JohnBen,
Can you clarify? Why is it any issue how they got the GC, when they are applying 5 years after the GC for N-400?
Visit this link:
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/us...nnel=4f719c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD
Chapter 74 Examination of Form N-400.
http://www.uscis.gov/propub/ProPubVAP.jsp?dockey=d064ed4a5546d449b05096a11bf93 7a2
Quote from chapter 74:..............
C) Immigration Status . In addition to the date on which the applicant acquired permanent residence, your file review should determine the basis upon which such status was gained. In reviewing this section of the application and questioning the applicant about his or her immigration status, you may determine that the applicant was not entitled to permanent resident status at the time he or she immigrated or adjusted status. If the applicant unlawfully acquired LPR status via an immigrant visa you can place the applicant in remov al proceedings. If the applicant unlawfully adjusted status in the United States and has been a LPR for less than five years, you can rescind his/her LPR status under section 246 of the Act (see chapter 26 of this field manual). If the applicant unlawfully adjusted status in the United States and has been a permanent resident for more than five years, a five-year statute of limitations prevents you from rescinding the LPR status under section 246. However, you can still deny the naturalization application under section 318 if the applicant did not lawfully acquire permanent resident status. You should also speak to your supervisor about placing the applicant in removal proceedings. [See sections 212 , 237 , 238 , 239 , and 240 of the Act and 8 CFR 239 and 240 .]
The type of questions you ask the applicant to determine whether the applicant acquired LPR status lawfully, depends on how the applicant obtained LPR status. The following are typical examples of how an applicant may have obtained LPR status.
• Through An Employment Based Petition – An applicant obtained permanent residence through employment with a U. S. company. You should review the employment history section of the N-400 application to ensure that the I-140 petitioning employer is listed. If the petitioning employer is not listed, you should prepare questions to address this issue. Such questions might include:
– Did you ever work for the petitioner?
– How long did you work for the petitioner?
– In what capacity did you work for the petitioner?
– Why did you leave the position?
– What were you paid?
– Where did you work for the petitioner (location)?
– Where did you go or work after you left your job with the petitioner or instead of working for the petitioner?
– When did you first learn that there would not be a long-term position for you?
You should also determine whether the applicant met all of the eligibility requirements of the employment classification under which he/she was granted status. For example, did the applicant have the necessary training or experience that the labor certification required for that classification? The labor certification, which seeks to classify the applicant’s occupation as a shortage occupation, must be filed with the U. S. Department of Labor for most employment-based immigrant petitions. [See 8 CFR 204.5 . and Chapter 22 of this manual.]
• Through Marriage – In cases where the applicant obtained status through marriage you would review the marital history section of the N-400, the list of addresses, and children to determine whether the applicant had a qualifying relationship at the time of immigration or adjustment and, for section 319 applicants, is living in marital union with the petitioner.
If the applicant acquired status through marriage and he/she is now divorced from the U. S. citizen or resident alien spouse, you must develop questions to address this issue. You should ask these applicants to provide a copy of their divorce decrees, and findings of fact, conclusions of law, bill of complaint, petition for dissolution of marriage, or separation agreement to explain when the parties to a divorce were separated. These documents must be reviewed carefully, especially for those applicants who were granted conditional permanent residence, and claimed to be residing with the United States citizen or resident alien spouse when the Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence, Form I-751 was filed, yet they were separated at the time. These applicants were classified as conditional permanent residents because they had less than two years of marriage to their spouse at the time they were granted resident alien status. [See 8 CFR 319 , 216.1 , 216.2 . ]
• Through a Relative: Unmarried Sons or Daughters – U.S. citizens or aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence may file a petition on behalf of an unmarried son/daughter. The son or daughter must be unmarried at the time the I-130 is filed and at the time he/she is granted LPR status. You should review the marital history section of the application very carefully in these cases. If the applicant lists a spouse on the application, you should develop questions to determine when the marriage took place, and request a copy of the marriage certificate fo r review. See 8 CFR 204.2(d) and sections 203(a)(1) and 203(a)(2) of the Act.
If there is evidence that the applicant was married at the time he or she acquired permanent residence, you should discuss the matter with your supervisor and consider institution of removal or rescission proceedings.
More information go to FAQ:
http://immigrationportal.com/showthread.php?t=213961&page=2