A client of ours is a non-supermodel accused of working without authorization and not disclosing it on H-1B visa applications. That is, the same issue Melania Trump is being accused of.
Read this excerpt from a Notice of Intent to Deny and see how USCIS is treating my client. For the record, I believe they are wrong on the law and I'm fighting it.
Read this excerpt from a Notice of Intent to Deny and see how USCIS is treating my client. For the record, I believe they are wrong on the law and I'm fighting it.
Back in September, Melania famously tweeted she was 100% in compliance with US immigration law. Her husband's attorney reviewed some of her history and - plausibly - suggested a perfectly legal sequence of events. What was most glaringly missing from the attorney Wildes' carefully worded letter is a certification that Melania Trump followed US immigration law "100%" - or even that she was generally compliant. Melania is the one that makes that leap, not the lawyer. All the letter does is briefly review her immigration history - which as I said, sounds plausible - and refutes some of the media questions. But saying you didn't break a particular law doesn't mean you followed the law with "100% certainty."
Moreover, if there was undisclosed unauthorized work, it wouldn't necessarily appear in the "relevant immigration paperwork" - and we also don't know what Donald's immigration lawyer considered relevant. The letter is silent about whether Melania or her H-1B employer(s) complied with the terms of her H-1B status - unfortunately, wage violations are common in the industry.
Now, documents have come to light that seem to suggest she was paid before getting an H-1B. If that work was not disclosed (and it rarely is) then Melania's obtainment of permanent residency was unlawful. If it was disclosed - it would have been much harder for her to get that H-1B visa. Unless, of course, the supermodel exception applies.
I am not advocating for Melania's status to be revoked. But I am saying that immigration is not easy. Virtually no one is in "100% compliance" with the immigration law. Nor should they have to: USCIS is not a faultless agency: mistakes and inconsistencies do occur. We can no more call for deportation for all immigration violations than we can call for license revocation for anyone who's ever gone 1 mph over the speed limit.
My client might not become a citizen and could lose his green card. USCIS takes this seriously. For some, it can mean denaturalization: loss of citizenship.
If you're silent about the holes in Melania's immigration history, but think that a Central American woman fleeing gang violence and tries to cross the border should be deported, you need to check yourself.
Moreover, if there was undisclosed unauthorized work, it wouldn't necessarily appear in the "relevant immigration paperwork" - and we also don't know what Donald's immigration lawyer considered relevant. The letter is silent about whether Melania or her H-1B employer(s) complied with the terms of her H-1B status - unfortunately, wage violations are common in the industry.
Now, documents have come to light that seem to suggest she was paid before getting an H-1B. If that work was not disclosed (and it rarely is) then Melania's obtainment of permanent residency was unlawful. If it was disclosed - it would have been much harder for her to get that H-1B visa. Unless, of course, the supermodel exception applies.
I am not advocating for Melania's status to be revoked. But I am saying that immigration is not easy. Virtually no one is in "100% compliance" with the immigration law. Nor should they have to: USCIS is not a faultless agency: mistakes and inconsistencies do occur. We can no more call for deportation for all immigration violations than we can call for license revocation for anyone who's ever gone 1 mph over the speed limit.
My client might not become a citizen and could lose his green card. USCIS takes this seriously. For some, it can mean denaturalization: loss of citizenship.
If you're silent about the holes in Melania's immigration history, but think that a Central American woman fleeing gang violence and tries to cross the border should be deported, you need to check yourself.
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