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I-485, and Rejection of Green Card Application based on fraud (victim)
Hello. I am a naturalized US Citizen (been about 3 years) and through my attorney, we were in the long process of adjusting my mother’s residency status, and me as the petitioner. My mother's application has been rejected and I'm desperately seeking help to resolve this matter.
This is a long post that explains basic background situation, and steps taken leading up to this situation. I thank you in advance for reading through my long post.
Some background about our family situation
My mother has immigrated to US in 1988 through the airport, and over the years had gotten involved with a broker that said he could legally help my mother obtain a green card in this country.
It turned out that the broker was doing an illegal activity, but at the time, my mother was naïve to the situation and believed everything was being processed legally, and had no reason to doubt the broker. Also being unable to speak the English language back then, it was easy for her to trust the broker. The fraudulent temporary green card was issued to her but at the time, she believed everything was legal and proper. In 1991, she had come back to Korea to bring me back to USA. In 1991, my mother and I had entered via JFK airport with what was at the time believed to be a proper I-551 temporary green card stamp for my mother.
Shortly after, the broker was busted with his activity, and all those that were involved with him were discovered and in years after, my mother was put in removal proceedings. There were few appeals done, but to no success. Then her situation, as I understand it, was administratively closed for over a decade, and in 2011, USCIS has contacted her to report to the office. We immediately assumed it was a deportation proceeding, and was so nervous out of our minds. Therefore, we hired the current lawyer to go in with us. That initial meeting went well without deportation, and my mother was able to leave with an order of supervision. With my lawyer, we began work on trying to adjust my mother’s status using my citizenship status (through marriage based naturalization) to petition for my mother.
For the years after that point, we had filed Form I-130, and once that was approved, mother received work authorization card, filed Form I-485, and went in for an interview in June, 2014. Everything was relatively going well until the interview. When they exited the interview, my lawyer has said that everything went well, and my mother should receive a green card in 30 days.
30 Days came without a notice, 60 days, 90 days.. then I asked lawyer, and the firm has sent an inquiry letter to USCIS on the status of the application.
Fast Forward, and just last week (3-4 months since the interview), we have received a letter from USCIS denying approval of Green Card based on fraud.
Details of USCIS explanation
According to the notice, it indicates that the form I-485 indicated last date of my mother’s entry was 1988, but their records show that her last date of entry was in 1991. Also, they indicate she is inadmissible to the US under INA 212(a)(6)(C)(i) for fraud or willful misrepresentation of a material fact. I immediately had panicked because, we all knew of this fact and would never lie about this situation because we’re not foolish enough to lie about anything to USCIS after they know everything about us. It turns out that I-485 prepared by my lawyer indicated last date of entry in 1988 (my mother’s initial entry) instead of 1991 (when I came with her). I also having reviewed the document, did not catch this error. Many documents indicated the point she entered the US, and in many instances, 1988 date is correctly applied. I think that's why I had overlooked this clerical error myself upon review.
I contacted my lawyer about this rejection letter, and their response was that I had never informed them about my mother’s re-entry in 1991 and the situation involvement with fraudulent I-551. However, I have notes and clear evidences to indicate that the lawyer at the time knew about this information.
The notice says that she did not apply for waiver for this inadmissibility, and USCIS records also shows that she is not eligible to apply for a waiver of this inadmissibility because she has no qualifying relative. Therefore, the application was denied, and if we do not reply within 30 days, the decision is final.
Being naïve to the immigration laws, I had assumed every proper step was being taken for successful adjustment of status, but I have now discovered that Fraud waiver had not been applied for as my lawyer had suggested at one point in 2011. Lawyer is claiming now that I never told them this fact, and there’s nothing that could be done at this point.
Some of my questions are as follows:
1) As the decision notice indicated, am I not a qualifying relative as her son? By USCIS’s request, we had submitted these documents during all the process, and even documentations supporting my relationship with my mother. Isn't a son who is a citizen a qualifying relative?
2) Could I-601 fraud waiver not be applied now, after the fact? I only discovered that we needed a fraud waiver by looking back in 2011 notes during my conversation with my lawyer, and after some research on what this was for.
3) What is the best course of action to take from this point? Are there any alternative options that I am not aware of at this point?
After several communications with my lawyer after this decision letter, I feel like my relationship with the lawyer has gone sour and it appears they are avoiding me. I feel very helpless and with sleepless nights, wish there is a resolution to this for my mother for successful green card. My lawyer just keeps fixating on telling me that when we first found them, USCIS was ready to deport my mother, but now that she’s safe. This is not a verbal jab I'm willing to exchange with my lawyer at this point, as that would do nothing for my mother.
All I wish is to have my mother be able to live with me in this country peacefully. My mother has been a good civilian in US for all these years, paid her taxes, never committed any crime, and in retrospect, was just a victim of the worst decision she had made in her life.
