Husband to wife: “Um, I actually don’t have
legal status here in the U.S.”
These probable words led that
wife to hire me for her divorce. They had gotten married a few years earlier,
with a joyous and elaborate church ceremony, after a period of courtship. She
had been in H-1B status and he had said that he had F-1 status. Later, after a
few years of marriage, she began to apply for a green card, and needed evidence
of her husband’s status. When, after numerous requests, she failed to get that
evidence, she finally confronted her husband and learned the truth.
This woman erred in failing to confirm the man’s status
before marrying him. If you are in the same situation—that is, you are in a
non-immigrant status and you are seeking to marry someone, this woman’s
situation has lessons for you. In this blog post, I will discuss ways to
confirm someone’s status, unromantic though it may be. In future blog posts, I
will discuss the issue of verifying a person’s assets and marital status, and
the importance of preserving evidence of a good-faith marriage.
The most important aspect of any marriage between people who
are not both U.S. citizens is that the marriage be bona fide. That is, purpose
of the marriage cannot be to evade U.S. immigration laws. Entering into a
fraudulent marriage can carry severe penalties, including removal from the
United States and, for a naturalized U.S. citizen, the loss of citizenship.
Assuming, therefore, that your intended or possible marriage
is bona fide, you still might want to verify the other person’s status. Below
are ways to do so.
U.S. citizen
A person who is a U.S. citizen might be able to show any of the
following evidence of such citizenship:
-
A U.S. passport
-
A certificate of citizenship
-
A naturalization certificate
-
A birth certificate that shows a birth within
the United States
Someone could have been born outside the U.S. and have a certificate
of citizenship, but not have a naturalization certificate. U.S. immigration law
provides that such people can become citizens once certain conditions are met,
that is, via operation of law. Such persons therefore are not required to be
naturalized.
Generally speaking, persons born in the U.S. receive U.S.
citizenship at birth. A U.S. citizen is not required to have a passport.
Permanent resident
A permanent resident will have a green card. In addition,
that person might have an immigrant visa stamp in his or her passport.
Non-immigrant classifications
Someone admitted in a non-immigrant classification will have
a form I-94. If the classification involves admittance for a specific period of
time, then the I-94 will show such an “admitted until” date. Other
classifications, including F-1 and J-1, involve admittance for “duration of
status.” That is, the person is lawfully present in the U.S. so long as that
person maintains the conditions of that status. Persons in F-1 or J-1 are
supposed to have a current I-20 or DS-2019 form, respectively.
I never met the ex-husband of my divorce client. By the time
she came to me, she already had kicked him out of their home and he already had
returned to his own country. However, I suspect that that person might actually
have been in F-1 status at some point, but then may have stopped his studies
while remaining in the U.S. In such a case, his I-94 would not have shown his
lack of status. Rather, he would have been unable to show a current I-20 to my
client.
I hope you, unlike my client, do not face the same shocking
revelation.
[PS I still remember one of my first meetings with this
client. After we sat down, I looked at her. She looked at me. We both started
laughing.]
The above information
does not constitute legal advice and does not form an attorney-client
relationship.
Calvin Sun, 215-983-3723, 610-296-3947, csun@calvinsun.com
No comments:
Post a Comment