asylum denied

Hi! I'm desperate because I went to the hearing at the immigration court and the judge decided that I couldn't demostrate my fear of future persecution, but I definite do fear come back to my country, so, I want to know if I marry a resident, will that avoid my deportation? If not, what would stop it. Is that true that the only way to stop my "proceedings of removal" is marrying a US citizen? Please, I'm desperate, advice me!

Thanks!!!

If you plan to marry after your asylum application was denied, immigration authorities will immediately suspect you of marriage fraud. The consequences are deportation from the US and denial for re-entry for life. In some cases, there are even $$ penalties and jail time.
In addition, if you were already put in removal proceedings the marriage-based AOS won't help.

Consult with experienced immigration lawyer who can review specifics of your case to see if there is a chance for appeal.

If the judge already made the decision on your asylum application, and you reserved the right to appeal, you can file an appeal with the Board of Immigration Appeals within the proper time frame and see if you can get a different outcome. If the BIA denies the case, you may have a chance to take the appeal to a federal court of appeals if there is a legal or constitutional issue that can be litigated. If you file a timely BIA appeal, the government won't effectuate the deportation while that is pending. If you go to the circuit court after the BIA, you have to ask for a stay of the deportation or else they could remove you even while the case is pending in federal court.

If you marry a U.S. citizen now that you are in removal proceedings, there is a presumption of fraud on the marriage. If the marriage is legitimate and you can show this, there may be an opportunity to try to have the case reopened so that you can adjust your status to that of a green card holder, but this is a tricky solution and one that needs to be handled by competent and experienced immigration counsel. Just the fact of a marriage to a U.S. citizen will not automatically stop anything. You can certainly still be deported and have lifetime consequences on your ability to return to the U.S. Marriage to a U.S. citizen cannot fix everything.

Be advised also that if you are thinking of marrying a U.S. citizen just to prevent a deportation or eventually obtain a green card, this is marriage fraud. If you are found to have committed marriage fraud, the U.S. citizen can be prosectued criminally and you will be barred from ever obtaining a green card again. You will also have a lifetime bar to admissibility once you are deported.

Isn't it true that the case load with immigration is so overwhelming that it's easy to fool immigration with a fradulent marriage? If immigration notifies you of every visit all you have to do is make sure your "temporiary spouse" is with you when the immigration officer comes for a visit. I know of some who have done so with no consequences. They even falsified a US birthcertificate to gain high income employment with no reprocussions, no check, no balances. I've been told it's like throwing a dark at a dart board. Some hit and some don't. I understand it's cheap to buy a temporary husband. The odds are in your favor. The courts are full and even if they do catch you the numbers are so high it's unlikely they will spend the money to prosecute you. If they try you can leave the country at that time. I live close to the border and I have friends in border patrol. More make it across than ever get caught. The Immigration business keeps "a lot" of people employed on this side of the border so if we keep pretending that it works and that there are borders then everyone can keep their job. The only one's who are hurt in with this kind of of a system is not the illegal immigrant who got the jobs, not the lawyers who got paid, not immigration employees who got their pay check but the people who applied for a job and didn't get hired because of an illegal immigrants who bought US credentials and the honest immigrant who is trying to get into this country legally.

What you're saying is used to be true before 9/11.
I also knew people who committed marriage fraud to obtain GC without any consequences. On the other hand, I know people who went to jail for it.
Nowadays, USCIS performs more background checks than ever before. The AOS interview can be a real challange to pass, especially if authorities suspect fraud.

Thank you for your comments. How will USCIS
investigate to make sure a marriage is legitimate? Anyone can have a joint bank account with a minimum amount deposited to show they have an account together. One spouse can give the other spouse money to make the payments to look like their living together. They can take pictures at Christmas, etc. to make a portfolio to fool USCIS. Are INS numbers for those applying for their green card or citizenship public record? Does an applicant who is married and applying for citizenship have an assigned INS officer handle their case? If an applicant lived in Texas for 4 years why would they put on a recent marriage license that they lived in Pennsylvania?

