
Venezuelan Founder on TPS Approved After a Change-of-Status RFE
A Venezuelan founder on TPS filed for the O-1A three days before their status ended. See how immigration attorney Rami Lee cleared the change-of-status RFE.
Immigration approvals for Manifest Law clients represented by Rami Lee. Read the full story behind a selected case, or browse the approval notices one by one.
/Case studies and approval notices
Case studies walk through the strategy behind an approval: the evidence, the criteria argued, and how RFEs or prior denials were handled. Approval notices summarize each approved case, with the visa type and the client's field.

A Venezuelan founder on TPS filed for the O-1A three days before their status ended. See how immigration attorney Rami Lee cleared the change-of-status RFE.
Rami Lee helped an Indian senior cloud solutions architect secure an EB-1A approval, overcoming a Request for Evidence (RFE) along the way. Already in H-1B status with an approved immigrant petition and a years-old priority date, the client built the case on judging major technical competitions, presenting at leading international cloud and AI conferences, authoring widely read technical publications, co-organizing a large regional cloud user community, and earning compensation well above the field average.
Rami Lee helped an Indian H-4 dependent change her status to F-1 through an I-539 filing, overcoming a gap in evidence of her sponsoring spouse's H-1B compliance. Premium processing was used to meet a tight academic enrollment deadline, and the change of status was approved.
Rami Lee helped a Taiwanese software engineer and startup founder secure H-1B approval after an RFE, supporting a move from a senior engineering role at a major technology company to full-time work building his own venture-backed startup.
Rami Lee helped the family of a Colombian software engineer maintain lawful status in the U.S. with an approved I-539 for H-4 dependent status. The principal, an H-1B professional working on widely used AI-powered accessibility technology, needed his dependents' status secured alongside his own. The case also required successfully overcoming a Request for Evidence.
Rami Lee helped an Israeli software engineer secure an approved EB-2 National Interest Waiver Green Card petition. The case was built on the national importance of his work in the semiconductor industry, drawing on his specialist experience at a global chip leader and a role with a U.S.-based chip startup.
Rami Lee helped an Australian data scientist take his career to the U.S. with the O-1A visa. The case drew on his professional memberships, press articles covering his work, original contributions to his field, and the critical role he played for his employer. A strong salary relative to peers in his home market rounded out the petition.
Rami Lee helped an Indian risk and compliance professional complete the final step to his Green Card with an approved I-485 adjustment of status. His underlying profile featured critical roles at Fortune 500 financial services and tech companies, fellowship-level memberships in international professional associations, and top-of-market compensation. The approval capped a multi-year journey that began with an employment-based petition years earlier.
Rami Lee helped a machine learning software engineer at a Fortune 500 tech company reach the final step toward permanent residence with I-485 adjustment of status filings for himself and his spouse. The underlying case rested on his critical role co-leading a large engineering team focused on fraud and integrity, two patents, scholarly publications, dozens of peer reviews, and compensation far above others in similar roles.
Rami Lee helped an Indian technology product leader secure EB-1 classification with a case built on his pioneering contributions to serverless cloud computing and AI/machine learning adoption by large enterprises. Evidence included his critical role as a group product manager at a Fortune 500 tech company, compensation far above others in the field, media coverage of major product releases, and public recognition of his contributions by a leading financial services firm.
Rami Lee helped an Indian software engineer remain in the U.S. with the O-1A visa after repeated misses in the H-1B lottery. The case was anchored by his critical role as a founding engineer at a venture-backed startup serving well-known enterprise clients, his judging of hackathons and peer review of conference papers and talks, and a deliberate build-up of industry press and scholarly writing.
Rami Lee helped a Chinese professor complete her path to permanent residence with an adjustment of status package following her approved EB-1 petition. The underlying case featured her research on healthy aging backed by hundreds of scholarly citations, selective fellowships, leadership roles in national professional associations, extensive peer reviewing, and university press coverage of her work.
Rami Lee helped a client already working in the U.S. on an O-1 visa step up to permanent residence with an approved EB-1A petition. The case successfully overcame a Request for Evidence on its way to approval, clearing the path for the client's Green Card adjustment of status filing.
Rami Lee helped a client overcome a Request for Evidence issued on his EB-1A petition, preparing and filing the response at no additional cost. The successful response secured approval of the extraordinary-ability case and kept the client's transition from O-1 status to permanent residence on track.
