Marrying an Illegal Immigrant While My Naturalization Application is Pending

[jjjustice]

I would really appreciate a measure of guidance regarding the issue outlined below.

My fiancee is a Honduran national who entered the U.S. illegally a little over five years ago. She was apprehended by the border patrol and given a hearing date before an immigration judge which she did not attend.

She has a five year old daughter who was born in the U.S.

We do not live together at this time but are planning to marry soon.

My application for naturalization is currently pending with the USCIS. Will me marrying her jeopardize my application for naturalization?

Thank you for your time and consideration

 

[Bobsmyth]

Settle your naturalization first before getting married. If you get married during the naturalization process you'll have to update your case with this information, including her name and immigration status. Nothing then stops USCIS from using that information to track her down.

 

[jayoa]

Also, after you get through your naturalization process, there is lttle that can be done to have her change her status since she entered illegally. And I'm not sure what good sneaking back to her country and you going there to marry and filing for her or bringing her back with a fiance visa to do everything here threafter will do. But in all, there will be the question of "Have you ever been in the US?" to which she has to answer "Yes" and further detail her illegal entry and presence. But perhaps because she would have not been "deported" or "removed" or put in "removal proceedings" she may well make it through, I can't tell, just food for thought (and do the dishes too). Perhaps others here have tips or actual experiences.

 

[vimarket]

Dude, finish your immigration stuff first before you start with the marriage. It may only end up complicating things for your naturalization. I have a friend who stayed here illegally for over two years and was given green card and is filling for immigration now. But she got married to military guy. At the end of the day, she's your wife, so you have to file for her. As far as she didnt commit any crime, you just have to try and see what happens. Worst case scenario, she gets denied.

 

[jayoa]

Dude, finish your immigration stuff first before you start with the marriage. It may only end up complicating things for your naturalization. I have a friend who stayed here illegally for over two years and was given green card and is filling for immigration now. But she got married to military guy. At the end of the day, she's your wife, so you have to file for her. As far as she didnt commit any crime, you just have to try and see what happens. Worst case scenario, she gets denied.

Staying here illegally "after entering with a visa" can still file, provided the beneficiary can provide entry papers regardless if it is expired. "Entering" the US illegally and hoping to file is another case, that is not possible as far as I know, such "amnesty" happened in the past and it is not something US politics takes lightly as we have heard in the not too far months and years of back and forth debates on the mention of it because it encourages people to enter the US illegally and hope for amnesty. The fact is that, along with the application to adjust status/green card, the beneficiary has to include copies of papers used in entering the US (whether it is a US visa and the attached I-94 on a non-US passport or otherwise) as well as present the original documents at the interview, without that it is not posible to even file. Any immigration attorney will tell you that, so it is not even a case of "getting denied" as a worse case scenario that you mentioned.
You should call an immigration attorney, they will give you free advise over the phone to let you know if they can help you or not.

 

[Jackolantern]

My application for naturalization is currently pending with the USCIS. Will me marrying her jeopardize my application for naturalization?

Marrying her won't jeopardize your naturalization, but her illegal entry will jeopardize your marriage unless you're willing to go abroad to stay with her while she waits out the 10-year ban. Because of her illegal entry, she won't be allowed to stay to immigrate even if you become a US citizen and marry her.

 

[jayoa]

The only other option is if she sneaks into Canada and files for asylum as many do (without mentioning being in the US before, otherwise they'll send her back to go file her sylum in the US); gain Canadian citizenship and both of you can be together. I'm just trying to help two love birds.

 

[jjjustice]

Thank you for all of your input.

My fiancee entered the US illegally, we are aware that she cannot adjust status in the U.S.

Furthermore, she was apprehended by the Border Patrol and was given a notice to appear before the immigration judge which she ignored. This means that she was ordered deported "in absentia".

Going to Canada and coming back with a different citizenship or going back to Honduras and applying for a Fiancee visa while denying her presence in the US would constitute immigration fraud, we are not willing to do that. Furthermore, her fingerprints would not lie and make all of this a futile exercise.

We understand that she will have to go back to Honduras and apply from there at the U.S. consulate after the I-130 is approved with a waiver for the ten year time bar and a application for reentry into the US after deportation. I think that we can make a good case for that in a couple of years and get those waivers approved in the future.

My primary concern is that I get accused of "harboring an illegal immigrant" and see my citizenship application denied and placed in deportation myself for that reason or some other that I don't know of right now.

We are not so worried about immigration showing up at our doorstep after my interview since it has been practice for the immigration service to leave people who have approved and/or pending petitions alone unless they commit a crime or avail themselves to immigration in some other way.

Thanks again for your good intentions and your input. I will be looking forward to getting more guidance from the forum participants.

