My husband was denied citizenship due to "lack of moral character" and the fact that he was "inadmissable as a legal resident"

[huy_le 32]

It is time for a lawyer. If you got all the evidence and facts down, I think suing them is the most sensible option. You can prove it at court and have the judge order USCIS to approve. There is a way for you to waive legal fee as I have read about it somewhere, it's called Equal Access to Justice Act or something. Look it up and start the legal process.

[Jawaree 717]

He also at the time of application with her was a legal H1B visa holder so he didn't "need" to marry her he had just won the lottery thing they do to convert his visa to citizenship...he did not need citizenship through her at all! He only applied through me because AFTER we got married he got laid off and lost his visa as a result and could not find another company to sponsor him so he applied through me.

Yes you are correct I did mix up my terminology...he withdrew his petition for a green card NOT for citizenship...he did not need a green card at the time because he had an H1B visa

Time to lawyer up and prove he signed no I 1130 in te past

[Villanelle 4,122]

Okay.

So lets start over with just the facts:

He was on a H1b. (work visa)- He married her and an 130 was applied for. They were divorced. The 130 was pulled/cancelled Dec 2008

You and he married April 2009. You filed a 130. He received a GC June 2010. Removed conditions. Waited 5 years. Filed the n400. Got denied- based on the fact of moral character and inadmissibility at time of gc issuance.

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Now we are not privy to all your paperwork. And I really hate when people post things like they said yada yada yada and they told us blah blah blah. Because its like who is they? An officer? A phone rep? A man in a suit in a private office or a lady in the front window? Where did they say yada yada yada and blah blah? On a form in the mail weeks later? In the interview? On the phone?

Emotions run high in situations like this and people tend to have selective hearing and speak over others. And often words are misused. So friendly tip- you cant misuse a word when dealing/talking/asking a question to USCIS. They wont correct you or ask you to correct yourself like Penguin did. They would just keep repeating back the same robotic answer to you spinning you in circles even if they knew what you meant (we have no record of you applying for citizenship in 2008, again and again Instead of saying dont you mean visa or adjustment)

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So moving on.

Because of the lack of info you provided- heres what could happen. They denied the citizenship. It could simply end there. Lots of people are denied citizenship for moral character and thats that. They are able to renew their GCs every 10 yrs w/o issue after being denied citizenship. Being denied citizenship doesnt automatically mean you cant renew your card anymore.

Whats troublesome is the part about them finding him inadmissible at the time his GC was issued. IF (and they can) decide to go back and revoke the card he obtained through his marriage to you because they feel he was not eligble for it- they would send him a NTA (notice to appear) for immigration court- as Boiler stated only an Immigration Judge can revoke his status.'

If you do get such a notice you will have to fight it out in court and it will be terribly expensive in lawyers fees and missed work. Immigration court moves slooooow. Lawyers cost lots of money and there are plenty of forms and fees and appeals and missed days of work to eat away at all your rainy day savings...

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As for the arrrgh outrage. Its great to let it out- vent it out- get it out. If youve got a free consult- tell it to the lawyer but its not going to win your case or make its way into the court, cause aint no one wanna hear it baby. He didnt have to apply. Too bad. He did. He applied. its done. He didnt need her for benefits. Well then. I guess thats it. Hes innocent. Case over. No. Whats done is done. He applied.

(sorry if the above sounds harsh but read through some court decisions and youll see theres never any ####### like that in cases presented in immigration court).

Dont matter if the GC hes got is under your 130 now. A record exists where he applied under her name and she swears its fraud. USCISs position is with that 'new evidence' they feel his current GC should not have been approved. (ie if they knew about that then they wouldnt have approved him) You will have to prove if it goes to court that your relationship is legitimate and he is entitled to the GC he has.

If you clear that up you shouldnt have a problem with the n400 since thats what the denial was based upon.

[Calicolom 266]

What A Great Post, Damara. This is why I still like to come to Visa Journey.

[jess100 53]

Hi,

A word of advice. It's not enough to have a "good immigration attorney". It's critical to have a good immigration attorney who also specializes in your kind of situation. I learned this the hard way. You might want to ask around on this forum as well as Immigrate2US to find a lawyer with experience in this kind of thing. When you interview the lawyers ask if they have had cases like this. And do a lot of research before you talk to them and after you talk to them so you have an idea how good they are.

And gather what ever evidence you can in the meantime. If the ex-wife is a bit crazy maybe she will run her mouth at the wrong place and time. Good luck

[Fan_Dancer 171]

Maybe she pulled her financial support and that's why the first green card didn't go through.

[olna83 20]

To the author of this topic:

You mentioned he withdrew the adjustment of status application once they got divorced, and prior to that he held H1B visa. Well, usually, once you apply for an adjustment of status the previous immigration status is no longer valid. What was his immigration status at the moment YOU petitioned his green card? Was he illegal? If so, then yes, the USCIS might have a ground to assume he was seeking a fast way of receiving a permanent residence. First marriage didn't work, so a year later there was another one that "provided" him a GC. Please don't get me wrong, I am not saying that was his intention but that's what the USCIS can assume based on the evidence provided from the first I-130 petition (which we don't know) and from the second one (mind you, we don't know all of the marriage details you and him provided when applying for GC, and later for removal conditions). They pay attention at every little thing concerning your bona fide marriage. This is their job.

