marriage I-130 approval while in removal proceedings?

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will my I-130 be approved while am in removal proceedings? I married my fiancee after the ins initiated removal proceedings. I have no criminal hx but have 2 dui convictions. will the case of "In re Mario Eduardo Velarde - pacheco, 23 I&N dec, 253 (BIA 2002) file A70178696- SAN DIEGO, help in my case?

-- steve kags (woosh2000@yahoo.com), September 20, 2002

Answers

Your I-130 can be approved while you are in proceedings. When you marry while in proceedings you need to request an exemption from the normal presumption that such marriages are fraudulent, and you will need to document very carefully that the relationship is legitimate.

The I-130 application also needs to be approved in time to avoid removal or your deadline to leave the U.S. under voluntary departure. Matter of Velarde may be helpful if the approval comes shortly after your final hearing and you want to reopen the case to adjust. More importantly, the immigration judge can allow continuances while consideration of your INS marriage application is underway, allowing you to avoid this problem altogether. A whole host of factors play into this decision: the judge's and INS attorney's attitude toward continuances; how long the marriage application is likely to take; how sympathetic your case is (how and why were you put in proceedings, whether your wife is pregnant or you have U.S. citizen children), etc.

A competent immigration lawyer with experience handling removal cases in the court where your case is being heard should be able to give you an idea of what your chances are like, and can help you avoid errors that will slow consideration of the marriage case by the INS.

Good luck.

-- Michael Boyle (boylelaw@aol.com), September 21, 2002.


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