IMMIGRATION JUDGE RE-OPENS PROCEEDINGS FOR A WOMAN WHO MISSED HER COURT DATE
Sofia first met her future (United States citizen) husband, Francisco, in the summer of 2008. She had come to the USA, on a tourist visa, from South America, to visit her cousin, who was living in Brooklyn. Sofia’s cousin introduced her to Francisco, who spoke both Spanish and English very well. During their second meeting, Sofia saw that Francisco was attracted to her. At that time, however, Sofia had a boyfriend in her home country.
Sofia had a good impression of Francisco. They started to speak to each other regularly on the phone. They also went out together often, but as friends only. Sofia told Francisco about the boyfriend who was waiting for her in South America. Francisco told her that he was divorced, and that he did not have any children. Despite his having heard about Sofia’s boyfriend, Francisco sent her flowers all the time, gave her lots of gifts, such as a certificate for a spa, and chocolates. Francisco told her that he was in love with her. She told him: let’s just be friends. After a while, Francisco asked her to marry him. She said: No.
Then it was time for Sofia to return to her country. Francisco and she exchanged e-mail addresses. She also gave him her home phone number. Over the next several months, Francisco called Sofia regularly. After being home for approximately three months, Sofia told Francisco that her relationship with her boyfriend was deteriorating. Francisco gave her moral support. He asked her to marry him again. Francisco e-mailed to Sofia a photo of the ring that he had bought for her.
In May of 2009, Sofia flew to JFK. She went to her cousin’s place in Brooklyn. Francisco and she began to see each other all of the time. Francisco told her a lot about himself: his childhood, his family, growing up, and his work. It became totally clear to her that Francisco was an “old school kind of gentleman.”
Yes, a few months later, Francisco and Sofia got married. It was a big wedding, in Brooklyn. Without the help of an attorney, the couple filed an adjustment of status package with the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS). Three months later, Sofia received her work authorization card. She found a full-time job in a restaurant. Three months after that, the couple had their adjustment of status interview at 26 Federal Plaza, in Manhattan, which is not far from the Brooklyn Bridge. The interview went well, and Sofia became a conditional lawful permanent resident of the USA.
Francisco was a project manager, a specialist in setting up, maintaining, and repairing large machinery. His work took him all over the eastern half of the USA. Whenever he could, he arranged to have Sofia visit him when he was away from home. He went home as often as he could. During one long weekend in Brooklyn, the couple filed Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on [Sofia’s] Residence. However, as the months went by, his work assignments, often in locations far from New York City, got longer and longer. Sofia asked him to find another job that would keep him closer to Brooklyn, but Francisco did not want to change jobs. It became clear to Sofia that, if Francisco was not willing to find a job closer to home, their marriage was not going to survive. They split up for good in December of 2013, which left Sofia extremely unhappy. She moved to the Bronx.
The USCIS sent Sofia and Francisco a notice to appear for an I-751 interview. Neither one went to it. The I-751 was denied, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) placed Sofia in removal proceedings, by sending her a Notice to Appear, Form I-862, which she received, just before she moved to the Bronx. She did not inform Immigration Court that she had moved. When the Immigration Court sent her a notice of hearing, to her former home in Brooklyn, she did not receive it. She missed her date with the Immigration Judge, who ordered that Sofia be removed from the USA. In addition, within days of her move to the Bronx, a man with mental problems began stalking her. This man’s behavior eventually became intolerable. Sofia called the police, who arrested the man. A judge ordered that he undergo a psychiatric evaluation. Sofia never saw him again.
About eighteen months later, on the recommendation of a friend, Sofia came to see me. I suggested to Sofia that she first file for divorce. She agreed. I took care of that. As for her immigration problems, I suggested that we first file a proposed joint motion to reopen, in an effort to convince a DHS attorney that Sofia’s removal proceedings deserve to be reopened. When the DHS agrees to this, in writing, the Immigration Judge then will usually reopen the proceedings. The DHS attorney turned us down. By the time we got that response, a New York judge had granted Sofia a divorce.
I then filed a Motion to Reopen directly with the Immigration Judge. I argued that Sofia’s unhappiness over the failure of her marriage, together with her having been the victim of a stalker, should excuse the fact that she did not go to Immigration Court when she was supposed to be there. Strangely, there was no opposition to the motion from the DHS. The judge granted the motion, and scheduled Sofia for a hearing in July, 2016. Since then, Sofia has filed a “self-petition” I-751, on the basis that she had entered into her marriage in good faith, but that it ended in divorce later on. If the USCIS eventually approves that petition, the conditions attached to Sofia’s residency will be removed, and then Sofia will become a full-fledged permanent resident of the USA.
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