An administrative law panel has created a rare bit of good news in the grim area of illegal aliens seeking green cards on the grounds that their spouses have abused them — one of the least rational ways to obtain a green card.
All too often, the alien enters the marriage with the thought that if she (or he, sometimes) could allege abuse, Homeland Security would not listen to the citizen or green card holder's side of the argument, and would grant legal status to the conniving alien, as we have reported all too frequently in the past.
Today's news is that this maneuver can be arranged only if the abusing spouse is a citizen or a green card holder at the time of the abuse. This will, to a minor extent, reduce the number of "self-petitioning" immediate relative admissions; there is no numerical ceiling on the acceptance of immediate relatives of citizens so several thousand of these "victims" are admitted each year. A "self-petitioning" spouse of a green card holder can also secure a green card, though somewhat less quickly.
In the instant case, an illegal alien, identified as L L P, sought admission on the grounds that his wife, who later secured a green card, had abused him. A panel of judges on the Board of Immigration Appeals (an in-house court within the U.S. Department of Justice) ruled against the alien on the grounds cited, and the story was reported by Law360.
The immigration law is too full of provisions for the admission of aliens on the grounds that they are victims of some kind or another. While it makes perfect sense to admit our one-time allies in a losing cause against despotism — such as the Afghan and Iraqi interpreters — it is not good public policy to admit an individual simply because of a troubled marriage. Now, those marriages are defined a little less broadly.