Marrying for the right reasons

By Lourdes Santos Tancinco
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Posted date: February 19, 2009

MEGAN and Philip met in the United States in 2006. Their friendship turned into a romance. After two years, Philip proposed marriage to Megan. It was at this time that Megan revealed that she was a “TNT” (“tago ng tago”). All the while she represented to Philip that she was a US citizen.

Philip was disappointed because he himself was a TNT and thought that Megan would be able to assist him in obtaining his green card. Their relationship then turned sour. Philip did not want to live as a TNT in the US and decided to go home to the Philippines. Megan stayed behind and refused to come back to Manila.

Megan was working as a caregiver for a health care facility when the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) came to arrest undocumented workers. Megan was one of those arrested. While in deportation proceedings, Megan married her US citizen friend Mario in order that she would get a green card. Unfortunately, the petition by Mario on behalf of Megan was denied. As a result, Megan was eventually deported back to the Philippines.

Today, Megan is still in denial on why the petition was denied even if they had lived together and had a valid marriage.

Good faith marriage

Generally, marriage is the fastest option to obtain a green card. However, it is also the fastest way to be removed from the United States if it is discovered to be fraudulent.

To be considered valid for immigration purposes, marriage must be legal and entered into in good faith from the time of its inception.

Marriage is legal if recognized as such by the law of the jurisdiction where the marriage took place. Once a marriage has been determined to be legal, the second line of inquiry is whether or not at its inception that marriage is bona fide. The test of its viability is whether the parties intended to establish a life together at the time they married.

The burden of proving validity of a bona fide marriage is on the applicant. This may be proven through documentary and testimonial evidence during an interview.

Different types of documents may be presented by the parties during the interview, that may include joint bank accounts, joint lease agreements, joint income tax returns, joint utility and telephone bills, life insurance, health insurance, joint credit cards, photographs with friends and family and written statements from acquaintances and neighbors.

The joint documents may be easy to produce especially if the couple has been living together as husband and wife for quite awhile. Still, there are many cases where the examiner may still question the validity of a marriage. Like: the response of the couple during the interview which may reveal a lack of spousal relationship.

When a Filipino in the US is put in deportation proceedings, it is much more difficult to prove the validity of a marriage, especially if the married couple has not been living together that long. Though the immigration court has jurisdiction over the deportation case, a spousal petition by a US citizen has to be filed with the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) which can approve or deny the petition. The USCIS examiner may schedule the couple for another interview. The process may involve having the couple being asked separately the same questions regarding personal aspects of the marital relationship.

Oftentimes, questions delve into personal information such as the other spouse’s favorite food, color, friend, sport or television show. Other questions may inquire into the spouse’s scars, birthmarks or tattoos. If their responses do not match, they should be given an opportunity to explain. Should they fail to explain the differences then the petition will be denied.

Permanent bar

This is what happened in Megan’s case. She and her US citizen spouse gave different responses to the same questions and were unable to explain their discrepancies. Also, the US citizen spouse was compelled to admit that the marriage entered into was just to assist Megan obtain her green card.

If there is a finding that a Filipino has engaged in a fixed marriage to obtain a green card, a provision in the Immigration and Nationality Act bars this person from future immigration benefits. Hence, even if a spouse who has been found to have entered into a marriage for convenience later on marries in good faith another US citizen, he/she is still barred from receiving a green card. This harsh provision was meant to prevent foreign nationals from entering into fraudulent marriages.

It must be remembered that the fastest way is not always the appropriate way of legalizing one’s stay. Marrying solely for purposes of immigration benefit is not a solution but a compounding problem for many undocumented immigrants in the US.

Megan made a mistake in not following her lover back to the Philippines. She could have avoided all the trouble and anxiety of having a deportation case. Sometimes, following the dictates of the heart may be the best path to take for it is our heart, our feelings of love and desire that may inspire us on how best we spend our lives wherever we may be.

Tancinco may be reached at law@tancinco.com or at 887 7177