INDIVIDUALS may be put in removal (deportation) proceedings for a number of reasons. Some of them may have been put in removal proceedings for committing certain crimes. Others are in removal proceedings because they may have filed applications with the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and have had their applications denied by the USCIS. Once in removal proceedings, the Immigration Judge will ask these individuals if they have any form of relief which would allow them to continue staying in the United States.
Some of these individuals may have married their US citizen spouses while in removal proceedings. By marrying their US citizen spouses, these individuals may now have obtained a form of relief for them to stay in the United States. An immigrant petition can be filed with the USCIS even though these individuals are in removal proceedings. Since these individuals are now in removal proceedings, they could no longer file an adjustment application concurrently with the immigrant petition. Once an individual is put in removal proceeding, the immigration court retains jurisdiction to adjudicate the adjustment application. They would have to wait for the immigrant petition to be approved by the USCIS before they could proceed with the adjustment application in court.
Once the immigrant petition is filed, the USCIS will schedule an interview date for the parties to be interviewed regarding the bona fides of the relationship. Since the parties were married while in removal proceedings, the USCIS will conduct a more heightened scrutiny of the parties’ marriage. More often than not, the parties will be separated when the interview is conducted. The USCIS will be interviewing each spouse separately and then compare if their answers match. Such interviews may take as long as four hours.
After the immigrant petition is approved, the individual may either file the corresponding adjustment application in court or request that the case be administratively closed by the immigration judge to allow the individual to file the adjustment application with the USCIS.
Since each case is different, there are instances where marrying your US citizen spouse will not make you eligible to file for an adjustment application in Court. However, some other forms of relief or defense may be available to an individual in removal proceedings.
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Atty. Dennis E. Chua is a partner in The Law Firm of Chua Tinsay and Vega (CTV), a full service law firm with offices in San Francisco, San Diego and Manila. The information presented in this article is for general information only and is not, nor intended to be, formal legal advice nor the formation of an attorney-client relationship. Call or e-mail CTV for an in-person or phone consultation to discuss your particular situation and/or how their services may be retained at (415) 495-8088; (619) 955-6277; [email protected]. The CTV Attorneys will be at Max’s Restaurant in Vallejo on October 19, 2009 from 5pm to 7pm to hold a FREE legal clinic.
