{"id":8963,"date":"2021-10-02T02:23:55","date_gmt":"2021-10-02T12:23:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/?p=8963"},"modified":"2021-10-02T02:24:00","modified_gmt":"2021-10-02T12:24:00","slug":"fake-first-marriage-not-cured-by-second-bona-fide-marriage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/2021\/10\/02\/fake-first-marriage-not-cured-by-second-bona-fide-marriage\/","title":{"rendered":"Fake First Marriage Not Cured by Second Bona Fide Marriage"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

by Emmanuel S. Tipon, Esq<\/em>

A growing number of aliens enter into fake marriages with U.S. citizens (USC) or lawful permanent residents (green card holders) to enable them to become green card holders. When USCIS determines that marriage is fake and denies a petition for alien relative or an application for adjustment of status, the alien divorces the petitioner and enters into a genuine marriage with a USC or LPR.

The alien thinks that the filing of a new petition by the second USC or LPR spouse on his behalf will enable such alien to achieve the \u201cAmerican Dream\u201d not of owning a home but becoming a USC or LPR.

Section 204(c)<\/strong>
Such dream could turn into a nightmare because of Section 204(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act which provides:

\u201c(c) Limitation on orphan petitions approved for a single petitioner; prohibition against approval in cases of marriages entered into in order to evade immigration laws; restriction on future entry of aliens involved with marriage fraud.<\/em>

<\/strong>\u201cNotwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b) no petition shall be approved if (1) the alien has previously been accorded, or has sought to be accorded, an immediate relative or preference status as the spouse of a citizen of the United States or the spouse of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence, by reason of a marriage determined by the Attorney General to have been entered into for the purpose of evading the immigration laws, or (2) the Attorney General has determined that the alien has attempted or conspired to enter into a marriage for the purpose of evading the immigration laws.\u201d

<\/strong>What Section 204(c) means is that a petition for an alien will be denied if the Attorney General (USCIS) has previously denied a prior petition on behalf of the alien on the ground that the alien entered into a marriage to evade the immigration laws, meaning a fraudulent marriage.

How To Overcome Section 204(c)
<\/strong>The alien and the alien\u2019s new petitioner must allege and prove when filing the new petition that their marriage is bona fide.

In addition, they must allege and prove that the alien\u2019s first marriage was bona fide \u2013 that it was not entered into for the purpose of evading the immigration laws.

<\/strong>In Bark v. INS<\/em>, 511 F.2d 1200 (9th<\/sup> Cir. 1975) the Court of Appeals held that the focus of the inquiry in an application for adjustment of status from a nonimmigrant to a permanent resident is the bona fides of the marriage \u2013 that is, whether the couple intended to establish a life together at the time of their marriage.

The bona fides of the prior marriage must supported by evidence consisting of documents in their joint names, including bank accounts, insurance policies, bills, pictures, and affidavits of the couple and third persons.

What If First Spouse Complains To USCIS?
<\/strong>In one case, the ex-spouse of an alien complained to USCIS that their marriage was fraudulent and that they did not have sexual relations. USCIS refused to allow the alien to question or cross-examine the ex-wife.

In\u00a0 Ching v. Mayorkas<\/em>,\u00a0 725 F.3d 1149 (9th<\/sup> Cir. 2013), involving a Philippine citizen, the court held that a U.S. citizen I-130 petitioner has a protected property interest in the adjudication of the petition for a spouse and that their Fifth Amendment procedural due process rights were violated because they were not given the opportunity to cross-examine the beneficiary\u2019s prior spouse regarding the prior spouse\u2019s statement that their marriage with the beneficiary was fraudulent.

The Court said: \u201cPlaintiffs also argue that the denial of Joseph\u2019s I-130 visa petition violated their Fifth Amendment Due Process rights because they were not afforded the opportunity to cross-examine Ching\u2019s first husband, Elden Fong, or the USCIS officer who took Fong\u2019s statement. We agree.\u201d Ching v. Mayorkas<\/em>,\u00a0 725 F.3d 1149 (9th<\/sup> Cir. 2013).

USCIS obtained a statement from Fong, Ching\u2019s first husband, stating that Fong and Ching \u201cnever had sex\u201d and \u201cnever lived together\u201d and \u201cdid not marry for love.\u201d

What If USCIS Denies Petition?<\/strong>
If USCIS denies the Form I-130 petition, the petitioner can file a motion to reopen and\/or reconsideration. If it is denied, the petitioner can appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals. The petitioner can also file a new Form I-130 petition.

The information provided in this article is not legal advice. Publication of this information is not intended to create, and receipt by you does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Emmanuel S. Tipon, Esq A growing number of aliens enter into fake marriages with…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8936,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/WUA_Marriage-color_10022021.jpg?fit=381%2C501",381,501,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/WUA_Marriage-color_10022021.jpg?resize=150%2C150",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/WUA_Marriage-color_10022021.jpg?fit=228%2C300",228,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/WUA_Marriage-color_10022021.jpg?fit=381%2C501",381,501,true],"large":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/WUA_Marriage-color_10022021.jpg?fit=381%2C501",381,501,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/WUA_Marriage-color_10022021.jpg?fit=381%2C501",381,501,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/WUA_Marriage-color_10022021.jpg?fit=381%2C501",381,501,true],"ultp_layout_landscape_large":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/WUA_Marriage-color_10022021.jpg?resize=381%2C501",381,501,true],"ultp_layout_landscape":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/WUA_Marriage-color_10022021.jpg?resize=381%2C501",381,501,true],"ultp_layout_portrait":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/WUA_Marriage-color_10022021.jpg?resize=381%2C501",381,501,true],"ultp_layout_square":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/WUA_Marriage-color_10022021.jpg?resize=381%2C501",381,501,true],"covernews-slider-full":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/WUA_Marriage-color_10022021.jpg?resize=381%2C501",381,501,true],"covernews-slider-center":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/WUA_Marriage-color_10022021.jpg?resize=380%2C500",380,500,true],"covernews-featured":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/WUA_Marriage-color_10022021.jpg?fit=381%2C501",381,501,true],"covernews-medium":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/WUA_Marriage-color_10022021.jpg?resize=341%2C340",341,340,true],"covernews-medium-square":["https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/WUA_Marriage-color_10022021.jpg?resize=212%2C250",212,250,true]},"author_info":{"info":["admin"]},"category_info":"What's up, Attorney?<\/a>","tag_info":"What's up, Attorney?","comment_count":"0","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/WUA_Marriage-color_10022021.jpg?fit=381%2C501","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8963"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8963"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8963\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8964,"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8963\/revisions\/8964"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8936"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}