Any way back from marriage fraud?

A finding of marriage fraud is a lifetime bar to a later filed immigrant visa by another spouse. This situation commonly arises when an immigrant pays someone to help them get their green card by posing as their spouse even though they have no relationship, do not live together and the marriage was set up solely for immigration purposes. Many times, an immigrant will get away with marriage fraud at the initial green card interview but will be caught later when the immigrant tries to release the condition and their spouse sabotages the interview or comes forward to INS about the fraud.

Is all hope lost for he immigrant? Maybe not. If the immigrant has been placed in removal due solely to the fraud in obtaining their green card, the immigrant may be eligible to waive the fraud and essentially back date it, as if it never happened. This is especially crucial in situations where the immigrant has since remarried to a US citizen and this marriage is real. The marriage fraud bars any visa application based on this new marriage so the immigrant had to file the waiver. The waiver is only available in immigration court and is always a risky venture. Always contact an immigration lawyer with experience with waivers to determine if you qualify

When You face a Judge After Conditional residency expiration

Often a conditional resident may end up in removal proceedings. This could be due to a denied case or failure to file to remove the condition while the residency period was intact. But not all hope is lost if placed in removal. If a CLPR's status has been terminated, the immigrant may be able to file a waiver case or joint petition to remove the condition with CIS and delay the issuance of a removal order. Judges have the power to delay proceedings to give the immigrant these options.

An immigrant who already filed a case with CIS which was denied can ask the judge to review the case in removal court and even provide more evidence at that point. Another option may be filing a new green card case based on a new marriage but in this scenario, the former/expired green card holder will likely face skepticism about the bona Fide nature of the new marriage and should document the case well.