Denial of N400 due to ineligible Green Card

[BunNcheese]

Hi all,

My N400 was denied in 2010 based on an ineligible Green Card bestowed to me based on derivative Asylee status even though I was married at the time and did not disclose it on the biographic form and my father is not a Citizen. My Green Card was not revoked. I was advised to apply for a new Green Card under my current husband, who is a US Citizen. I did, but it was denied because I'm already a "Lawfully Admitted Permanent Resident."

Is there anything I can do to get on the path to Citizenship?

Based on the recent I485 denial stating that I'm already a Lawful Permanent Resident, should I reapply for citizenship (with a lawyer)?

Please help.

Timeline and full story below.

Timeline:

1994 - arrived and granted Asylee
2001 - submitted I485
2003 - married loser
2005 Completed Biographic Form and omitted disclosure of pending divorce (no interview)
2006 - received Green Card in March
2006 - divorce final in August
2010 - applied for Naturalization and got denied. Green Card not revoked.
2015 - submitted new I485 as spouse is US Citizen and got denied

Full Story

I came to the US in 1994 as an Asylee. It took a while, but my dad completed and submitted my I485 in 2001 . In 2003, unbeknownst to my parents, I got married. I received the biographic form in 2005 and I didn't report that I was married (1) because my divorce was pending and I didn't know I HAD to report such info (2) my ex was abusive and a criminal and I didn't want his name in my file (3) I didn't know if I would be required to contact him when I didn't want him to know where I lived. I didn't have an interview, but got the Green card in March 2006 as my divorce decree in Aug 2006.

Flash forward 5 yrs later, I applied for citizenship and was denied for not reporting the previous marriage on my biographic form and therefore, I'm not a Lawful Permanent Resident. I did report it on my naturalization application along with my current marriage. Unfortunately, I didn't think to consult a lawyer about the application because I honestly had no clue not reporting the marriage would be an issue. I thought I was "entitled" to my green card after living in the US for 1 yr as an Asylee nor that my life was supposed to remain unchanged in the 5yrs it took to get he Green Card because my dad completed and signed the I485; I didn't even see the form.

My Green Card was not revoked. I've travelled out of the country without issues and I'm currently waiting to see if it'll be renewed. My dad has not become a citizen (he simply didn't want to).

Since getting the N400 denial in 2010, I've been trying to find a way to fix this. One lawyer told me to apply for a new Green Card as a spouse of my current husband, who is a US Citizen. I applied, wrote a letter explaining the issue, was asked for a medical, went for an interview and got a denial letter stating that I'm already a Lawful Permanent Resident, so I cannot be granted residency again, but I can apply to renew my current Green Card if it has expired.

I'm at a loss and trying to figure out what else I can do to get to citizenship. I've been here for 20 plus years and I live with the regret of my ignorance in not disclosing the marriage regularly.

Thanks for your feedback.

 

[newacct]

The denial of naturalization is correct, as naturalization requires that you were "lawfully admitted for permanent residence" and multiple rulings have said that someone who was ineligible under the law at the time of getting permanent residency was not "lawfully admitted".

It is also true that you remain a permanent resident unless and until a final order of removal is made against you in immigration court. And it seems that no removal proceedings were ever initiated against you after the naturalization denial. So you seem to be in a kind of limbo state where you are a permanent resident, but not lawfully admitted as such.

USCIS policy does seem to say that lawful permanent residents cannot apply for adjustment of status (archived copy of Chapter 23.2 of AFM, scroll down to (c)(2)(B)). But I am not sure whether that is supposed to include people in a weird situation like yours where you are not "lawfully admitted for permanent residence". Maybe a lawyer can investigate this more. But anyway there is no appeal to AOS denials; you can only do a Motion to Reopen/Motion to Reconsider within 30 days (it goes to the same officer). Usually AOS denials can be challenged in immigration court when you are placed in removal, but obviously that does not apply in this case so I am not sure what you can do.

However, lawful permanent residents are allowed to apply for immigrant visas. So one potential route may be to do Consular Processing abroad based on the approved petition by your husband. However, that requires leaving the US and there may be risk of not being able to come back. I am thinking that your false claim of single status at the time of getting permanent residency (which was recently discovered) may cause a lifetime 6C ban for material misrepresentation, which would cause your visa to be denied, or require a lengthy waiver process while you are outside the country. So you should probably consult a lawyer to explore the options and risks.