Petition for Alien Relative
HYPOTHETICALS
1. Rebecca is a U.S. citizen. She has three daughters living overseas. Angela, whois 16 and single; Carmen, who is 20 and married; and Jessica, who is 22 andsingle. May Rebecca file a relative petition (for LPR status) for each of them?If so, under what relative category would each daughter be classified?
2. Henry is an LPR. His mother, Clara, and his brother Paul (Clara’s son) wantto become LPRs, too. What are Paul’s chances of becoming an LPR if Henryrefuses to become a U.S. citizen or Clara refuses to become an LPR?
3. James and Joanne come to your law firm with a problem: James is a U.S. citi-zen who fell in love with Joanne, an alien, while vacationing overseas. The two had a whirlwind romance and married only three months after their first date.They returned to the United States, and James filed a relative petition for hisnew wife. Six months have passed since James filed the petition. Now, the cou-ple is approaching their first wedding anniversary, and they no longer want tobe married to each other. They realize that the marriage is over, but that theydid not enter into it for immigration purposes. You are convinced that theymarried out of love. Joanne is afraid that her LPR status will not become per-manent, and James is very supportive of her immigration situation. If they geta divorce, they do not want to hide that from DHS. How should you proceed?
4. Christina, a citizen and resident of Austria, just married Carlos, a U.S. citizen.Christina has a 14-year-old daughter, Katia, from a previous marriage. Katiais a citizen and resident of Austria, too. Christina’s family owns a restaurantin a tiny Austrian village. However, her parents are too old to operate it, andthe other relatives are too inexperienced. She is the family’s only hope tomake the business survive. Christina wants to remain in Austria until therestaurant is running smoothly but would like Katia to become an LPR andlive with her stepfather Carlos in the United States until Christina is ready tojoin them. May Carlos petition for Katia to obtain LPR status? What stepsmust he take in order for that to happen?
5. Cynthia was born and raised in Peru. Her only family member in the UnitedStates is her cousin George, who is a U.S. citizen. George’s mother is Monica.Monica’s brother is Angelo, who is Cynthia’s father. Monica and Angelo werealso born and raised in Peru and, like Cynthia, have never been to the UnitedStates. Under what circumstances involving George, Monica, and Angelo mayCynthia eventually become an LPR through a relative petition?
Petition for Alien Relative
The Petition for Alien Relative recognizes the validity of relationships between US citizens, green card holders and other people seeking to acquire green cards. To that effect, Form I-130 is the applicable instrument for execution. Completion of such a petition triggers the US Citizenship and Immigration Department to action. The desired result is the award of a family based green card for the foreign relative.
Hypothetical One
Rebecca has a legitimate reason to file for a alien relative recognition for her daughters. The minimum threshold for a valid relationship is evidenced by the blood relation (Nori, 2016). However, a pertinent question then ensues what happens when one of the daughters seeks such an application for their spouse. Jessica will likely raise the issue first from an assumption informed by the relationship status of the sisters. How the department advises on the matter from the onset is critical
Hypothetical Two
If an intended applicant for an alien relative visa is not in the United States, the application has a limited chance of succeeding (Rodriguez, 2018). To increase the chances of success for an intended application by Paul and Clara, James has to be in the United States. James has to exercise his right first to legitimize their application.
Hypothetical Three
Joanne’s application for an alien relative status is not easy. The divorce proceeding can compromise the chances of success. However, Joanne should demonstrate to the state department that the marriage was genuine (Nori, 2016). Other than the marriage certificate, Joanne can demonstrate legitimacy through joint bank account bank statements, photos and couple insurance covers.
Hypothetical Four
By virtue of her marriage to Carlos, Christina earns the alien relative status. Her daughter, Katiais also benefits because her mother is her source of livelihood (Rodriguez, 2018). However, Christina has to support his family from a distant because the process might not accommodate her distant relatives.
Hypothetical Five
To validate the application by the four, they should follow a systematic application process. Monica should be first applicant as the first relative of George (Nori, 2016). If Monica is successful, his brother Angelo should follow suit. Thereafter, Cynthia can make her application.
References
Nori, M. (2016). Asian/American/Alien: Birth Tourism, the Racialization of Asians, and the Identity of the American Citizen. Hastings Women’s LJ, 27, 87.
Rodriguez, A. (2018). A Cr y for Change: The Fallacy of the Amer ican Dream for K-4 Children. Seattle Journal for Social Justice, 16(2), 13.
