Deportation order in absentia

Nida, a native from the Philippines met and married John, a US citizen, while she was in New York. Together, they filed a spousal petition and a concurrent application for adjustment of status including work permit and advance parole (or commonly known as travel permit). They thought that the processing was going to be fine as everything was going according to the timeline they anticipated. After a few months, Nida’s work permit application was approved and her employment authorization card was released. However, she received a letter from USCIS denying her advance parole on the ground that either she is in deportation proceedings or a removal order has already been issued to her. Under the law, a travel permit will not be issued if the applicant is under either of those two circumstances.

This came as a total surprise for the couple most especially Nida who cannot recall having been under deportation proceedings and not received any decision from an Immigration judge ordering her to leave the US. They are now asking what can be done to verify the information for either of those two instances mentioned. If she has any record at all, what can be done further to prevent her from being deported?

First of all, we must go back and examine Nida’s immigration history. How did she come to the US? Did she file any other applications before? What were the outcomes of those applications? It turned out that Nida came to the US under a tourist visa. She was initially authorized to stay for six months. Later she applied for extension of her status but was denied. She did appeal that decision. She overstayed even after the denial of the application for extension of status. She also worked without authorization and changed addresses as she moved around the country. She did not know nor was she made aware of any letters from ICE or the Immigration Court advising her to appear for an immigration hearing.

Next we checked with the Executive Office of Immigration Review if they have any record with her. Using the EOIR’s customer service line, we entered her alien number and there we learned that she was in immigration proceedings and that indeed, an order of removal was issued against her. She is now afraid, terrified, and anxious on what to do next.

At this stage, she would have to hire an Immigration attorney to work on her case. There would be appropriate paperwork to be filed with the court that issued the order, perhaps a motion to reopen claiming that she never received any notice advising her to appear. She would have to advise the court of the pending spousal petition and greencard applications. She would have to convince the court to set aside the removal order and wait for the USCIS to decide her I-130 petition. This looks like a long and challenging road ahead for her, but she has remedies available.

So the lesson is, make sure you notify USCIS when you change addresses. Without your knowledge, you may be in deportation proceedings and tried in absentia. There are consequences to a USCIS denial decision, do not take this lightly. Also, anytime you apply for an immigration benefit such as for a greencard, work permit, or travel permit, your immigration history is opened up no matter how long you have been here in the US.