Red flags in I-130?

[agbcha 48]

Hello all,

After sending in my I-130 and receiving the NOA1, I would like some input on my case to see how its particularities might affect processing. I'm a U.S. citizen currently residing in Algeria with my Algerian husband, though we met and married in Paris, France. He was living and working there undocumented and I was a student. We lived together in the outskirts of Paris, got married in April 2013. We visited Algeria for two weeks after the wedding; he stayed here while I spent some time in the states, and then I moved to Algeria in July 2013. NOA1 was received Sept. 6 2013. Wondering what to make of the following aspects of our case:

Red flags?

1. My husband's undocumented travel in 8 countries total before settling in France, where he was also illegal. On his G-325A I was unable to recover specific addresses (street name and number) for these countries, with the exception of France. I justified this in my continuation sheet by saying that he had no fixed address while constantly on the move. Regardless, I listed each country at least once, and provided all info I knew. (The only country other than France where he lived for a period greater than 6 months was Greece.)

2. They will find police records from when he was crossing borders, got picked up by local authorities in a few different countries, was held a few days at police stations/ detention centers for political exiles, and then released without charges. Nothing serious, right? I consulted an immigration attorney about this, and he said they cannot reject his case solely on these grounds because he did nothing to violate U.S. immigration law specifically.

3. Suspicion based his Algerian nationality and age (27 years old.) The same attorney thought we should be wary of USCIS stereotyping religious extremism. Note: He is not Muslim or Arab -- he is Kabyle. We live in the most secular, non-arab region of Algeria, and he has no family history indicating otherwise.

4. I am 21 years old. Too young for a petitioner? Will they suspect he wooed me into marriage for the U.S. immigration benefit? Esp given the previous illegal travel.

Signs of hope?

1. I live in Algeria and listed our address in Algeria on every form where applicable. I gave up my work and education to come here and be with him, and he gave up his work in France to return and regularize his passport.

2. My father is an attorney in the U.S., and while not an immigration attorney, he prepared rock-solid affidavits on behalf of himself and my mother explaining their knowledge of our marriage, my dad's recent visit to Algeria to meet his son-in-law, my in-laws accepting me into their family, etc. In my mother's he described her visit to Paris, where she got to meet my then fiancé, learn of our engagement in person, express 100% approval, and help plan the wedding. My dad signed as the person who prepared the documents other than petitioner, and sent the I-130 package in to Chicago himself. How's that for family approval?

3. French marriage certificate. A friend familiar with the immigration process said that a French marriage certificate would be considered far more legitimate than an Algerian one. Especially since he was not legal there and they still performed the marriage for us anyway. The French authorties themselves required a ton of documents/interviews to make sure the marriage wasn't fraudulant. It wasn't.

3. I took my husband's name, so on the I-130 and supporting documents, we have the same last name.

4. I included our wedding photos with the I-130. They are stunning professional photographs with a Paris backdrop -- they would change anyone's mind about the potential "illegitimacy" of the marriage.

5. Not a single thing was missing from our file except the precise addresses on the G-325A from my husband's undocumented travel.

Thanks for your help.

[MedRoni 161]

Hi There,

Wow you do have some things going on there!

I think consulting an attorney was a wise choice and all you can do at the moment. Although they cannot deny him on his illegal travels, it can make them highly suspicious he is doing what it takes to get a green card. Just do what you can to prove your legitimate relationship and keep the attorney close just in case. You are not too young at 21 to petition. They will also not worry about his religion, but they may question if yours is the same or not. It does help you are living with him over there, it most certainly cannot hurt. I would also suggest you make sure to attend the interview with him when the time comes.

Best of luck!

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

*** Moving from K3, an obsolete visa, to CR-1 visa forum for more answers *****

[agbcha 48]

Hello,

Thank you for your reply! It is helpful to have a second opinion. I definitely plan on attending the interview, and I'm hoping it won't take longer than the normal processing time to get to that point. Regarding his illegal travels - honesty will always be our best bet. Any other advice would be greatly appreciated!

Best.

[scienceworks 64]

I think the illegal travel in 8 counties and being an Algerian can definitely create red flags; not necessarily the validity of marriage but the reasons for the travel. Even though he is not Muslim, I think USCIS might take the country of origin as the real issue.

Expect Administrative processing in the consulate level when that stage arrives.

[CaizLurol 36]

Hi, I don't think you'll have that big of a problem. How will the US know that he has been in 8 countries illegally? It is best to consult with an attorney on this, which it seems you have. I think that you guys will be OK. Also, DCF from Algeria will be quicker that you doing it here from the US.

Good luck!

[scienceworks 64]

Hi, I don't think you'll have that big of a problem. How will the US know that he has been in 8 countries illegally? It is best to consult with an attorney on this, which it seems you have. I think that you guys will be OK. Also, DCF from Algeria will be quicker that you doing it here from the US.

Good luck!

Well she already listed the countries. Plus they surely will ask why he was in so many countries. If he answer work, then he might be asked to show proof, which he cannot.

Also, they can ask for passport stamps if it is visa-required country.

It's better to be prepared for the obvious questions rather than conceal details in the immigration form. If they can convince the IO by telling the truth, It should be fine. He didn't violate any rules.

If they find it that you concealed info, the you have to deal with a long term repercussions.

Edited September 24, 2013 by scienceworks

[agbcha 48]

Thank you for your posts.

The immigration attorney insisted that we list each country at least once in the G-325A, because my husband was fingerprinted, photographed, and in some cases detained at border control. I described these instances as briefly as possible in my continuation sheet so that USCIS could access whatever information still exists. That way, our forthcomingness will reflect well on the legitimacy of our case. They couldn't possibly call us out on concealing information. Plus, he was released with no charges every time -- even through he has a record, at least it's a good one.

He will not be able to provide proof of his work or travels -- he didn't have his passport on him, so there won't be any stamps (just a Turkish visa.)

After our wedding, when we flew from France to Algeria, he had gotten back his expired passport to make the trip. The police at the airport let him go without even paying the appropriate fees because he presented French marriage documents. The French authorities could have put a red stamp in his passport that would have made it nearly impossible to renew his passport or travel again, but they didn't. Then, when he got back to Algeria, he had to renew his passport. To do this, the police did an investigation of his travels. They didn't find anything, but they kept the old passport when they delivered the new one. (By the way, he was told that the police investigation was just for show because he had married an American...)

Now that his old passport is gone, we really don't have any proof that he traveled at all -- except our marriage certificate, select plane tickets, and a document "attesting to his passage" that he received from police at the Algerian airport. This paper helped him renew his passport. How helpful will these documents be? Not very, it seems...

The attorney said our case is really a toss-up. When it comes to his sketchy past versus the obvious legitimacy of the marriage, which has stronger evidence? This very well may depend on the sympathies of the officer responsible for our case.

[civilservant 42]

As to the likelyhood of being denied, I wouldn't be able to call that. As for AP, I'd think that was a cast-iron certainty.

[agbcha 48]

Would you mind clarifying what you mean by "As for AP, I'd think that was a cast-iron certainty?" I'm not sure that I understood.

Thank you.