I have a real life story in that regard. My close friend was married with USC, he petitioned her GC, but a few years later the marriage turned unsuccessful. 2 years later she met a guy from her home country, fell in love with him, and re-married...he was a construction worker with no immigration status. Both are nice people, both are hard workers. When it became time for her to apply for a citizenship (5 yr rule) she got denied based on a "bad moral character", and was told to re-apply in 5 years.But guess what...During the interview the entire conversation with an IO (minus the test) was about why her first marriage failed and why she re-married someone (who is actually an illegal immigrant). Yes, she has true feelings in the current marriage and married on a good faith first time, but that is how USCIS views cases like this. My attorney told similar stories in her practice.

So things happens. and again, we don't know your case from the bottom to the top.

I wish you and your husband good luck!

[S_R 148]

I hope you get the resolution you want. Good luck.

Edited March 25, 2015 by S_R

[raven52 233]

Boiler is exactly right.

You need a good immigration attorney, and I would not delay getting one.

[JimmyHou 611]

My husband and I met in April 2008, he was recently separated from his wife (they had only been married for 4 months). They filed officially for divorce in late 2008. In Dec 2008 he withdrew his petition for citizenship under her name. We ended up marrying in July 2009 (I was pregnant at the time) and he was granted permanant resident status in June 2010. He went through the green card process with no issues, we have now been married almost 6 years. He applied for citizenship last year and was recently denied based on "lack of moral character" and the fact that "he was inadmissable at the time he was admitted to the US for his GC". The interviewed his former wife who claims that he forged her signatures on the I-130. I highly doubt that is true, and she stated that she married him in exchange for money etc. I do know that there were many times when we started dating that she threatened to tell immigration that he only married her for green card status if he did not buy her stuff, or whatever. When they divorced she said she would tell the immigration anything she could to get him deported...fast forward 6 years he obtained his green card based on our marriage, but now they are saying that he was "inadmissable" at the time. However, our marriage is very valid and real, we have 3 children together and are very happy. What can we do? Please advise me, we are going to see an immigration attorney on Monday, just wanting to know what to expect.

You say he was "recently" denied. What does recently mean? That's the first step, before people start recommending lawsuits. Check the denial letter that you received; it should tell you when you can appeal.

Check Question 21 and Question 22 in the Naturalization Guide (page 12).

http://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/article/M-476.pdf

[Erin B 10]

Update for those who are interested.

We met with several attorneys, found one that came highly recommended to us via another attorney. He reviewed all of our paperwork, and basically said this case is a no brainer, that we easily will win on appeal, We have copies of all the papers his ex-wife signed, it is clear that the signature is the exact same on every one, and the handwriting is very different from my husbands. We have proof of joint bank accounts, she was on his health insurance etc. PLUS since he got no immigration benefit from being married to her, the attorney said there is no grounds for their denial. So we have decided to appeal the decision and go from there! Thanks for all of your advise, it really did help me calm down and not panic!

[TBoneTX 45,267]

That's reassuring. Keep us apprised.

[jess100 53]

Well that's good news.....I'm interested in who the lawyer is-can you private message me?

And keep reading up on this. The more you know the better.

[JimmyHou 611]

Update for those who are interested.

We met with several attorneys, found one that came highly recommended to us via another attorney. He reviewed all of our paperwork, and basically said this case is a no brainer, that we easily will win on appeal, We have copies of all the papers his ex-wife signed, it is clear that the signature is the exact same on every one, and the handwriting is very different from my husbands. We have proof of joint bank accounts, she was on his health insurance etc. PLUS since he got no immigration benefit from being married to her, the attorney said there is no grounds for their denial. So we have decided to appeal the decision and go from there! Thanks for all of your advise, it really did help me calm down and not panic!

I'm glad to hear that. Sadly, USCIS interviewers are not consistent, but this is something a supervisor should have caught. If your case is as direct as you've told us, you should have been approved.

A couple of years ago, an applicant was denied because USCIS scheduled his interview 2 days before his 5th anniversary as a permanent resident. He asked them to approve his application and schedule his oath after the anniversary (which would have been perfectly legal) and they declined. He asked them to reschedule his interview for a few days later (which would have been perfectly legal) and they declined. He complained that they messed up by scheduling his interview early (actually there's nothing wrong with an early interview) and they said there was nothing they could do. He appealed and his appeal was accepted and his application approved within a few weeks. This is an extreme example, but I wanted to point out that USCIS makes silly mistakes and that appeals do work.

[Erin B 10]

i just wanted to update everyone who kindly replied to me. We ultimately got an attorney, USCIS went and found his ex-wife and she made the same claims she made initially. They then interviewed my husband two more times, and ultimately decided in his favor. He was granted Citizenship on February 18, 2016! Thank you all for your advice!