MANY people may be guilty of attempted “alien smuggling” and not even realize it. They may also be totally unaware of the harsh or drastic consequences to themselves and the rest of their family if they are caught. A person could be committing alien smuggling by claiming a grandchild or “given” child (whom they raised since birth), is their biological child when applying for a US visa.
The law defines alien smugglers as:
“Any alien who at any time knowingly has encouraged, induced, assisted, abetted, or aided any other alien to enter or to try to enter the United States in violation of law . . .”
Some people have the misconception that smugglers are only those people who are paid to sneak people into the US across the borders, in boats, etc. This is not true. A person can be guilty of alien smuggling, even if he is just attempting to bring in his own family member!
Some examples of alien smuggling would include:
An aunt who buys a fake birth certificate from Recto Street, making her the “biological mother” of her niece or nephew. She then tries to petition that niece or nephew as her own child.
A grandmother files a fake birth certificate, making her the “biological mother” of her grandchild, but she never formally or legally adopted the child.
A woman is “given” a child, and, at the time of the child’s birth, she is “timely registered” as the biological mother. She raises the child since birth and considers the child “her own,” but never bothered legally adopting the child before the child’s 16th birthday. She then petitions the child as her own child, or includes that child as a derivative beneficiary under a petition filed on the “mother’s” behalf. This is also alien smuggling. Most times, the Embassy will suggest DNA testing.
Sometimes, a person who has been petitioned by a family member, such as a brother or a sister, includes a kumpadre’s child among his derivative beneficiaries, by claiming that child as his own. (When a person is petitioned by certain family members, the person’s spouse and minor children could be included for green cards, as derivative beneficiaries, when the priority date on his petition becomes current.) People try to “add on” children to enable the kumpadre’s child to get a green card, as a favor to the kumpadre.
The Embassy takes a very strict position when it comes to alien smuggling. They believe that people who are entitled to visas, should get visas. But, people who are not entitled to visas, should not get visas. When the Embassy finds out somebody is attempting to sneak a relative or other person into the US by claiming they are the biological child, the Embassy denies a visa not only to the person being smuggled, but also to the person under petition. This could also affect the rest of the family under that petition. No one gets a visa.
In one case, a mother had been petitioned by her US citizen daughter. The mother tried to list her nephew as a biological child in her biographic data. The Embassy found out and considered this to be alien smuggling and denied a visa to the citizen’s mother, because she attempted to smuggle an alien. So, by attempting to list her nephew, the woman lost her own visa. Alien smuggling could even result in a lifetime ban from entering the US.
If you have already submitted paperwork to the USCIS or Embassy improperly listing or including ineligible persons (i.e. nephew, grandchild, given child who was never legally adopted, etc.), I would strongly recommend you seek the advice of a reputable attorney who could analyze your situation and, hopefully, straighten things out, before it’s too late. The stakes are high. Don’t have the attitude that, “I’ll just give it a try. If the Embassy catches me, the worst that can happen is that the person I’m helping won’t get the visa, but I’ll still get my visa.” That is not the case. If you are caught, you could also lose your own eligibility for a visa
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Michael J. Gurfinkel is licensed, and an active member of the State Bar of California and New York. All immigration services are provided by, or under the supervision of, an active member of the State Bar of California. Each case is different. The information contained herein including testimonials, “Success Stories,” endorsements and re-enactments) is of a general nature, and is not intended to apply to any particular case, and does not constitute a prediction, warranty, guarantee or legal advice regarding the outcome of your legal matter. No attorney-client relationship is, or shall be, established with any reader.
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