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COMMON IMMIGRATION MISCONCEPTIONS -- PART
2
by Michael J. Gurfinkel, Esq.
In my previous column, I discussed some of the more
common misconceptions or misunderstandings about immigration law.
These misconceptions are often based on information from friends,
relatives, consultants, or other "advisers." These advisers
often rely, too, on rumors and hearsay, and are not even aware
of the ever-changing immigration law.
As a result, some people do not apply for
immigration benefits to which they may be entitled, and delay
their legalization process. Some apply for benefits to which they
are not entitled, and wait for immigration benefits that
would never come. They waste time, money, and effort for nothing.
I hope this column will clarify these misconceptions,
so that people will no longer commit mistakes that may jeopardize
or delay their entitlement to certain immigration benefits.
Here are some more common misconceptions:
6. Secret marriages will never be discovered
by the U.S. Embassy or INS.-- FALSE!
There is no such thing as a "secret marriage".
If you were married by a priest, local official, etc., and it
was filed with the government, it is a public document,
and is not, by definition, "secret". Many people, who
were single when their parents petitioned them, got married while
waiting for their visas, and tried to hide the marriage, because
the marriage may either disqualify them for a visa (if their parent
is an immigrant), or make them wait much longer (if their parent
is a citizen). The Embassy is now very wise to people hiding their
marital status, and routinely checks official government records,
to see if there really is a marriage contract on file. In addition,
paying someone to have the marriage contract "pulled"
won't help, because there are several places and ways marriages
are recorded.
7. It is O.K. to remarry without divorcing
your first spouse.-- FALSE!
You cannot marry a second time without terminating
your first marriage, either by divorce or annulment. Many people
separate from their first spouse and go to the U.S. They may meet
someone, and decide to get married. They think that because they
have not seen their first spouse for many years, it is alright
to marry the second person. However, by law, if you marry a second
time, without terminating the first marriage, the second marriage
is void. If you were petitioned by an American through
that (void) second marriage, the petition would also be void.
Divorce is legal in the U.S., so make sure you divorce your first
spouse before you marry someone else.
8. If a person knows someone in
the INS or the U.S. Embassy, that insider can pull his petition
and put it ahead of other applications. ² FALSE!
The INS and the U.S. Embassy are highly efficient
and professional agencies. Visa applications are processed in
the order the petitions were originally filed with INS. (The date
a person's petition was filed with INS, or a Labor Certification
was filed with the State employment agency, is a person's "priority
date", or place in line for a visa.) Priority dates are
released every month by the State Department, showing the filing
dates that petitions or Labor Certifications would currently be
processed. So, you cannot "go out of turn," but must
wait for your priority date to be "current."
9. Philippine court adoptions are
automatically accepted by the Embassy and INS in giving visas to
the adopted child. ² FALSE!
Even if a child has been legally adopted in the
Philippines, there are certain legal requirements under U.S. immigration
laws which the adopting parents must satisfy, i.e 2 years physical
custody (meaning, living under the same roof as the child for
2 years). You also need 2 years legal custody (meaning,
the final adoption order must be 2 years old), and the adopting
parents must have "primary parental control". If the
biological parents continue to live with or are active in the
child's life, a visa could be refused, despite a valid court adoption
in the Philippines.
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