 

[jayoa]

You are right that getting citizenship elsewhere will not help her in the US, that is not why it was suggested. It was suggested mainly as a plan B sort of in case she does not stand a chance in the US you guys can be together in Canada and she needn't come to or apply in the US for anything US. Wherever she goes will not be easy anyway because she has a child that ties her to being in the US before, so my suggestion also is trickier than earlier thought in her case anyway.

 

[baikal3]

Thank you for all of your input.

My fiancee entered the US illegally, we are aware that she cannot adjust status in the U.S.

Furthermore, she was apprehended by the Border Patrol and was given a notice to appear before the immigration judge which she ignored. This means that she was ordered deported "in absentia".

Going to Canada and coming back with a different citizenship or going back to Honduras and applying for a Fiancee visa while denying her presence in the US would constitute immigration fraud, we are not willing to do that. Furthermore, her fingerprints would not lie and make all of this a futile exercise.

We understand that she will have to go back to Honduras and apply from there at the U.S. consulate after the I-130 is approved with a waiver for the ten year time bar and a application for reentry into the US after deportation. I think that we can make a good case for that in a couple of years and get those waivers approved in the future.

You are correct that she would not be able to adjust status and that in order to get a GC via consular processing abroad she would need to get a hardship waiver from the 10 year bar to admissibility. However, those waivers are fairly hard to get, and you may want to look into what would be involved in that now.

My primary concern is that I get accused of "harboring an illegal immigrant" and see my citizenship application denied and placed in deportation myself for that reason or some other that I don't know of right now.

We are not so worried about immigration showing up at our doorstep after my interview since it has been practice for the immigration service to leave people who have approved and/or pending petitions alone unless they commit a crime or avail themselves to immigration in some other way.

Thanks again for your good intentions and your input. I will be looking forward to getting more guidance from the forum participants.

Hmm. I don't think it is very likely that you yourself would be accused of criminal conduct. It seems more likely (although still perhaps not very likely) that USCIS may forward the information about your wife-to-be to ICE. You are correct that ordinarily USCIS does not seem to proceed with deportation proceedings of the illegal immigrants who are spouses of naturalization applicants. However, your wife-to-be has an outstanding deportation order against her already, and in such a situation USCIS may in fact forward the information about her whereabouts (contained in your N-400) to ICE. All in all, it seems more prudent to postpone the marriage until after you are naturalized.

 

[Jackolantern]

We understand that she will have to go back to Honduras and apply from there at the U.S. consulate after the I-130 is approved with a waiver for the ten year time bar and a application for reentry into the US after deportation. I think that we can make a good case for that in a couple of years and get those waivers approved in the future.

I think you are mistaken. Those waivers are very hard to get; you have to prove extreme hardship. What would be the "extreme hardship" to you or her daughter if she doesn't get the waiver? They don't consider being without her mother an extreme hardship, unless (for example) the girl is seriously disabled and requires her mother for day-to-day care beyond what the foster system or you or another relative would provide. Something has to be shown other than the normal distress that is associated with the absence of a parent.

 

[baikal3]

I think you are mistaken. Those waivers are very hard to get; you have to prove extreme hardship. What would be the "extreme hardship" to you or her daughter if she doesn't get the waiver? They don't consider being without her mother an extreme hardship, unless the girl is seriously disabled and requires her mother for day-to-day care beyond what the foster system or you or another relative would provide.

I think it is more complicated than you describe - family unity considerations can in fact be used in extreme hardship waiver applications, but they are not considered to be strong arguments. It also appears that the success of a hardship waiver applications also depends on the particular consular post where the application is filed, as they have non-uniform standards.
There is a legal memo from one of the law firms that deals with this topic in significant detail:
http://www.lizzcannonlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/I601Memo1.pdf

 

[Jackolantern]

I think it is more complicated than you describe - family unity considerations can in fact be used in extreme hardship waiver applications, but they are not considered to be strong arguments.

It is indeed complicated, and I edited my post to clarify that the disability issue was just an example, not a specific requirement. My point was that the separation of parent from child is not by itself considered to be an extreme hardship for the purpose of the waiver; there must be something out of the ordinary.

 

[Bobsmyth]

Considering she is illegal and failed to appear at an immigration hearing will weigh heavily against her in any waiver attempt.

 

[jjjustice]

Considering she is illegal and failed to appear at an immigration hearing will weigh heavily against her in any waiver attempt.

I don't know how much the fact that she is illegal can weigh on the waiver... If she were not illegal, she wouldn't need it right? You're absolutely right about the now show in immigration court though and we are acutely aware of that. Furthermore, she needs both a I-601 waiver and an I-212 permission to return after deportation. However, I don't think that we have any other avenue, unless I'm missing something right?

