I-130 approved for my spouse while I'm in removal proceedings

[mola888 0]

I'm in a weird spot right now and I'd appreciate everyone's feedback on my situation.

- I've had my green card since 2014

- 2014, I applied for an I-130 for my wife, which was delayed for years, and after trying every possible way to move it along, I eventually decided to sue the USCIS in August 2019.

- a few weeks after we filed this lawsuit, I got a notice to appear in court for proceedings of removal for me, claiming that I was inadmissible when I entered the US and I need to be removed. a charged which I can fight but it'll take a lot of time and money, so I decided to abandon my green card and head back home to be with my wife.

- Surprisingly, last week (Nov 2019) I got a notice the I-130 was approved (5 years after it was filed).

 

Now, my questions are:

- Even though it was approved by USCIS, do you think it'll work out / be approved with NVC, or are they gonna deny it since they're attempting to deport me?

- How long do you think it'll take, from I-130 approval to my wife entering the country?

 

PS: The grounds of the removal are, when I entered the country I was married, but my immigrant visa had me as single, even though when I got approved and had filled paperwork, I was single, so no fraud there.

[milimelo 4,196]

Your wife won’t get a visa - there’s no qualifying relative given that you entered country married when you were in single child category for the immigrant visa - that’s why they stripped your LPR status. 

[geowrian 22,335]

9 minutes ago, mola888 said:

PS: The grounds of the removal are, when I entered the country I was married, but my immigrant visa had me as single, even though when I got approved and had filled paperwork, I was single, so no fraud there.

They are correct. It was fraudulent to use a visa that requires you to be single to enter the country when you were not single. That would fall under a material misrepresentation and any benefits obtained via it (i.e. becoming an LPR) are subject to be revoked.

 

Time to lawyer up.

[designguy 1,179]

1 hour ago, mola888 said:

PS: The grounds of the removal are, when I entered the country I was married, but my immigrant visa had me as single, even though when I got approved and had filled paperwork, I was single, so no fraud there.

Were you legally single or did you just consider yourself single?

[Going through 5,668]

2 hours ago, designguy said:

Were you legally single or did you just consider yourself single?

Even if he was truly single it wouldn't matter at that point.

 

He got married between the time the visa was issued and the time he entered the US, which then made the visa invalid.

 

Not surprisingly, it got discovered when he filed the i-130 for his wife after arriving.

 

In hindsight, OP should have informed USCIS about the change in marital status and there would have been a change in visa category adding a bit of length to the time when he would have been able to enter the country, but that's water under the bridge now.

Edited November 10, 2019 by Going through

[Going through 5,668]

4 hours ago, mola888 said:

Now, my questions are:

- Even though it was approved by USCIS, do you think it'll work out / be approved with NVC, or are they gonna deny it since they're attempting to deport me?

- How long do you think it'll take, from I-130 approval to my wife entering the country?

1)  It won't be approved.  There is no longer any basis for approval.  

2) See #1

 

 

Edited November 10, 2019 by Going through

[aaron2020 11,651]

You've inadvertently committed fraud.  You used an immigration visa that required you to be single when you entered the US to get your green card.  You can not be married when you enter the US.  It's not enough that you were single when you filed and did the paperwork.  You have to be single when you entered the US.  This disqualified you and a lawyer can not help.

 

The petition for your wife will end in a denial since you are not a qualified petitioner.  

[Going through 5,668]

4 hours ago, geowrian said:

Time to lawyer up.

OP already left the US, I believe, and went back to his home country:

 

4 hours ago, mola888 said:

so I decided to abandon my green card and head back home to be with my wife.

 

[JFH 12,189]

Your wife was applying on the basis of being married to an LPR. That qualification has been removed (you are no longer an LPR) so she no longer has this path to a visa. 

 

Why would she want to move anyway, given that you have returned to your home country to be with her? Or was the plan that would immigrate and then file an I-130 for you as her spouse? That will not work.

[MDT 3]

You’re not able to prove your LPR status. I don’t see any possible way to get it but best possible way to do contact really good lawyer if they can find anything, from NOA 2 to approve approx. take 4/6 months 

[geowrian 22,335]

5 hours ago, Going through said:

OP already left the US, I believe, and went back to his home country:

Thanks. Then yeah...there is no basis for the petition to exist now. The petitioner is no longer a valid petitioner.

[Nitas_man 3,100]

10 hours ago, mola888 said:

 

- a few weeks after we filed this lawsuit, I got a notice to appear in court for proceedings of removal for me, claiming that I was inadmissible when I entered the US and I need to be removed. a charged which I can fight

If you invalidated your status by marrying before you originally entered you will not be successful in fighting this ruling that you were inadmissible.

Your retroactive loss of LPR status also invalidates the petition you filed for your wife.

You can try to contact a lawyer but based on what you’ve described here there is no path forward.

 

 

[Just Paul 4,591]

10 hours ago, mola888 said:

The grounds of the removal are, when I entered the country I was married, but my immigrant visa had me as single, even though when I got approved and had filled paperwork, I was single, so no fraud there.

You were granted a VISA because you were an unmarried son or daughter and must maintain that status while entering into to the US.  

It is like being issued a K1 and getting married before entering.  

 

Once you changed your marital status and entered the US, fraud occurs.

[HRQX 4,145]

11 hours ago, mola888 said:

PS: The grounds of the removal are, when I entered the country I was married, but my immigrant visa had me as single, even though when I got approved and had filled paperwork, I was single, so no fraud there.

The government is correct: https://www.alllaw.com/articles/nolo/us-immigration/why-children-must-remain-unmarried-until-green-card-approval.html "For example, if the child marries after the visa interview but before entering the U.S. with an immigrant visa, how will anyone know about it? The truth is likely to come out eventually, for example if the child later files an I-130 petition to bring his or her spouse the United States (which would require submitting a copy of the marriage certificate) or applies to become a U.S. citizen (at which time the immigration authorities will review the person's entire file). Committing fraud in order to get a visa (such as by concealing one's marriage) can be grounds for removal from the United States."

Edited November 10, 2019 by HRQX

[mola888 0]

First off, I’m truly grateful for everyone’s feedback, it’s more than I got from 8 different lawyer consultations I had this month.

 

To be clear, I’m still in the US (Texas). I understand why you’d think I left though (English-as-a-second-language problems lol). My first hearing is on April 2020, so until then, I’m technically still a green card holder, which I suspect is the reason approved her I-130 (For now).

 

I have another question, I know there’s a 5-year statue of limitation for taking away someone’s green card (I've had mine for 6 years now), which isn't being enforced in courts and appeal courts (With one exception, 3rd circuit court of appeals), do you think it might help if I move to a state that falls under that court’s jurisdiction? And fight it there.

 

Looking back, I see the issue here, I’m just pissed that my lawyer at the time never mentioned that I needed to postpone getting married, and it didn’t help either that the immigration officer when I entered the country didn’t ask about my martial status, so I really had no idea I did anything wrong until I got the NTA