No fraud waiver required if you were a victim of fraud

There have been many tragic situations where people were duped into applying for immigration benefits to which they were not entitled. Unscrupulous immigration consultants promise work permits, green cards, and other immigration benefits to people who are eager to work in the US and send money back home. Only later do they find out they were tricked and cheated out of their hard-earned money. To make matters worse, they are charged with fraud by the USCIS and denied legitimate immigration benefits.

In an unpublished decision from the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO), an alien was charged with fraud. He filed his fraud waiver which was denied because he did not properly demonstrate his qualifying relative (his spouse) would suffer extreme hardship. However, on appeal, the AAO concluded he did not intend to defraud and/or willfully misrepresent a material fact to the US government. Therefore, no fraud waiver was required, and his adjustment of status application should be approved.

In that particular case, a consultant told an out of status alien that the consultant’s neighbor was a high-ranking official at the USCIS’s District Office. That official supposedly had several green cards he could give out at his discretion each year. The consultant repeatedly assured the alien that this whole process was legal and the alien could trust the consultant, who would take care of everything.

The alien paid the consultant, who even had the person go to USCIS’s offices to have his picture and fingerprints taken. He later received a work permit, providing further assurance the whole process was legitimate.

A few months later, he received a denial notice in the mail for permanent residence. He was shocked at receiving the denial, and tried calling the consultant. However, the consultant would not return any phone calls, and later refused to send him copies of any paperwork on what was filed. The consultant claimed he had an argument with the high-ranking official, but would provide no information about that official, such as his name or contact number.

When the alien was finally applying for legitimate immigration benefits, he obtained a copy of his previous filing, and was horrified to find there were forms containing his forged signature, along with a picture of a woman he had never met. Apparently, the consultant filed paperwork making it appear that the alien had married, and was being petitioned by a US citizen. The alien had been duped and tricked.

The AAO concluded the alien did not make a willful or fraudulent misrepresentation, but instead was tricked and fooled by a consultant. Therefore, he was not guilty of fraud, and no fraud waiver was required.

If you were previously duped or tricked into applying for immigration benefits to which you were not entitled, you should seek the advice of an attorney who can gather and analyze your files, and evaluate whether you were also a victim of fraud. However, if a person knowingly and intentionally applied for immigration benefits to which they were not entitled, attended interviews and repeated the lies in the forms they submitted to the USCIS, then this case may not apply to you. However, if you were duped and tricked, and did not know what was being filed on your behalf, and were truly an innocent victim, there may be hope.

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