E-089256
Decided by the Board August 13, 1953
Suspension of deportation — Section 244(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act — Exceptional and extremely unusual hardship.
"Exceptional and extremely unusual hardship" would result to an alien within the meaning of section 244 (a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act because of inability to obtain a visa (being excludable under section 212 (a) (19) of that act), long residence in the United States and long absence from her native country, even though the alien is in good health, able to travel, and is from a country with an open quota.
CHARGE:
Warrant: Immigration and Nationality Act — Excludable at entry — Visa procured through fraud or misrepresentation — Act of 1924.
BEFORE THE BOARD
Discussion as to Deportability: Respondent is 54 years old, single, female, a native and citizen of Eire whose only entry into the United States was on August 2, 1928 at Boston, Mass. Respondent entered the United States under an assumed name. She has admitted that she obtained her visa by posing as M---- H----, a sister. Respondent is deportable on the charge stated in the warrant of arrest.
Discussion as to Eligibility for Suspension of Deportation:
Respondent applied for the privilege of suspension of deportation under section 244 (a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952. Under that section of the law the alien must demonstrate that his deportation would result in "exceptional and extremely unusual hardship," either to himself, or to a spouse, parent or child who is a citizen or a lawfully resident alien. The special inquiry officer denied suspension of deportation under this section to this respondent only because he believed that the facts of the case did not establish that her deportation would result in exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to herself. Respondent applied for suspension within the statutory period.
She has been a person of good moral character. She has no criminal or arrest record and has had no connection with any subversive group. Respondent has lived in the United States continuously for nearly 25 years. During nearly all of this period she has been employed as a domestic. Recently she has been taking a rest and has been living with a sister. There is no one in the United States dependent upon her for support. She testifies that she has five sisters in Ireland all of whom are married. Her mother and father are dead. Respondent states that she has been frugal and has saved $10,000. She requests that if not eligible for relief she not be deported but that she be permitted to defray the costs of her departure from the United States.
Respondent is in good health and is able to travel. She is from a country with an open quota. Normally we have not found exceptional hardship to exist in any case where the alien came from a country with an open quota, unless the applicant was old or in bad health so as to make a trip a hazardous undertaking, or in such precarious financial circumstances as to make the trip impractical. However this case is different because, in spite of the fact the quota for Eire is open, respondent would be unable to obtain the issuance of an immigration visa. She would be ineligible to receive a visa because of a provision in the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, as follows:
SEC. 212 (a) Except as otherwise provided in this act, the following classes of aliens shall be ineligible to receive visas and shall be excluded from admission into the United States:
(19) Any alien who seeks to procure, or has sought to procure, or has procured a visa or other documentation, or seeks to enter the United States, by fraud, or by wilfully misrepresenting a material fact;
This provision renders respondent ineligible to receive an immigration visa, because admittedly she did procure a visa in the year 1929 by wilfully misrepresenting a material fact, that is, her name and identity. As the special inquiry officer has set forth, in the year 1928 respondent had 5 sisters in Ireland and 1 in the United States. The one in the United States sent to Ireland a steamship passage in the name of M---- H----, a sister of respondent. In the meantime, M---- had married, and she did not desire to emigrate to the United States. It was decided that respondent should come in her place. Rather than return the steamship passage and have it transferred to her name, she decided to come as "M---- H----," believing that would be the easiest way to do it. She secured a Dublin police clearance paper in M----'s name. She presented M----'s birth certificate, and secured a quota visa issued in M----'s name. She admits that she had deliberately hid her true identity from the American consul at Dublin and said, "I thought it would make no difference; I thought there was no harm in it." She had never attempted to obtain a visa in her own name to come to the United States. There was no other reason for her actions, except that she wanted to use the steamship ticket that had been issued in the name of M----.
We cannot conceive of a less vicious misrepresentation, or one less inspired by criminal intent. However, we have held repeatedly that name and identity are always material and that to enter the United States under an assumed name always constitutes material misrepresentation, unless the alien has used that name long enough so that to use it does not cut off investigation into his past. An alien must reveal to the consul his true name and identity in order that the proper investigations may be made.
Since respondent could not obtain a new visa to reenter the United States in the event that she were to go abroad, her situation becomes immediately the same as that of the aliens who come from countries with oversubscribed quotas, or from Iron Curtain countries so that they cannot return to their native lands to obtain visas. Because of her long residence in the United States, her long absence from her native country, because she has a home in this country and would have none in Ireland, because she would be unable to return to the United States in the event that she were required to leave, and because of her otherwise good record, we believe that deportation of the alien would result in exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to her. It is our finding that she should be granted suspension of deportation under section 244 (a) (1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952.
Order: It is ordered that the order of the special inquiry officer of April 6, 1953, be withdrawn.
It is further ordered that the deportation of the alien be suspended under the provisions of section 244 (a) (1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
It is further ordered that if the Congress takes no action adverse to the order granting suspension of deportation, the proceedings be canceled, and the alien, if a quota immigrant at the time of entry not then charged to the appropriate quota, be so charged as provided by law.
It is further ordered that in the event Congress takes action adverse to the order granting suspension of deportation, the alien shall be granted the privilege of voluntary departure at her own expense in lieu of deportation, and if the alien, after notification, fails to depart when and as required, the privilege of voluntary departure be withdrawn without further notice or proceedings, and the alien shall be deported from the United States in the manner provided by law on the charge stated in the warrant of arrest.