Walking into a trap

In the past, going to a green card interview as an immediate relative of a US citizen was a walk in the park. Now, it’s like walking into a trap.

Back in November, several West Coast news outlets began reporting on an alarming number of cases in which green card applicants, including spouses of American citizens, were being detained by ICE agents while attending their immigration interviews at the local USCIS offices.

One such case pertained to an 18-year-old Mexican youth who, along with his mother and 14-year-old sibling, was applying for an adjustment of status at a USCIS field office in California.

Having been petitioned by their American citizen father/husband, the Mexican teen and his family were attending a scheduled interview as the final step in the green card application process. However, instead of getting their green cards, they were arrested and placed in removal proceedings for overstaying their non-immigrant visas, a violation that had historically been a non-issue for immediate relatives of US citizens. And this despite the fact that they didn’t have an outstanding order of removal or criminal record.

Another incident involved an LGBTQ person from the Cayman Islands who originally came to the US as a tourist in 2013. He subsequently applied for asylum but failed to attend his immigration hearing, resulting in a removal order being issued against him (allegedly without his knowledge). He eventually married his US citizen partner who filed a green card petition on his behalf. However, when the man recently showed up for his green card interview at a New York USCIS field office, he was swiftly detained by ICE agents and placed in removal proceedings.

In still another eyebrow-raising case, a female applicant from the UK was apprehended by ICE agents while holding her baby during a marriage-based interview in California. Her immigration trespass? She previously overstayed her visitor status, due in part to her getting pregnant soon after marrying her American husband, who subsequently filed a green card petition on her behalf.

Per advice of counsel, the woman pursued her green card application in-country instead of going back to the UK, as visa overstay violations, at least since the time of Ronald Reagan’s presidency, have always been a waivable offense for immediate relatives of US citizens. Luckily for the woman, she was released from detention in just a matter of days, right after her petition was approved.

According to the woman, the USCIS supervisor herself was in tears when the government agents led her in handcuffs away from her family.

Yet another troubling case involved an Asian male who came to the US as a young child. After being petitioned by his American citizen spouse, the man appeared at a Los Angeles USCIS office for a marriage-based interview. Right away, he was arrested for being an out-of-status alien. He is currently in detention awaiting a bond hearing.

In all of these cases, no criminal wrongdoing was involved. Inexorably, this is fast becoming the norm, to the detriment of the thousands, if not millions, of green card hopefuls in the country.

Certainly, walking into a trap has never been, and will never be, a walk in the park. Just ask the Mexican chap. His family branch was instantly snapped in half.