Q&A’s published on Lawyers.com and the Epoch Times on November 30, 2018 1. How Does a Student in Haiti Qualify for US Visa? 2. Deportation During Entry into U.S. 3. Do I Need to File Green Card Application Again for the Same Person?

1. How Does a Student in Haiti Qualify for US Visa?

I am a U.S. citizen and we apply online D160 visa application and my sister went to the interview today and they told her she does not qualify.

Mr. Lee answers:
I will assume that your sister applied for a visitors visa to the US. Such visas are given in the discretion of US consular officers taking into account the circumstances of the applicant including age, job, resources, property and other ties in the home country. Your being a US citizen could be seen as a negative factor on the question of whether your sister has nonimmigrant intent. I suggest that your sister strengthen her application by having more ties to the home country and be prepared to show those ties to the US consular officer the next time that she applies for the US visa.

2. Deportation During Entry into U.S.

My friend from Singapore was coming to visit me and see his American born son and while going thru immigration he was pulled aside, they did a review of his records and found that before he left 8 yrs ago after his divorce from an american citizen he had overstayed his previous visa. He has been back twice during this year already and had no issues and returned according to his visa guidelines. Is this going to be a huge issue going forward?

Mr. Lee answers:
In your summary, you said, “Deportation during entry into US,” and by that, I assume that Customs and Border Protection actually deported him back to Singapore. In that case, he has a five-year bar against returning to the US. If he believes that the judgment was unfair, he can request a review of the decision from the port director of the port of entry. Otherwise if he has very good reason for returning to the US before the five years, he can request advance permission to return on form I-212 after visa interview and denial to the Admissibility Review Office of U.S.C.I.S. if applying for a nonimmigrant visa, or to the Phoenix lockbox of U.S.C.I.S. if applying for an immigrant visa. It is indeed a huge issue returning to the US if an individual has been given an order of removal at the port of entry.

3. Do I Need to File Green Card Application Again for the Same Person?

I was filing for my husband to become resident; we got divorced and stopped the case. We are engaged and I want to file again.  Do I have to start a new case or go back to the old case? The old case was done in 2002.

Mr. Lee answers:
As you stopped the case so long ago, you would have to start all over again to make your husband a resident. The law does not allow you to get two bites at the apple with the same coin.