90 days to prove to US why he should stay with his family
US EMIGRANT Keith Byrne has been given 90 more days to prove his case for staying there, as he returned to work this week amid fears of deportation.
The father of three told the Neil Prenderville Show on Cork’s RedFm 104-106 yesterday that he visited the Immigration and Customs Enforcement offices on Monday and supplied paperwork arguing his claim to remain with his young family.
He has 30 days to lodge an appeal but while a result could take three to six months, he has only three extra months.
But he told listeners: ‘I was really happy [on Monday] and I am hoping we’ll hear back from immigration sooner rather than later. Our lawyer is pretty confident, he has a gut feeling that we’re going to get it right in the end. Let’s hope he’s right. I would assume if we don’t hear back within the 90 days, we’ll have to hope that ICE give us more time, which I’m sure they will.’
The 37-year-old, from Fermoy, Co. Cork, has been living and working in the US for over a decade. His wife, Keren, is a US citizen, and they have two children together. Mr Byrne is also the step-father to Keren’s child, Ezra. In July, he was detained by ICE near his home in Philadelphia, and given a 30-day reprieve while a review into his immigration status was carried out.
He said yesterday: ‘I just want this over. It’s too long, it has become my life. I don’t want this life. I want to just focus on my children, keep working on my business and not to worry about being picked up and deported.
‘For the last almost ten years now, we’ve been dealing with this. It is very frustrating that something so small, so long ago, is holding us back from the future. And I know we did something wrong but that is why there are courts there. We’re working very hard to make it right.’