Q&A’s published on Lawyers.com and the Epoch Times on August 16, 2019 1. Marriage Fraud 2. Denied to Work 3. How to Apply for My Husband who is an Illegal Immigrant?

1. Marriage Fraud

How can I help my husband get back in the US? His I-130 was denied for marriage fraud, which he denies.

Mr. Lee answers:
If your husband has convincing evidence that he did not engage in marriage fraud, you can appeal the I-130 determination within 30 days with all proof of the bona fides of his marriage. If the evidence is not available in time for an appeal, you can file a new I-130 petition when he obtains the evidence, and include that in the I-130 submission.

2. Denied to Work

I am a Ph.D. F-1 visa student from India with a valid green card petition filed in 2009. I was given an assistantship at Wayne State University and the Office of International Student Services denied me to work because I did not have an EAD card. The last time I check the USCIS can only change my status or get work if my priority date in September 2009 comes up and they provide me an alien number, which they have not. Also, after I received my green card petition receipt notice in September 2009, I became out of status because the process took a long time. What can I do?

Mr. Lee answers:
If your F-1 visa status was never formally terminated by U.S.C.I.S. in a written decision or if you did not have the F-1 status terminated in the immigration court, you could possibly interview at the American consulate or embassy in your home country for an immigrant visa. You would not be barred from coming back unless either of the circumstances as described above occurred since the status of an F-1 student is duration of status without a fixed time limit.  At present, you are not considered under an unlawful presence bar if you leave and re-enter. The Trump Administration’s attempt to change the law of unlawful presence unfavorably in a memo in August 2018 was enjoined by the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina on 5/3/2019.

3. How to Apply for My Husband who is an Illegal Immigrant?

If I marry an illegal immigrant can I get his green card without getting deported. I am disabled and he helps me a lot and he is going to be my husband.

Mr. Lee answers:
U.S.C.I.S. looks to see whether a marriage is bona fide in the sense that two people are committing themselves to a marital relationship. A marriage to Immigration’s eyes is not one in which one party is a nursemaid to another only in exchange for a green card. Assuming that the marital relationship will be bona fide, the chances of the undocumented spouse being deported depends upon whether the individual has prior criminal acts or has been in immigration removal proceedings. If not, the chances of the spouse obtaining permanent residence without being deported are good.  If the undocumented immigrant entered the U.S. legally with a non-immigrant visa or parole, he may be eligible to adjust status to permanent resident without leaving the country.  Otherwise he may need a waiver (I-601A) before traveling back to his home country for a consular interview.