Will I ever be able to return to the US?
Dear Mrs Walker-Huntington,
My wife is a US citizen and we have known one another for 20-plus years. We have been married legally for nearly eight years. I was deported from the USA in 2015 after taking a plea deal. I lived in the USA since 1983 and did all of my schooling as well as paid taxes there. I recently did a deed poll and changed my name. I was wondering if my wife could in fact file for me and what would the process be. My entire family is in the USA, as well as my adult son. Is there any hope for me? Looking to hear from you soon.
Thank you. WB
Dear WB,
Being separated from one’s family is emotionally taxing on all parties.
You did not say what the underlying criminal conviction was that led to your deportation. That fact is very significant and determines whether you can ever return to America.
The crime that caused your removal also makes you inadmissible to the United States. Some crimes have corresponding waivers and some crimes do not. If there is no waiver available for the grounds of inadmissibility, a previously deported person cannot return to America to live with their family.
It is also important to know the immigration status of your parents, whether either or both were US citizens before you were 18 years old, and whether you lived with that US citizen parent when you were a minor.
Your wife or adult US son can file a petition for you to return to the United States, but unless you have a waiver of inadmissibility to the United States available to you, your green card would not be approved by the US Embassy. Changing your name will not improve your chances of returning to America; you are required to disclose all names used, and your fingerprints remain the same.
To know whether you have a waiver available, you should contact a US immigration attorney, who would request your files, review and analyse the i nformation against US immigration laws, and advise if there is a waiver available.
Dahlia A. Walker-Huntington, Esq, is a Jamaican-American attorney who practises immigration law in the United States; and family, criminal and international law in Florida. She is a diversity and inclusion consultant, mediator, and former special magistrate and hearing officer in Broward County, Florida. info@ walkerhuntington.com