District Court affirms denial of I-130 petition

Adi v. U.S., 2011 WL 9613 (N.D. Ohio Jan. 3, 2011).

This is a complicated marriage fraud case.  The USCIS denied the I-130 petition filed by his current wife based on an allegedly fraudulent marriage in 1980.  That earlier marriage resulted in the alien's attainment of permanent resident status, a status that he abandoned in 1988 by moving to Brazil with his third and current wife.  In 1990, the first USC wife prepared an Affidavit with the help of the INS stating that the marriage was a sham.  Two years later, the alien was admitted as a B1 visitor.

The current USC wife began filing I-130 petitions for him.  The first was denied under 204(c).  The second was approved and then revoked under 204(c), which the BIA affirmed.  The third was denied and the BIA denied the appeal.  With the third petition, they included an affidavit from the first wife recanting the marriage fraud allegations.  In the meantime, the alien was ordered removed and those proceedings are pending before the Sixth Circuit (09-4041).

As an initial matter, the court affirmed its jurisdiction over I-130 denials.  Bangura v. Hansen, 434 F.3d 487 (6th Cir. 2006).

On the merits, the court affirmed the denial.  The court rejected the procedural due process and APA claims based on the USCIS's failure to reinterview the first wife, provide a transcript of an I-130 interview, or provide a copy of the record of proceedings.  Applying a deferential standard of review, the court agreed with the USCIS's marriage fraud determination.