I thank you all so much for having read through this long post, and would appreciate any feedbacks and suggestions.
Thank you so much.
This is a long post that explains basic background situation, and steps taken leading up to this situation. I thank you in advance for reading through my long post.
Some background about our family situation
My mother has immigrated to US in 1988 through the airport, and over the years had gotten involved with a broker that said he could legally help my mother obtain a green card in this country.
It turned out that the broker was doing an illegal activity, but at the time, my mother was naïve to the situation and believed everything was being processed legally, and had no reason to doubt the broker. Also being unable to speak the English language back then, it was easy for her to trust the broker. The fraudulent temporary green card was issued to her but at the time, she believed everything was legal and proper. In 1991, she had come back to Korea to bring me back to USA. In 1991, my mother and I had entered via JFK airport with what was at the time believed to be a proper I-551 temporary green card stamp for my mother.
Shortly after, the broker was busted with his activity, and all those that were involved with him were discovered and in years after, my mother was put in removal proceedings. There were few appeals done, but to no success. Then her situation, as I understand it, was administratively closed for over a decade, and in 2011, USCIS has contacted her to report to the office. We immediately assumed it was a deportation proceeding, and was so nervous out of our minds. Therefore, we hired the current lawyer to go in with us. That initial meeting went well without deportation, and my mother was able to leave with an order of supervision. With my lawyer, we began work on trying to adjust my mother’s status using my citizenship status (through marriage based naturalization) to petition for my mother.
For the years after that point, we had filed Form I-130, and once that was approved, mother received work authorization card, filed Form I-485, and went in for an interview in June, 2014. Everything was relatively going well until the interview. When they exited the interview, my lawyer has said that everything went well, and my mother should receive a green card in 30 days.
30 Days came without a notice, 60 days, 90 days.. then I asked lawyer, and the firm has sent an inquiry letter to USCIS on the status of the application.
Fast Forward, and just last week (3-4 months since the interview), we have received a letter from USCIS denying approval of Green Card based on fraud.
Details of USCIS explanation
According to the notice, it indicates that the form I-485 indicated last date of my mother’s entry was 1988, but their records show that her last date of entry was in 1991. Also, they indicate she is inadmissible to the US under INA 212(a)(6)(C)(i) for fraud or willful misrepresentation of a material fact. I immediately had panicked because, we all knew of this fact and would never lie about this situation because we’re not foolish enough to lie about anything to USCIS after they know everything about us. It turns out that I-485 prepared by my lawyer indicated last date of entry in 1988 (my mother’s initial entry) instead of 1991 (when I came with her). I also having reviewed the document, did not catch this error. Many documents indicated the point she entered the US, and in many instances, 1988 date is correctly applied. I think that's why I had overlooked this clerical error myself upon review.
I contacted my lawyer about this rejection letter, and their response was that I had never informed them about my mother’s re-entry in 1991 and the situation involvement with fraudulent I-551. However, I have notes and clear evidences to indicate that the lawyer at the time knew about this information.
The notice says that she did not apply for waiver for this inadmissibility, and USCIS records also shows that she is not eligible to apply for a waiver of this inadmissibility because she has no qualifying relative. Therefore, the application was denied, and if we do not reply within 30 days, the decision is final.
Being naïve to the immigration laws, I had assumed every proper step was being taken for successful adjustment of status, but I have now discovered that Fraud waiver had not been applied for as my lawyer had suggested at one point in 2011. Lawyer is claiming now that I never told them this fact, and there’s nothing that could be done at this point.
Some of my questions are as follows:
1) As the decision notice indicated, am I not a qualifying relative as her son? By USCIS’s request, we had submitted these documents during all the process, and even documentations supporting my relationship with my mother. Isn't a son who is a citizen a qualifying relative?
2) Could I-601 fraud waiver not be applied now, after the fact? I only discovered that we needed a fraud waiver by looking back in 2011 notes during my conversation with my lawyer, and after some research on what this was for.
3) What is the best course of action to take from this point? Are there any alternative options that I am not aware of at this point?
After several communications with my lawyer after this decision letter, I feel like my relationship with the lawyer has gone sour and it appears they are avoiding me. I feel very helpless and with sleepless nights, wish there is a resolution to this for my mother for successful green card. My lawyer just keeps fixating on telling me that when we first found them, USCIS was ready to deport my mother, but now that she’s safe. This is not a verbal jab I'm willing to exchange with my lawyer at this point, as that would do nothing for my mother.
All I wish is to have my mother be able to live with me in this country peacefully. My mother has been a good civilian in US for all these years, paid her taxes, never committed any crime, and in retrospect, was just a victim of the worst decision she had made in her life.
I thank you all so much for having read through this long post, and would appreciate any feedbacks and suggestions.
Thank you so much.
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