World Journal Weekly Q & A - May 20, 2012

Q & A 1. 2.


Q&A 1.

What to Do If Your Husband is a Bigamist and You Still Wish to Sponsor Him.

Cai reader asks:

I am a U.S. citizen.  My husband came to U.S. illegally in 1992.  We filed taxes every years and he did not have crime.  Unfortunately, he was deported to Fujian China by ICE in 7/2007.  During these 5 years, I tried to apply for my husband in 2011 and he was interviewed in Guangzhou Consulate in 9/2011.  The examiner requested my husband to produce his original divorce paper with his ex-wife.  My husband could not produce it.  A New York attorney filed a fake divorce paper for my husband and there is no divorce paper in China.  Therefore, my marriage to my husband is in valid in China and I could not apply for him.  My husband and I have two children together. 

My questions are:

  1. Can our older son apply for his father as an illegitimate child when he becomes adult?
  2. If my husband divorces his ex-wife in China now and I also divorce my husband in U.S, then I go back to China to merry him, can I apply for my husband?  Is this feasible?
  3. When can my son apply for his father, 18 or 21 years old?

Dear reader:

If he willfully engaged in marrying you when he knew that he was still married to his former wife, he would be excludable from the U.S. under a charge of bigamy.  Your husband's divorcing his ex-wife at this time and then marrying you again would be feasible if you are able to convince U.S.C.I.S. and he the American consulate in Guangzhou that your husband did not know that he was still married at the time that he married you the first time. That would be a question of fact to be decided by the agencies.  Failing that, he would be inadmissible for having committed a crime involving moral turpitude even if there was no conviction.  For him to immigrate, he would have to file a waiver application in which he would have to show that his being barred from the U.S. would cause extreme hardship to a qualifying relative, either a spouse or parent or son or daughter who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.  You could conceivably be the qualifying relative if your hands are clean, eg. you did not know that he was married at the time that you married him.  Your son could also serve as the qualifying relative.  Your son could petition for his father when he reaches the qualifying age of 21, but your husband would still require a waiver if unable to convince U.S.C.I.S. and the American consulate that he did not know that he was still married at the time of your marriage. 



Q&A 2.

Rules on Taking the Naturalization Test in Your Own Language If You Are Elderly.

Shi reader asks:

My husband and I heard from a friend who is over 80 years-old and he had green card about 9 years.  He told us that he took a Chinese Citizenship Exam and become US citizen recently.  He said the reason for him to take Chinese Citizen Exam is because there is a rule that if one is over 80, one may take native language Citizen Exam.  My husband is over 80 and ready to apply for US citizenship soon.  We would like to know where we can find the rule the friend described.  The friend told us he hired a lawyer in Sacramento, so the lawyer cannot serve my husband so there is no reason to give his lawyer's name to us.  May you please help us found the rule?

Dear reader:

The rules for naturalization are that you can take the citizenship test in your native language if you are 50 years of age and have held the green card for 20 years, or 55 years of age and had the green card for 15 years.  For individuals 65 years of age holding the green card for 20 years, an easier test applies in which questions will be taken from a list of 20 instead of 100.  That test can be in the language of the applicant's choosing.

 

Copyright © 2003-2012 Alan Lee, Esq.
The information provided here is of a general nature and may not apply to any particular set of facts or circumstances. It should not be construed as legal advice and does not constitute an engagement of the Law Office of Alan Lee or establish an attorney-client relationship.