I am not an INS officer, however I am telling you that I know people who got caught with marriage fraud and went to jail for it. The portofolio alone won't convince USCIS anymore. Those days are gone. They can put you and your spouse through a lot of scrutiny at the AOS interview. For instance, I know that if there is a doubt that marriage is legitimate, they interview spouses in separate rooms (even videotape them), then compare the answers and analyze body language. They will ask you very specific questions which are impossible to answer unless you are truly living together.
USCIS is not as stupid as some people may think.

Estimated Jill Apa:

I've noticed that you mentioned the possible marriage with the US citizen, but whatabout the resident, what if I marry a US resident? Will it change anything on my Odissey?

What if I marry a resident? What if I marry a resident and he makes the petition for me? Would it be the same scenario as with the citizen or would it be worse?

It won't help either. Your application as a spouse of US perm.resident will be a subject to a long processing backlog (about 5 yrs). Throughout this waiting period you'll have maintan legal immigration status or leave the country.

The main issues that people are missing here is that the immigration officials will have to interview the couple on the I-130 petition. However, this person is in removal proceedings so the only one with jurisdiction to review and decide the I-485 application to adjust is the immigration judge. That is, of course, if you get past the I-130 interview. The judge then gets another crack at the legitimacy of the marriage and also can decline to grant the adjustment because he/she feels that the foreign national is not deserving. This happens when the person is perfectly eligible for adjustment under the statute, but the judge decides that he/she is going to deny "in discretion". Discretion is based on a whole host of issues, including the person's background, any criminal problems that they may have had regardless of whether a conviction occurred as a result, etc.

Now that there is a removal order filed against you, you can't just proceed as if you were a usual U.S. citizen/foreign national couple. You have severe procedural blocks that you have to face.

I don't think it's necessary to rehash what everyone else has said about marriage fraud and how seriously immigration takes this type of violation. Just be advised that I agree with the individual who said that immigration officers are not as dumb as people like to think. They will get you in separate rooms and ask very personal questions and very basic questions that can only be answered by people who really do live together on an every day basis, i.e., who got up first this morning? Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? What did you wife wear to bed last night? Draw a picture of your bedroom. Where did you go on your first date? What did you have for dinner last Christmas? There are so many questions that you can be faced with - a strange answer on just one can cause a finding of marriage fraud. Just because you have pictures and a couple of bank accounts together does not mean that immigration won't question your marriage. Besides the fact that there is a presumption of fraud now that you have been removed. That presumption is not easily overcome. Think hard before you start listening to people who know others who have tried it and didn't get into trouble. Everyone knows someone like that, but there are probably 100 people that got caught for every 1 that got away with it. You just don't hear about them because they don't live here anymore.

Tanya, please remember my first concern: That they denied the asylum in the immigration court. Now, by marrying an American resident, would I still be able to get that residence in 5 years. I was asking about marrying a resident or a US citizen at the beginning because my actual boyfriend has the resident status, but in the meanwhile he could get the citizenship. For now, as said, he is resident, so, I would like to know if it would help to avoid any deportation if I marry him right away...
Thanks !!

I really appreciate your help! But I still want to know if I marry an American resident, would it avoid my deportation? I mean it because my actual boyfriend is an American resident and I thought that maybe marrying him would help somehow in my odissey...
Thank U!

Cucha, from what country are you from?...that could be one reason for the decision. Some countries are not longer in civil wars or conflicts: Guatemala, El salvador and Kosovo.

nope, my country wasn't in civil war, but the reason I had to flea was political and I got threatened by groups related to the government. The same group is still in power and since its a "democratic" revolution is difficult to prove some things, plus I left the country many times before I decided not to come back, risking my life, but I could not leave my parents by themselves, since my brother, being in the military from before the start of this damn revolution has to play as if he is not against it. So, basicly, I'm in a very tight situation.