I don't know whether my job will make a difference, I've been a decorated firefighter for 7 years. Maybe the humanitarian aspect of my work here in the U.S. and the impossibility for me to be a firefighter in Honduras (all gov. jobs there are reserved for NATIVE Hondurans by constitutional law) will help a little bit. Maybe a forensic psychological analysis that may show that the stresses of my job and departure of my wife and maybe future child would be too much to bear may weigh in on that...Honduras is just not anyplace either, it's the second most violent country in the world after El Salvador or is it the first this year? We are planning on hiring the best immigration attorney possible to put this package together.

What do you think?

My fear is that my naturalization would be held up when they find out that we are married. Has anyone ever heard of such a thing happening?

We're not too concerned that the USCIS finds out where she is as they will anyways as soon as I file the imprescindible I-130 right?

So sooner or later they will have every bit of information on her. I can't very well have her go to Honduras and wait a year to get an I-130 approval and complete consular processing with the national visa center and then claim extreme hardship for her not being with me right?

I would just hope that ICE has enough criminal aliens to look for rather than someone with no criminal record married to a US Citizen and with a pending I-130 in place. I met a couple of people in the same situation my fiancee is in with approved I-140s who have been waiting for years for something to break on the immigration reform front who have not been bothered by ICE eventhough the I-140 applications have all of their information, including address and of course, work location.

Any input is appreciated.

 

[BigJoe5]

I think it is more complicated than you describe - family unity considerations can in fact be used in extreme hardship waiver applications, but they are not considered to be strong arguments. It also appears that the success of a hardship waiver applications also depends on the particular consular post where the application is filed, as they have non-uniform standards.
There is a legal memo from one of the law firms that deals with this topic in significant detail:
http://www.lizzcannonlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/I601Memo1.pdf

USCIS adjudicates I-601's and does it in a uniform manner. SEE: http://www.uscis.gov/USCIS/Resource...l Recommendations/cisomb-2010-response-45.pdf

 

[Jackolantern]

You're absolutely right and we are acutely aware of that. However, I don't think that we have any other avenue, unless I'm missing something right?

You're right, there is no other avenue. But the chances aren't good for getting the waiver, and you will need a good lawyer.

 

[jjjustice]

You're right, there is no other avenue. But the chances aren't good for getting the waiver, and you will need a good lawyer.

A page from the USCIS website dealing with I-601 waivers states that 80%+ of waivers are filed with the USCIS in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, this page states: "Approximately 50% of all applications filed have been found to be clearly approvable on the evidence submitted with the application. The remaining 50% are “referred” to other officers for further consideration."

This seems to indicate that about 50% of the waiver requests are approved right? fifty-fifty is not so bad right?

Has anyone heard about a naturalization application being delayed/denied or otherwise treated differently than any other because the applicant's spouse is an illegal with an outstanding order for deportation?

 

[vimarket]

JJustice, the chances that your naturalization will be delayed in my opinion, is high. Harboring an illegal immigrant, that you know is an illegal immigrant can be viewed as you not having good moral character. If you didnt know and can prove you didnt then that's a different story.

Of course, most people here can just give you opinions based on experiences. Immigration officers are very strange people and you might get stuck with one who is sympathetic and overlooks that. Again, you might also gets stuck with one who is a serious republican and not very fair. (not saying republicans arent fair.)'

My advice, wait till you are done with your naturalization before you marry her. Except there is a more pressing reason why you must marry her before. When it comes to time to file, there are plenty things you can do to help. You are a firefighter, in my experience, fire fighters, military, police and so on, are usually treated with more sympathy and you have a kid as well. It wont be an easy ride, but its not impossible.

Good luck.

 

[jayoa]

"Approvable" and "approved" are two different things and as we all know many outcomes are at the "discretion" of IO (obviously, they are humans anyway); even if you meet all the requirements, they may not be able to deny you (in the case of an N400 application) but it is up to them to grant you right then and there or pass it on till later when you can get delayed for months (even the supervisor that has to peruse the application later uses discretion). This is one of the main reasons why we all have different experiences. Same thing at consular posts, only that they are more vicious. With things like an N400, it is their discretion to decide to approve or deny now or later, for non-immigrant visas at consulates it is their discretion to approve or deny such priviledges at all (they usually print this on non-immigrant publications but not on immigrant's because then it is no longer a priviledge but a right, its just a matter of when they "decide" to make a decision).
As it is, many get delayed for no reason, even without harboring illegal aliens and while having squeaky clean records. We can only speculate on these things but I will certainly advise to delay this marriage until later so as not to introduce any unnecessary dynamics in the middle of the N400 application. What''s the rush (except if a humongous inheritance that is about to be executed needs you to be maried...LO really L)?