A U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident may file Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, to establish a qualifying family relationship with a foreign national. In marriage-based cases, approval of the I-130 is an important first step toward obtaining permanent resident status.
However, being legally married does not automatically mean that an I-130 petition will be approved. USCIS may examine the history and circumstances of the relationship and determine whether the marriage was entered into in good faith rather than primarily for immigration purposes.
Common Reasons an I-130 Spousal Petition May Be Denied
An I-130 petition may be denied for several reasons, including:
- insufficient evidence that the marriage is bona fide;
- significant inconsistencies between the spouses’ statements or documents;
- failure to adequately respond to a Request for Evidence (RFE) or Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID);
- insufficient documentation establishing the claimed family relationship;
- questions concerning prior marriages or whether previous marriages were legally terminated; or
- evidence that the beneficiary previously entered into, attempted to enter into, or conspired to enter into a marriage to evade U.S. immigration laws.
Evidence of a genuine marriage may include documents showing that the spouses have combined their lives, such as joint financial records, leases or property records, insurance policies, photographs, correspondence, evidence of children, travel records, and affidavits from individuals with personal knowledge of the relationship.
Common Reasons an I-130 Spousal Petition May Be Denied
An I-130 petition may be denied for several reasons, including:
- insufficient evidence that the marriage is bona fide;
- significant inconsistencies between the spouses’ statements or documents;
- failure to adequately respond to a Request for Evidence (RFE) or Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID);
- insufficient documentation establishing the claimed family relationship;
- questions concerning prior marriages or whether previous marriages were legally terminated; or
- evidence that the beneficiary previously entered into, attempted to enter into, or conspired to enter into a marriage to evade U.S. immigration laws.
Evidence of a genuine marriage may include documents showing that the spouses have combined their lives, such as joint financial records, leases or property records, insurance policies, photographs, correspondence, evidence of children, travel records, and affidavits from individuals with personal knowledge of the relationship.
Marriage Fraud and INA § 204(c)
One particularly serious issue is the marriage fraud bar under section 204(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Section 204(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) is a permanent, non-waivable federal bar that prohibits USCIS from approving any future immigrant visa petitions (such as family-based I-130 or employment-based petitions) for a non-citizen if there is substantial and probative evidence that they previously entered into, or attempted/conspired to enter into, a sham marriage solely to evade U.S. immigration laws.
This can have consequences far beyond the original marriage. A person may later enter into a completely genuine marriage with a U.S. citizen, but a prior marriage-fraud finding can still prevent approval of the new I-130 petition.
In Mestanek v. Jaddou, 93 F.4th 164 (4th Cir. 2024), the court demonstrates the seriousness of the marriage fraud bar. The Beneficiary’s first wife filed an I-130 petition; USCIS denied that petition after determining that the marriage was fraudulent.
Later, the Beneficiary subsequently married another U.S. citizen, and his second wife filed a new I-130 petition on his behalf. USCIS denied the second petition as well, not necessarily because their current marriage was fraudulent, but because USCIS determined that the beneficiary had previously entered into a fraudulent marriage. Under INA § 204(c), that prior finding prevented approval of the subsequent petition. They challenged the decision in federal court. Ultimately, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld USCIS’s decision and concluded that the denial was neither arbitrary nor contrary to law. The case demonstrates an important point: a genuine current marriage does not necessarily overcome a prior marriage-fraud determination.
A Denial for Lack of Evidence Is Not Necessarily a Finding of Marriage Fraud
It is also important to distinguish between USCIS concluding that a petitioner has failed to prove a bona fide marriage and USCIS making a finding that a marriage was actually entered into to evade immigration laws. These issues can have very different long-term consequences.
Contact YA Law Corporation
Marriage-based immigration cases can become significantly more complicated where there has been a previous I-130 denial, inconsistent interview answers, or a prior marriage.
Contact us to speak to our experienced Vancouver Immigration attorney at YA Law Corporation.