Rami Lee helped a Swiss medical graduate obtain an immediate-relative Green Card based on his marriage to a U.S. citizen. The petition was strategically timed around his medical studies abroad and planned U.S. residency training, with the couple's extensive relationship evidence - years of transatlantic visits, deep family involvement, photos, and correspondence - carrying the case through to approval.
Rami Lee helped a technology delivery leader at a global consulting firm complete his Green Card journey with an approved I-485 adjustment of status. The underlying extraordinary ability case rested on his expertise in AI and machine learning solutions for major financial services clients, supported by authorship, judging the work of others, press coverage, and a salary well above the industry norm.
Rami Lee helped a professor of economics secure H-1B status through his sponsoring university. The case was coordinated directly with the academic employer as a cap-exempt filing and completed under a tight signing deadline so the professor could continue his teaching and research in the U.S.
Rami Lee helped an Indian senior product manager move from H-1B to O-1A status, preserving his ability to work in the U.S. With his H-1B grace period expiring within months, the O-1A was prepared and filed in a matter of weeks, and the strategy set the stage for a future EB1A Green Card petition.
Rami Lee helped a professional on Temporary Protected Status secure an O-1A visa before his TPS window closed. With the expiration deadline bearing down, the petition was prioritized and filed in time, giving the client a stable, extraordinary-ability-based status to continue his career in the U.S.
Rami Lee helped a client and his dependent change status to F-1 student and F-2 dependent status through a pair of approved I-539 filings. The applications were prepared and filed together, keeping the family in lawful status while the client pursued his studies in the U.S.
Rami Lee helped a longtime seasonal worker secure a marriage-based Green Card with his U.S. citizen spouse. After roughly six years in the U.S. on temporary work visas, the couple's I-130 and adjustment of status package was approved, converting his status to permanent residency well before his visa expired.
Rami Lee helped an African filmmaker continue his career in the U.S. with an O-1 visa. The case was built on his work as an assistant director on a current film, his co-founding of a production company, and his efforts connecting emerging filmmakers with the global industry. His graduate credentials in filmmaking and a prestigious international scholarship further strengthened the petition.
Rami Lee helped a clinical pharmacist earn a Green Card through the EB-1 category. The case highlighted his advanced-practice licensure, a salary above the 90th percentile for his field, published clinical research, and service as a judge and reviewer for international scientific and professional organizations. Media profiles of his clinical work and a research supervision award added further weight.
Rami Lee helped a Canadian biomedical researcher clear the way to permanent residence by securing a waiver of her J-1 two-year home residency requirement. The waiver was especially challenging because her position at a leading research institution had been partly funded by her home government under a signed agreement. Her strong profile - a PhD, health-focused research, numerous publications, and multiple awards - anchored the concurrent Green Card strategy.
Rami Lee helped a Chinese gerontology researcher secure a Green Card through the EB-1A category. An assistant professor at a large public research university, her case featured hundreds of scholarly citations, a competitive national fellowship, peer-review service, and leadership roles in her field's professional association. University press coverage of her research on healthy aging and technology rounded out the petition.
Rami Lee helped a product management leader specializing in enterprise collaboration software overcome a Request for Evidence on his EB-1A petition. The response drew on his critical role owning a key product line at a major communications platform, multiple approved patents, over a hundred peer reviews across ten-plus journals, published articles, press coverage of his work, and judging of startup pitch competitions. The petition was approved.
Rami Lee helped a senior technology leader and his wife secure permanent residence through adjustment of status after his EB-1A petition, also prepared by Manifest, was approved. The underlying record featured critical engineering roles at a major media conglomerate and a publicly traded fintech company, published authorship, judging of others' work, and top-tier compensation. The adjustment filing capped more than a decade of living in the U.S. on temporary work visas.
Rami Lee helped a Colombian machine learning product manager continue his career in the U.S. with an H-1B visa. The client built AI-powered consumer technology at a Fortune 500 tech company that reached millions of users, delivered keynote talks at renowned industry conferences, and has been cited in published research. His high salary and pending patent work added further weight to his profile.
