position: Construction Consultant
Case: O-1 Outstanding Worker Visa

BACKGROUND
– Mr. Ji’s original U.S. employer’s majority shareholder died in the middle of the process and the company closed, disrupting the entire application process.
– The new employer is a software technology company, which is not strongly related to Mr. Ji’s line of work in the construction industry.
– Mr. Kee meets the three basic requirements of the O-1 “three out of ten”, but each of them needs to be strengthened.
– Most of Mr. Kee’s work output was 5 to 10 years ago and has decreased significantly in recent years.
– Mr. Ji’s poor English skills and the need for Chinese in data reading and communication.
– Mr. Ji has applied for U.S. immigration, was approved by USCIS, waiting for scheduling; he plans to bring his family to the U.S. and is likely to encounter 214(b) problems

Mr. Ji has been in the construction industry for more than 20 years, and in recent years, he has developed the idea of moving to the United States and applying for U.S. immigration. While waiting in the queue, he met a U.S. company through a friend who was willing to help him apply for a work visa. Mr. Ji consulted a number of different law firms for this purpose, but most of the lawyers said that Mr. Ji’s education did not match the requirements for a U.S. work visa and suggested that he should find another way. After a recommendation, Mr. Ji approached Tsang & Associates, PLC in 2017 to consult with them about the possibility of a visa. After evaluating all aspects of his situation, Mr. Zang proposed an O-1 outstanding work visa program for Mr. Ji. Mr. Zang’s team began preparing the application in August of that year. However, in October, a major shareholder of the U.S. employer passed away and the company closed down, which disrupted all the application plans overnight.

Mr. Ji’s application was suspended. Then after 4~5 months finally found another US company willing to support Mr. Ji. After regrouping and preparing, he finally submitted his O-1 petition to USCIS in June 2018, which was approved directly in 3 days (no additional documents), and the visa interview at the consulate in August, and the visa was issued after almost 1 month of administrative review.

One of Mr. Ji’s greatest strengths is that he has more than 20 years of experience in the construction industry, which is very helpful for the construction industry that the U.S. company is about to get involved in. In the attorney’s letter, we took full advantage of this strength and laid out the direction of the entire application: Mr. Ji’s outstanding background in the construction industry was a perfect match for his position as a construction consultant.

KEYS TO SUCCESS

Award Record
We present two copies of Mr. Kee’s national professional membership certificates. Mr. Kee holds key positions in both professional associations he is a member of, which is one of the strongest proofs of his ability to oversee the renovation and exhibition of national landmarks. In order to make the data presented on the documents more authentic and convincing, the law firm team also included the association’s constitution, profile, and membership list, so that the staff reviewing the case could have a clearer understanding of the history, professionalism, and importance of the association.

Professional Papers
Tsang & Associates has submitted a professional paper by Mr. Ji that has been published in a leading national architectural journal. The article outlines Mr. Ji’s insights into the use of new technology in the management of architectural exhibitions, and describes how his own invented construction management techniques have been applied in practice. We emphasize that this is exactly what Mr. Ji’s U.S. employer was looking for – an expert who could bring technology business solutions to the construction market.

Industry Experts
Tsang & Associates compiled news and photos of Mr. Ji’s lectures at professional associations to mentor newcomers, and as a judge for other architectural competitions, with detailed English translations. At the same time, the firm’s clerical team took great care in searching for information related to the above news, such as the popularity of the design competition in the industry.

Letters of recommendation
We guided Mr. Ji through the process of writing letters of recommendation from several references he found in the industry. The letters of recommendation fully recognized Mr. Ji’s outstanding contributions to the Chinese construction and engineering industry, as well as his significant position in the industry. In addition, we assisted Mr. Ji in finding suitable U.S. references from a company and a professor of architecture at a well-known university, both of whom analyzed in their letters why Mr. Ji’s talents were a good match for a position in a U.S. company and the benefits and contributions he could bring to the development of the United States. Through this “two-pronged” approach, which involved both domestic and international applicants, USCIS was able to convince Mr. Ji that he was indeed a rare talent.

Corporate Leadership/Key Roles
Tsang & Associates (Tsang & Associates) submitted large construction contracts for which Mr. Ji was responsible when he was an executive in a domestic construction company. Although some are from earlier years, these contracts with significant work volumes are sufficient evidence of the key role Mr. Ji played when he held key positions at his workplace. In addition, some of the company’s achievements in recent years were also cited to demonstrate the continuity of Mr. Ji’s leadership.

OUTCOME
After thorough preparation, Tsang & Associates submitted the application in June 2018 and received the approval notice 3 days later. Mr. Ji could not contain his excitement after receiving the good news and sighed that the approval letter was not easy to come by. He was very grateful for our help throughout the year, especially when his application was interrupted, so that he could continue to pursue his dream of working in the U.S. and finally achieve his dream.

Follow-up: Consulate interview
Mr. Ji is not good at English and was very nervous about the upcoming visa interview. In order to help Mr. Ji better prepare for the upcoming interview, Tsang & Associates continued to provide him with visa guidance, from forms to interview appointments, guidance on interview materials, multiple one-on-one mock interview scenarios, and familiarization with the interview process. We strive to ensure our clients’ success through the interview process after careful and detailed preparation.

Mr. Ji’s interview passed successfully after the administrative review. He successfully received his O-1/O-3 visa, and the family will soon enter the U.S. to start a new chapter in their lives.


*To protect customer privacy, customer names are pseudonyms.