Communist

[Dirty harry 25]

My father and mother in law are from Russia. How do I answer The I-485 part 3 question 6 in summery "are you/have you been affiliated with communist party or totalitarian party. My father in law was in the military, but he never "joined" the communist party. I want to be honest on the application.So was he part of the communist party if he was in a communist country?

For part 3/ Q15 and Q18 It asks if he served in a military unit/ had weapons training. Do We just answer yes with a letter explaining military service was mandatory as was weapons training? any one from the Baltic states/Russia have info on this, or even china?

I am glad I found this website. THANK YOU

Harry

[andy78 178]

I don't have experience with the communist/weapons question, but this is how I would do if I found myself in this situation:

The answer to the communist/totalitarian party question is no, based on what you described.

The military/weapons questions is also clear: The answer is yes, and an explanation that the person served in the military in that country and received weapons training while serving in the military. I wouldn't explain that it was "mandatory" because I think it is irrelevant whether it was mandatory or not. Having a history in the military is not a bad thing in itself.

People from Russia might be able to give a better answer based on their experience.

[jan22 3,064]

It doesn't matter if he "joined" or not -- he could have been a member. It is not an autmatic denial if so, but you need to be careful and answer honestly. ASK him if he was a member of the communist party and answer it according to what he says.

[Dirty harry 25]

It doesn't matter if he "joined" or not -- he could have been a member. It is not an autmatic denial if so, but you need to be careful and answer honestly. ASK him if he was a member of the communist party and answer it according to what he says.

Hi again, so I asked my father in law if he was part of the communist or party or "affiliated" with it and he said " everybody in the military was part of the communist party" what will this mean for our aos application? My understanding is he never "signed up" it was just assumed. and it must have ended when the soviet union fell. there must be other Russian people who have brought parents here and had to answer this question. does it require some kind of waiver, do we need some kind of document?The reason I ask is that it takes months and months to get anything from the government so I need to be prepared.

Harry

[Dirty harry 25]

For any one interested, I found some interesting info on the topic. It relates to the Immigration code, basically a person who is or was a member of a communist party is ineligible for a green card. HOWEVER there are 3 exceptions, I have linked a website that will give you answers. I hope somebody in the future finds this info helpful. I am going to write a letter with the application explaining the membership was required (involuntary) and terminated more than 5 years ago, I will also cite the immigration code so the officer has an easy time with it.

Thanks

Harry

http://lawandborder.com/communist-party-members-ineligible-green-card/

Edited March 3, 2016 by Dirty harry