Fair or unfair?

[KenC]

A Dominican Republic woman in PA was just issued a perminant green card.  She illegally entered the country via Mexico in 2001.  She married a American soldier in 2004.  Once he filed for legalizing her presence here, deportation proceedings were started because of her illegal entry.  Since then, the husband was deployed to Iraq and is now missing in action and assumed captured or dead.

I assume that because of the husband's fate (and the bad press), the government reversed itself on the deportation and issued the green card.  I have no dog in this fight, but wondered how you men with pending immigration issues thought about this situation?

[William3rd]

If I remember the complete story, they met in her country when she was 15 or 16 back in about 2000 and she snuck across the border in 2001 to stay with him. THREE YEARS LATER, they married and filed for an AOS that she wasnt eligible for due to the sunset of 245(I). Thus, she was placed into removal proceedings.

Political green cards- unfair

[BC]

Rules will never be able to cover all circumstances.

The government should have the possibility to make exceptions when reasonable, but they should also allow others in the same situation the opportunity.

I think it would be quite difficult to find someone else in the same circumstances, thus their change of heart.

Good move imho.

[2tallbill]

A Dominican Republic woman in PA was just issued a perminant green card.  She illegally entered the country via Mexico in 2001.  She married a American soldier in 2004.  Once he filed for legalizing her presence here, deportation proceedings were started because of her illegal entry.  Since then, the husband was deployed to Iraq and is now missing in action and assumed captured or dead.

I assume that because of the husband's fate (and the bad press), the government reversed itself on the deportation and issued the green card.  I have no dog in this fight, but wondered how you men with pending immigration issues thought about this situation?

The National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2004 contains a provision to speed the naturalization process for permanent residents serving in the military. The Act allows permanent residents to naturalize after serving one year in the military during peacetime, authorizes naturalization interviews and oath ceremonies to be performed abroad, waives naturalization fees for those in the military, enables permanent residents who are members of the Selected Reserves or the Ready Reserves to speed up their naturalization in times of war or hostile military operations, allows spouses, unmarried children and parents of those killed in military service to file or preserve already filed applications for permanent residence, and speeds up the process for granting posthumous citizenship to those killed in battle.

Bill

[Jet]

Bill, you are correct in what you posted BUT it doesn't apply in this case as she was never eligible to start with!

I do believe that in these specific circumstances, the gov't has *some* obligation to see that she is taken care of. Of all the options, the GC is probably the most cost effective way to see that she's taken care of, and is probably a good PR move.

[2tallbill]

Yeah Jet you are right, I need to read better

Bill

[Dan C.]

There is only one way harder to get one's GC by having their loved one captured in battle, and that is to have a loved one die in battle.  Clearly the government is doing this to head off bad PR.