Immigration: if my husband is denied citizenship, will he be deported?

Rochester, NY Viewed 44 times. Posted 21 days ago in Immigration

My husband has a 10 year green card. We applied for citizenship and at the interview they required further information about a child he fathered in his home country. He is not on the birth certificate and he has no legal standing, but put the child down on the application to be truthful. It has been a month and no decision. I am very worried as I share custody of my US citizen daughter and her father will not allow her to leave the country. My husband and I have a US citizen daughter together. I'm scared if they deny him for being truthful, they will deport him and rip our family apart.

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Answers (1)

Scott D. Pollock

This attorney is licensed in New York and 1 other state. Posted 20 days ago.

It is hard to tell the legal relevance of the child born abroad without a broader context. An application for U.S. citizenship requires, among other things, a showing that the applicant was lawfully admitted to permanent resident status and has been a person of good moral character for at least 5 (in some cases 3) years. Where illegitimate children can become an issue is whether the applicant is fulfilling any legal duties to provide child support, and sometimes whether the application for a green card was legitimate. For example, if the applicant married a U.S. citizen for a green card and fraudulently intends to divorce his U.S. citizen spouse and sponsor the love of his life back home. When the child was born can sometimes bear on the issue of the applicant's intent in this regard.

A denial of citizenship may be appealed. Not all denials result in the applicant being placed in removal (deportation) proceedings. Sometimes the USCIS officer simply doesn't make a decision in a short time period for any of a number of reasons. The law requires that a decision be issued within 120 days of the date of interview. If no decision is made by then, the applicant may bring an action in federal district court to have the court decide the application or to remand the application to the USCIS with instructions. Filing this kind of a lawsuit can be beneficial in certain cases where the applicant is clearly eligible for naturalization, but the USCIS is unreasonably delaying that process.

You and your husband should probably consult with an experienced and reputable immigration lawyer to discuss the interview he had in greater detail.

Scott D. Pollock
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