Q & A October 23, 2005
Q & A 1.2.
Q&A 1.
Possible Problem of Arrest at Adjustment of Status Interview if
There is Prior Deportation Order
Yuan Reader asks:
I came to New York in 1993 under a fake Singapore passport. At
the time, I applied for a religious asylum but was denied in 1994.
Later, I appealed but again denied in 1998 and had a deportation
order against me. In 2000, my wife applied for a cook labor certificate
<245i> and included my name for the green card application.
We both received C9 cards and I paid fine. We also did the 2nd fingerprinting
in 7/05. We have a 2-year-old U.S. citizen son and I filed consecutive
tax returns in the past 10 years. I have no criminal records.
My questions are:
1. Will I run into a risk of being arrested due to my deportation
order if I go for an interview with my wife?
2. Do I have any chance getting a green card?
3. My son is born in the U.S. Can I request for a waiver for using
a fake passport?
Dear reader:
1 If you indeed have a deportation order against you, you do run
the risk of being arrested at an immigration interview with your
wife. In order for you to finally immigrate, you would have to have
the deportation proceedings reopened before the Board of Immigration
Appeals which rendered the final order against you.
2 If you manage to have the deportation proceedings reopened, you
would certainly have a chance to obtain permanent residence. You
should insure that you seek out a good immigration lawyer for this
purpose. He or she would be able to give a professional evaluation
of your chances.
3 You cannot request a waiver of fraud based on extreme hardship
for your child. However, you would have the basis if and when your
wife obtains her permanent residence. I suggest again that you seek
the services of a good immigration attorney to properly evaluate
and do the work in your case.
Q&A 2.
Responsibilities of a Sponsor or Co-sponsor Under an I-864 Affidavit
of Support
Tseng Reader Asks:
My father and I (29 years old) are both U.S. citizens. In 2003,
I applied green card for my mother and the process has been successful.
However, I am worried about my mother’s health insurance.
My mother is currently having free dialysis treatments weekly in
Taiwan. My father and I currently do not have jobs and we are a
low-income family. We have a high-income relative as my mother’s
cosponsor; however, the cosponsor stated that he would not responsible
for my mother’s medical expenses.
After my mother receives her green card, can she apply for medical
assistance for her dialysis treatment since we are a low-income
family? What other social benefit and government assistance is my
mother qualified for?
Dear reader:
An I-864 affidavit of support is a contract between the sponsor
and the U.S. government to protect the U.S., state and local governments
or private entities that provide means tested benefits from having
to pay benefits to or on behalf of a family-based sponsored immigrant.
Means tested public benefits are those distributed according to
the income level of the recipients. Under the Welfare Reform Act
of 1996, aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence are ineligible
for most federal funding means tested public benefits with few exceptions
during their first five years in the United States. Your mother
would most likely not be able to apply for medical assistance for
dialysis treatments as that is a long-term situation not seemingly
covered by any of the exceptions to the Welfare Reform Act.
The provisions of the Welfare Reform Act do not apply to a host
of benefits including emergency Medicaid; short-term, non-emergency
relief; services provided under the National School Lunch and Child
Nutrition Acts; immunizations and testing and treatment for communicable
diseases; student assistance under the Higher Education Act and
the Public Health Service Act; certain forms of foster care or adoption
assistance under the Social Security Act; Head Start programs; means
tested programs under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act;
and Job Training Partnership Act programs. However, it should be
noted that U.S.C.I.S.'s decision not to consider such benefits for
public charge purposes (initiating removal proceedings against aliens
taking such benefits) does not affect the authority of benefit grant
agencies from seeking repayment for benefits received from the alien's
sponsor under the I-864 affidavit of support.
If your high-income relative submits an I-864 affidavit of support,
he is responsible for any repayment which may be requested by the
agency which may give benefits to your mother. Your co-sponsor cannot
segregate obligations in an affidavit of support so as to be responsible
for only some obligations and not others.
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