Rami Lee helped an accomplished professional take the final step to permanent residence through adjustment of status, following an EB-1A petition Manifest built around his scholarly authorship, judging of others' work, critical role, and published coverage of his work. The client arrived with his documents fully organized, and the Green Card filing was prepared and submitted within about two weeks of engagement.
Rami Lee helped a pharmaceutical scientist from Burkina Faso keep his Green Card case on track by successfully overcoming a complex Request for Evidence. The client, a PhD with more than a decade of experience, played a leading role in major pharmaceutical manufacturing initiatives and partnered internationally on efforts to combat substandard medicines. Prestigious international fellowships and scholarly publications rounded out the winning response.
Rami Lee helped an IT professional win EB-1 approval on a refiling of his case. The petition highlighted his critical role modernizing a state government's unemployment system during the COVID-19 pandemic, his judging of a global technology competition for young innovators, and wide-ranging press coverage of his work. An invitation from a government transportation agency to present at a conference underscored his standing in the field.
Rami Lee helped a pharmaceutical quality assurance specialist win his Green Card through an EB-2 National Interest Waiver. The petition centered on his work safeguarding the quality of clinical-trial drug supplies at a publicly traded biotech company, including candidate treatments for serious diseases developed with major pharmaceutical partners. His proposed endeavor to strengthen U.S. drug supply chain resiliency anchored the national importance argument.
Rami Lee helped a U.S. citizen bring his fiancee, a teacher he met online, to the United States on a K-1 fiance visa. The couple documented a relationship spanning several years and multiple continents, with in-person visits across Europe and Asia providing strong evidence that the relationship was bona fide.
Rami Lee helped a senior IT delivery leader at a global consulting firm win EB-1A approval, opening a faster route than his backlogged employment-based priority date. The petition was built on his critical portfolio leadership role serving major financial services clients, published authorship, judging of others' work, press coverage, and high remuneration.
Rami Lee helped a manager at an AI software company transfer to the U.S. with an L-1A visa. After an earlier TN attempt was withdrawn over a job-title mismatch, Manifest repositioned the case as an employer-sponsored intracompany managerial transfer, and the petition was approved within about three weeks.
Rami Lee helped a machine learning engineer specializing in integrity and fraud prevention secure EB-1A approval. The case highlighted his critical role leading a large engineering team at one of the world's biggest social media companies, compensation roughly double that of regional peers, patents, and scholarly research on machine learning. Senior membership in a prestigious engineering association, dozens of peer reviews, and media coverage of his work strengthened the petition further.
Rami Lee helped an Iranian-born software engineer secure a TN visa to co-found his own startup. The case required careful structuring, since the client was leaving a stable job to work for a new company he partly owned - an ownership wrinkle that demanded precise role and entity planning. Manifest moved on the client's tight timeline and secured approval within a week of filing.
Rami Lee helped the chief executive of a growing company secure an L-1A intracompany transfer visa to lead its U.S. operations. The petition presented his role as president and CEO overseeing the business's expansion across the border. The approval later paved the way for the executive to pursue an EB-1C multinational manager Green Card with Manifest.
Rami Lee helped an Indian project manager in the energy sector earn EB-1A approval, freeing him from an EB-2 backlog. The case was anchored by his critical role managing construction projects for a major regional utility and his original contributions - a process for reducing emissions adopted by multiple organizations and improvements to grid system efficiency. Published research in energy journals, peer review work, and judging for engineering associations and hackathons rounded out the petition.
Rami Lee helped a data platform architecture expert win EB-1A approval after more than a decade on an H-1B and a stalled EB-3 process. His case centered on critical roles building data governance, security, and privacy systems for major fintech and media-and-entertainment companies, backed by a letter from a chief technology officer. Scholarly authorship, judging experience, and clearly above-market remuneration completed the picture.
Rami Lee helped an Indian software engineer join his San Francisco startup employer in person with an O-1A visa after two unsuccessful H-1B lottery attempts. Working remotely from India, he had led multiple major projects for the crypto-industry startup and earned remuneration well above local norms. Strategic profile building - scholarly publications, judging, peer review, and selective memberships - brought the case over the line.
Rami Lee helped a creative entrepreneur - CEO and co-owner of her own company - secure an O-1B extraordinary ability visa, paired with an O-2 petition for her essential support personnel. The dual filing allowed both the artist-executive and her key team member to work in the U.S. together. The petitions were approved less than two weeks after filing.
