Nearly everyone applying for permanent resident status (green card) would prefer to obtain their green card in the United States through adjustment of status instead of consular processing at a U.S. Embassy abroad. It is typically more convenient, less expensive, and avoids having to apply for a Provisional Unlawful Presence Waiver (I-601A) requesting any unlawful presence to be forgiven.
Unfortunately though, many people are not eligible for adjustment of status. To be eligible, an applicant must commonly be able to prove one of two things: (1) they were lawfully admitted to the United States; or (2) they are protected under Section 245(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. There are times when a person does satisfy the requirement of being lawfully admitted, but they have a very difficult time actually proving it. That brings us to the story of our client, whom we will refer to as ‘Theresa” to protect her privacy.
Theresa was a native and citizen of the Philippines. More than 20 years ago, desperate to come to the U.S. to work and support her family back home, she entered the U.S. with a tourist visa under an assumed name. This lawful entry allowed her to apply for adjustment even though the Filipino passport and U.S. visa were under an assumed name. However, Theresa no longer had the passport and visa or Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record. Thus, she had no way of actually proving to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services that she had been lawfully admitted to the United States.
Despite the lack of documentation, Theresa told her attorney that she did not want to return to the Philippines. Theresa was being represented by Attorney Geoff Lamoureux, an Associate Attorney with Reeves Immigration Law Group. Attorney Lamoureux informed Theresa that she could apply for adjustment of status, but that her application would only be granted if she could clearly demonstrate that she was legally admitted to the U.S. As mentioned above, this task was made more difficult by the lack of evidence since Theresa did not have documentation. These types of cases are often referred to as Quilantan entries, named after a person who was “waved in” to the U.S. and did not have documentation regarding their lawful entry.
Nevertheless, Attorney Lamoureux and Theresa got to work on preparing a strong application for adjustment of status. Perhaps the most crucial part of the application was sworn declarations from Theresa and others discussing Theresa’s journey to the U.S. and her interaction with immigration officers. Attorney Lamoureux also extensively prepared Theresa for her personal interview, as he knew that Theresa could be questioned over every statement she had made in her declaration.
We are now happy to say that Theresa’s application was approved, and she is a lawful permanent resident of the U.S. She intends to apply for U.S. citizenship as soon as she is eligible.
