Immigration Corner | Will document fraud prevent me from migrating?

Dear Mrs Walker-Huntington,

I was charged for presenting fraudulent documents at the American Embassy in Jamaica in 2014. My criminal record has been expunged.

Currently, my babymother and child have migrated to America. How will this affect my chance of visiting or living in America with my family when we do get married?

– GA

Dear GA,

Although your fraud charge was over 10 years ago, it will still prevent the issuance of any form of US visa unless you are granted a waiver. You will have two grounds of inadmissibility to the United States: the criminal conviction and immigration fraud. The passage of time does not cure the inadmissibility, and expunging your criminal record does not remove it for immigration purposes.

You can apply for a non-immigrant waiver if you are seeking to visit, but you will have to demonstrate that you are not a danger to the United States and that you have significant ties to Jamaica that you will return after a brief visit.

Once you are married, you will have a better chance of qualifying for an immigrant waiver to join your family in America. Your wife as a qualifying relative will be required to prove that she is experiencing extreme hardship in America that will only go away if you migrate and why she cannot return to live in Jamaica.

Your situation is a stark reminder to people who are considering or are being persuaded to use fraudulent documents to seek a US visa. Not only is it against the law, but it has life-altering, permanent, negative consequences. If you apply for a visitor’s visa and you are denied, keep trying, but please do not use fraudulent documents or falsely answer the questions on the visa application.

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 mediator and former special magistrate and hearing officer in Broward County, Florida. info@walkerhuntington.com