Sound a little harsh?

Good.  I have your attention.

If you work with a notario, you’re likely ready to pounce on every word I write.

Perhaps reading my title, your ears perked up like a poodle sensing potential danger nearby.

Allow me to explain.

At a recent green card interview, the officer asked my client, “Why did you return home in 1985 and 1988?”

“To give birth to my two children,” she responded.

“I couldn’t afford the health care here.”

The officer gave me a confused, dazed look.

I couldn’t bite my lip.

“Sort of kills the anchor baby rhetorical nonsense, doesn’t it?”

He never went home.

He left his native county at the age of 20 to find work. Born in an impoverished area of a poor country, he left home to earn money which he could send back to his mother and eight siblings.

He ventured through, and stayed briefly at, a few countries, eventually reaching the United States.

For the next 25 years, he crisscrossed California, Arizona, and Utah, moving from crop to crop before settling in San Diego where he worked as a dishwasher at one of the city’s most prestigious restaurants.

Are immigrant males ever the victim of domestic violence?

Sure.

Is there any program to help them?

Yes.

It’s called the Violence Against Women Act.

All that is gold does not glitter. Not even wedding rings, especially from second spouses.

Because marriages are one of the easier paths to winning permanent residence, they invite close immigration scrutiny.

An immigrant’s second marriage prompts extra caution.  Besides assessing the authenticity of the current union, government officers probe the first marriage and divorce for indicators of marriage fraud.

April 1, 1997.

The day IIRAIRA went into effect.

The day we entered the Age of Immigration Darkness.

For immigrants, a divorce is not always the worst aspect of divorces. In many instances, a divorce has no impact on immigration status.

On the other hand, navigating the issues of family court proceedings is often like tip-toeing through a field of landmines. One misstep and permanent residency or citizenship dreams are shattered.

Ever wonder what goes into a marriage green card fraud determination by immigration officials?

Although I have written fairly extensively on immigration fraud, my focus has been on teaching innocent immigrants how to avoid con artists.

But what about immigrants, with true marriages, accused of wrong-doing by the government?

Immigration law has many quirky rules.

In some cases, this is because laws and customs in other countries do not match up with laws and customs in the United States.

Take polygamy.

Long condemned in the U.S., polygamy has been practiced in over 81% of societies across the world.

As a result, husbands and wives lawfully wedded abroad are often left behind when they seek permanent resident status.