MANNY and Mary worked together at the same healthcare facility. Despite a 20-year age difference, they became close friends and started dating. Within 5 months, Manny proposed. Due to financial constraints, Manny and Mary had a small civil wedding and moved into a rented room in the house of a mutual friend.
Upon marriage, Mary petitioned for her husband to obtain his permanent residency. The couple thought that the process would be easy to complete on their own. They looked online, searched for the forms and instructions and filed the necessary paperwork. Unfortunately, they were not prepared for their journey through the immigration process.
Manny and Mary were scheduled for an interview with USCIS. The interview was conducted at 7:15am and Mary had forgotten to take her diabetes medication. They thought the interview would last 15-20 minutes as they had nothing to hide. However, at the interview, the officer separated the two of them and extensively questioned every detail of their marriage. Like most people, Manny and Mary could not remember EVERY single detail of their lives or relationship history. Nevertheless, Manny and Mary still answered most of the basic questions consistently. Additionally, Manny and Mary submitted documentary evidence proving their marriage was bona fide. However, it didn’t matter. The only relevant fact to the officer was the apparent 20 year age gap between two Filipinos claiming to be married in good faith. Additionally, the couple had answered inconsistently on some questions. The interviewing officer seemed to have already made up his mind about marriage fraud before the interview even began. The I-130 petition was denied for marriage fraud.
USCIS Officers have important jobs to do. Amongst other things, they seek to uncover fraudulent marriages. However, sometimes they become overzealous in their endeavors in catching fraud. Therefore, it is very important to have a competent attorney represent you in your immigration matters.
Manny and Mary hired us to appeal the denial of the I-130 petition. We argued that the denial was based on minor inconsistent details and the officer ignored the consistent answers and documentary evidence. After a complete review of the appeal and record of proceeding, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) overturned USCIS’s decision. The BIA agreed that Manny and Mary had submitted sufficient evidence of their marriage. Additionally, a review of the record shows that most questions were answered consistently. The BIA also stated that USCIS seemed predisposed in alleging marriage fraud. Manny and Mary wondered if they could have avoided this entire mess had they only hired competent legal representation to begin with.
YOU KNOW THAT YOUR MARRIAGE IS BONA FIDE. Don’t risk USCIS alleging otherwise. Mishandling your case can turn your marriage bliss into a bureaucratic nightmare. You should hire a competent and experienced immigration attorney who will be able to assist you in proving the validity of your marriage. Your immigration attorney needs to be familiar with USCIS procedures and the interviewing process so that they can guide you through the entire process. At Wilner & O’Reilly, we have experience in handling such cases and are prepared to be at your side through your immigration process. Schedule your free consultation today!
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Richard M. Wilner is a principal in the firm of Wilner & O’Reilly, APLC. He is Board Certified as a Specialist in Immigration and Nationality Law by the State Bar of California’s Bureau of Legal Specialization. He is a former Commissioner for the State Bar’s Immigration and Nationality Law Advisory Commission. Mr. Wilner may be reached directly via email at [email protected] or by telephone at 714-919-8880
