Many times when immigrants are thinking about seeking benefits, they assume the first step, completing the I-130 petition, a simplistic-looking document, does not require much thought.
I had an individual just a few weeks ago tell me, “What do we really need to meet and discuss the details for? This is simple. Just fill it out and submit it. What can go wrong?”
So, you ask, what can go wrong?
Well, the reality is a lot can go wrong.
If the I-130 petition is not filled out accurately, there can be serious problems later. Also, there may be questions on the I-130 petition, even when filled out correctly, which could lead to problems later.
In my experience, far too many individuals, not understanding the quirks of immigration law, fail to grasp how seemingly little questions can lead to disaster.
In fact, several years later, the I-130 petition answers can lead to problems when it has been handled correctly, even after it has been approved.
Allow me to share three incidents I have witnessed how immigration cases are undermined by I-130 issues.
Issue 1: Inaccurate Information
First, I have met individuals who visited my office after their I-130 petition had been prepared incorrectly.
In one situation, a woman came in with her husband, a U.S. citizen, wanting to sponsor her for a green card through marriage. They had assumed an I-130 petition filed by her mother over 15 years before, and which was approved, would allow him to immigrate her safely here in the United States under the grandfathering provisions of INA 245(i).
Well, when we obtained her immigration records via a FOIA request, we realized that in the paperwork previously submitted, the daughter was listed as the petitioner. Her mother was listed as the beneficiary. It should have been the other way around. The mother was a lawful permanent resident.
As a result, although there was an I-130 approval notice, it was an approval that was backwards. It was therefore invalid and could not be used for purpose of INA 245(i). This meant she could not adjust her status to permanent residency here in the United States, since her unlawful entry was not excused.
She would then have to be immigrated via counselor processing, a far more difficult endeavor that would likely necessitate filing an I-601 waiver.
Issue 2: Insufficient Evidence
A second situation I have seen involve individuals who filed documents without the right evidence, most often, without properly-certified divorces.
For instance, consider a couple who consulted with me after the wife had been placed in immigration court.
They had gone to the permanent residence interview. The husband’s divorce paperwork from his earlier marriage was flawed. It was insufficient.
Therefore, the wife was sent to immigration court because she had been living for many years in the U.S. without permission, and she no longer had the protection of her husband’s application. Even at court, it was clear she would run into problems because he did not have a certified divorce judgment.
Well, the husband’s first divorce was hostile, and when his former wife would send him papers, he would tear them up. He kept no copies. In addition, he no longer knew where his first wife resided.
It was such a bitter divorce, he did not even know how to find her. Their break-up was total. They wanted nothing to do with each other.
Yet, unless he could find his ex-spouse, his current wife was on the fast track to deportation because the I-130 petition, the documentation behind it, was flawed.
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Issue 3: Flawed Withdrawal Of I-130 Petition
A third situation that I have seen occurs where individuals, after the I-130 petition is approved, withdraw the petition and cancel the request for immigration benefits.
This usually happens after the couple divorces.
Again, this action is often due to the couple’s anger towards each other.
It is almost always the petitioner, the U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse, who informs immigration authorities to withdraw the petition, and that the relationship has been terminated.
Sometimes, petitioners file to withdraw the I-130 even after it was approved. This ends the immigrant spouse’s ability to seek a green card through marriage.
Depending on the reasons given to immigration officials, withdrawals have a devastating effect on the immigrant’s ability to later obtain permanent residency.
I’ve seen two predominant versions of withdrawals.
In the first instance, the couple reconciles. Even if they have divorced and now they remarry, they cannot immigrate under the old petition. They have to file again.
In the second instance, more common, the immigrant falls in love again and remarries.
The immigrant seeks a green card through remarriage. The new U.S. citizen spouse files a I-130 petition for the immigrant.
However, reasons provided by the immigrant’s former spouse to immigration authorities for the withdrawal cause them to suspect or allege the first marriage was a sham. As a result, the new petition, by the new spouse, is denied.
Granted, these are not, statistically-speaking, ordinary cases.
Nonetheless, the truth of the matter is this.
The vast majority of all I-130 adverse outcomes can be avoided by the simple act of treating the I-130 petition with the true seriousness it deserves.
Ready to take a serious and honest look at the strengths and weaknesses of your immigration case? Let’s get started with a personalized strategy and planning session . . .
