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ALIEN
SMUGGLING INCLUDES TRYING TO BRING IN A "GIVEN" CHILD
by Michael J. Gurfinkel, Esq.
Many people may be alien smugglers and not even
realize it. They may also be totally unaware of the harsh or drastic
consequences to themselves if they are guilty of alien smuggling.
The law defines alien smugglers as:
"Any alien who at any time knowingly has encouraged,
induced, assisted, abetted, or aided any other alien to enter
or to try to enter the United States in violation of law . . ."
Some people have the misconception that smugglers
are only those people who are paid to sneak people into the U.S.
across the borders, in boats, etc. This is not true. A person
can be guilty of alien smuggling, even if he is just attempting
to bring in his own family member!
Some examples of alien smuggler would include an
aunt who buys a fake birth certificate, making her the "biological
mother" of a niece or nephew. She then tries to petition
that niece or nephew as her own child. This constitutes alien
smuggling.
Or, a grandmother files a fake birth certificate,
making her the "biological mother" of her grandchild,
but she never formally or legally adopted the child. She then
petitions the grandchild, as her own child. This is alien smuggling.
Sometimes, a person who has been petitioned by a
family member, such as a brother or a sister, includes a kumpadre?s
child among his derivative beneficiaries, by claiming that child
as his own. (When a person is petitioned by certain family members,
the petitioned person?s spouse and minor children could be included
for green cards, as derivative beneficiaries, when the priority
date on his petition becomes current.) People try to "add
on" children to enable the kumpadre?s child to get
a green card, as a favor to the kumpadre. Or, sometimes,
the petitioned person may include a child who was "given"
to them at birth, but who was never legally adopted. These are
also cases of alien smuggling.
The Embassy takes a very strict position when it
comes to alien smuggling. They believe that people who are entitled
to visas, should get visas. But, people who are not entitled
to visas, should not get visas. When the Embassy finds out that
somebody is attempting to sneak a relative or other person into
the U.S., the Embassy denies a visa not only to the person being
smuggled, but also to the person who was under petition. In one
case, a mother had been petitioned by her U.S. citizen daughter.
The mother tried to list her nephew as a biological child in her
biographic data. The Embassy found out and considered this to
be alien smuggling and denied a visa to the citizen?s mother,
on the grounds that she attempted to smuggle an alien. So, by
attempting to list her nephew, the woman lost her own visa. Alien
smuggling could even result in a lifetime ban from entering
the U.S.
The bottom line is that the law allows only certain
family members to be petitioned. If you try to sneak in friends
or relatives who are not eligible for a visa, you could be guilty
of alien smuggling. And, the stakes are very high. Not only will
the person you are trying to smuggle be denied a visa, but your
own eligibility for a visa could be at risk. (Under limited
circumstances, waivers are available, but it is better not to
take the risk.)
If you have already submitted paperwork to the INS
or Embassy improperly listing or including ineligible persons
(i.e. nephew, grandchild, given child who was never legally adopted,
etc.), I would strongly recommend that you seek the advice of
a reputable attorney who could analyze your situation and, hopefully,
straighten things out, before it's too late. The stakes are very
high. Don't have the attitude that, "I'll just give it a
try. If the Embassy catches me, the worst that can happen is that
the person I?m helping won't get the visa, but I?ll still get
my visa." That is not the case. If you are caught,
you could also lose your own eligibility for a visa!
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