QUESTION
Father was legally in the US for over 30 years and wa deported for having less than 2 oz of marijuana at the us borders and he didn’t fight the case
Asked on Jan 07th, 2018 on Immigration - California
More details to this question:
My father is a mechanic and his father owned a shop in Juárez. When his father passed away, my father would go back for months at a time to visit his mother and help at the shop in Juarez. He would constantly work back and forth in El Paso because it’s very close and he had business both in El Paso and Juarez. He was in a client’s vehicle and was crossing in to el paso and police dogs found that there was less than 2 oz in the car and he was detained. He was held in jail in El Paso for 30 days awaiting court and then the case was continued for another 30 days. Out of foolish pride he allowed the court to deport him so he could get out of jail rather than wait to fight the deportation due to the marijuana charge. he wanted to attend to his ailing mother and the family mechanic business. My father has 6 daughters and 10 grand children here in the US and has missed out on about 18 yrs of family life. He has now also lost his mother and would like to be able to visit family at the least.
1 ANSWER
Immigration and Nationality Law Attorney serving New York, NY
Partner at
Alan Lee & Arthur Lee, Attorneys at Law
3 Awards
I assume that before your father was deported, he pleaded guilty to having less than 2 ounces of marijuana. Under the immigration laws, a waiver can be allowed for up to 30 g of marijuana possession for personal use. If the amount was 30 g or less, he may be able to be petitioned for permanent residence by one of the daughters if over 21 and a US citizen. As you say that he has already missed out on about 18 years of family life, I assume that the offense was committed over 15 years ago. He can obtain a waiver of such offense if the admission of your father would not be contrary to the national welfare, safety, or security of the United States, and he has been rehabilitated from the use of marijuana or other drugs. Another basis for waiver would be proving that one of his children would suffer extreme hardship if the qualifying child is a US citizen or permanent resident. If the amount was over 30 g, he might be able to apply for a visiting visa, in which case he would have to make the application, be denied, and the Consulate would have to recommend a waiver to the Admissibility Review Office of U.S.C.I.S., which would then make the decision taking into account the seriousness of the offense, its recency, potential harm to society if he is admitted, rehabilitation of your father, his reasons for coming to the United States, etc. Due to the limitations of the Lawyers.com Forums, Alan Lee, Esq.'s (the "Firm") participation in responding to questions posted herein does not constitute legal advice, nor legal representation of the person or entity posting a question. No Attorney/Client relationship is or shall be construed to be created hereby. The information provided herein by the Firm is general, and requires that the poster obtain specific legal advice from an attorney. The poster shall not rely upon the information provided herein as legal advice nor as the basis for making any decisions of legal consequence.
Answered on Jan 21st, 2018 at 5:30 PM