Heide and all,
 
You are very right about the technicality of the application form.  I had a student who stated that he had never broken the law or been fined in anyway.  He forgot that on his first day in the US (7 years prior) he was cited for trying to bring in potatoes in his suitcase.  His application was rejected because of this oversight and he has to wait several years before he can apply again.  



Grace and Peace!
Glenda Lynn Rose, PhD

ESL Instructor
Austin Learning Academy
841-4777
 

--- On Mon, 6/29/09, Wrigley, Heide <heide at literacywork.com> wrote:


From: Wrigley, Heide <heide at literacywork.com>
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 4522] Re: Help With INS
To: "The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List" <englishlanguage at nifl.gov>
Date: Monday, June 29, 2009, 6:25 PM








I’m sorry Joan that you and your student have to go through this. It is very difficult to get personal answers from USCIS (formerly INS) at any time.  Is your USCIS office fairly close by? Can she make an appointment to see someone?  Does she have the file number for her application?  Then she could send a letter of explanation of the common law marriage to the office to which the application was sent, and eventually it may make it into her file. 
 
Your student and her family probably came as refugees so the whole question of did she get permanent resident status through marriage is, as you pointed out, moot.  It is now, as someone else pointed out, a question of documentation to make sure the questions on the application were answered honestly.  If she ever gets to see anyone, she can make the case that in her world common law marriages are common and so she said ‘yes” to the are you married question. 
 
Getting married now would not make a difference. It’s not about being married or not (USCIS doesn’t care if you are a refugee if you are married or not). It is simply a matter of not lying on the application and that’s why USCIS asked for documentation.  
 
At this point, I would see if there is no cost or low cost legal aid available in your area and someone might be able to help her. 
 
And, please a word of caution to everyone:  The citizenship application is a legal document and anything you say (or fail to say) can be used against you in the citizenship approval process.  So teachers should NOT fill out applications for a student – only legal aid should since they know the ramifications and know what questions to ask. 
 
I know this is very little comfort at this point, Joan, and I’m sorry about your worries – but perhaps a legal aid agency might have a suggestion. In the meantime, it’s probably just sit and wait till USCIS responds 
 
Please keep us posted 
 
Warm regards 
 
Heide Spruck Wrigley 
Literacywork International 
 


From: englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov [mailto:englishlanguage-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Joan
Sent: Monday, June 29, 2009 2:52 PM
To: The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 4518] Re: Help With INS
 

She is married, but not legally I guess you'd say.  I didn't realize this when I helped her fill out the application, but ever since I've known her, she has talked about her husband and children.  She and her husband have been together for years and years, and when the INS made its request for documentation, she told me that theirs was a common law marriage, which I know is legal in many states although I'm not sure which ones.  They have a great marriage, three kids, they are the stable center of the entire extended family. They own a house together. They just don't have a marriage license.

 


----- Original Message ----- 

From: Michael Gyori 

To: The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List 

Sent: Monday, June 29, 2009 2:39 PM

Subject: [EnglishLanguage 4517] Re: Help With INS

 
Joan,

If this woman stated that she was married, then it seems understandable that she was requested to furnish proof.  Do you know why she cannot? Whatever her grounds for seeking citizenship might be, that in and of itself doesn't exempt her from requests to prove anything she has claimed or sworn  to be true, does it?

I'm a bit confused.  

Michael
www.mauilanguage.com

Sent via Blackberry by Turkcell 



From: owlhouse at wwt.net
To: englishlanguage at nifl.gov
Date: Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:15:03 -0500
Subject: [EnglishLanguage 4513] Re: Help With INS

I helped her fill out the application,  Yes, she said that she was married.  However, when they asked on what basis she was requesting citizenship, she indicated it was length of time in the U.S. - not her marriage to an American citizen.  It doesn't seem as if her marriage should have anything to do with whether or not she is granted citizenship.  She answered all of the questions truthfully and honestly and completely. But she did not apply for citizenship based on marriage to an American citizen.

 


----- Original Message ----- 

From: Peg Thibbitts 

To: The Adult English Language Learners Discussion List 

Sent: Monday, June 29, 2009 12:45 PM

Subject: [EnglishLanguage 4509] Re: Help With INS

 
Joan,

More information is needed for this situation. The most important part may be what you put in parenthesis! 

She may not have applied for citizenship "based on her marital status" but she answered questions about marriage on the application, gave information about her "spouse", and signed that everything is true and correct. Hopefully she kept a copy of her application.  Did she have her swearing-in / oath ceremony? 

Did she write married on her application?  Is she married? Legally married with a marriage certificate?  By common marriage do you mean living together as a couple for more than X number of years?

Peg

Peg Thibbitts
Center for New Americans
Northampton, MA 

On Mon, Jun 29, 2009 at 11:50 AM, Joan <owlhouse at wwt.net> wrote:


I've been working with a young, very Americanized Hmong woman for a couple of years now.  She finally took the citizenship test last summer, had her interview, and passed easily.  But then she ran into a snag - a month or two later, the INS sent her a letter asking for documentation of her marriage despite the fact that she did not apply for citizenship based on her marital status (and does not have any marriage documentation, being in a common marriage situation).  She wrote back and asked why they needed this documentation since it wasn't the basis for her application and hasn't heard anything since.

 

I cannot find a phone number to call or an e-mail address to find out what has happened to her citizenship status.  Any advice on what she can do?  She's just in a kind of limbo right now.

 

Thanks for any help -

 

Joan

 

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