Rami Lee helped a Burkinabe pharmaceutical scientist with a PhD and more than a decade of experience win EB-1 approval. A recipient of a prestigious international scholarship specializing in advanced laboratory analysis techniques, he played a leading role in expanding pharmaceutical manufacturing in his home region. His work with international partners to combat substandard medicines, his scholarly authorship, and leading roles at distinguished organizations completed the case.
Rami Lee helped a technology leader secure his Green Card through the EB-1A visa. The case was built on his lead and critical roles at major consumer and tech companies, where he headed a sizable engineering team, along with his authorship and record of judging the work of peers. It was further strengthened by press coverage and remuneration well above industry norms.
Rami Lee helped a British music industry executive continue her career in the U.S. with the O-1 visa. The case was built on her critical role managing high-profile accounts and projects in the UK music scene, along with industry awards and media articles covering her work. It was further strengthened by strong letters of recommendation from leaders in the field.
Rami Lee helped an Indian engineering leader continue his career in the U.S. with the O-1A visa, filed on an urgent timeline as he approached the six-year H-1B limit. The case was built on his critical role at a major pharmaceutical company, where he leads centralized integration programs that prevent major system failures and protect significant revenue, along with senior membership in a premier engineering association and a salary well above industry norms. Press coverage of his earlier work on medical device technology added further weight.
Rami Lee helped a lead product manager move from a dependent visa to her own TN work status under the management consultant category. The case was built on her master's degree in business administration, which aligned closely with her job duties, and over a year of experience performing the role at a consulting firm that fully supported the petition.
Rami Lee helped a solutions architecture manager secure his Green Card through the EB-1A visa. The case was built on his critical roles at a Big Four professional services firm and a global IT consultancy, his judging work for more than a dozen journals and hackathons, and his journal publications and book chapter. It was further strengthened by remuneration well above the norm for his field.
Rami Lee helped a Canadian registered nurse expand her career in the U.S. with a second TN visa. Already working full-time in nursing under an existing TN, she received an offer for an additional contractor position and needed authorization to work for both employers. The petition was prepared on an urgent timeline so she could start the new role within weeks, and it was approved the same day it was submitted.
Rami Lee helped an Indian risk and compliance expert secure his Green Card through the EB-1A visa. The case was built on his lead and critical roles at a Fortune 500 tech company and a major global financial services firm, along with total compensation far above the norm for his field. Fellowship-level standing in international privacy and risk management associations added further strength.
Rami Lee helped an Indian startup founder transition from post-study work authorization to the H-1B visa. The master's-educated entrepreneur brought a strong profile that included media articles about his work, a judging role for a competition at a major U.S. university, and a critical role leading the startup he founded, alongside a high salary.
Rami Lee helped an Indian academic researcher secure his Green Card through the EB-1 visa. The client was conducting research at a major U.S. university on a cap-exempt H-1B and pursued the EB-1 to gain permanent residency without relying on employer sponsorship, with letters of reference supporting his case.
Rami Lee helped a management professional move from dependent status to her own TN visa to take a managerial role at a Fortune 500 e-commerce company. The case was built on her MBA and the close fit between her new job duties and the appropriate NAFTA professional category. The petition was turned around quickly so she could meet her imminent start date.
Rami Lee helped a senior software engineering leader secure a Green Card through the EB-1A extraordinary ability category. The petition was built on his published authorship, his service judging the work of others in his field, and his lead and critical roles in industry, and it was further supported by compensation well above the norm for his occupation.
Rami Lee helped an O-1 extraordinary ability visa holder extend his status for three more years while accommodating changes to his role. The extension kept his U.S. career uninterrupted and set the stage for a planned EB-1A Green Card filing.
Rami Lee helped a Canadian communications specialist start her U.S. career with the TN visa under the technical writer category. The case was built on her communications degree and her role producing product and campaign briefs at a digital agency serving major beauty brands, and it was handled as a land border application to meet a fast-approaching start date.
Rami Lee helped a Canadian engineer take up a senior solutions engineering role in the U.S. with the TN visa. Working against a start date only weeks away, the case leveraged his engineering degree and a well-organized evidence package to win approval in time for him to begin work on schedule.
Showing 8 of 56 approval notices
This database includes a featured selection of Manifest Law's approvals. It is not necessarily representative of every historical approval.
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