Hail Mary Pass, Football, and Immigration

by Atty. Emmanuel Samonte Tipon

My two favorite teams are playing this Sunday in the NFL Super Bowl: the NFC’s San Francisco 49ers and the AFC’s Baltimore Ravens. My son, Noel, is for the 49ers having lived and studied law in San Francisco. My daughter, Patricia, is for the Ravens, since she lives and works as a lawyer in Baltimore. I am neutral.

Would football aficionados travel to another island to meet with clients on a Sunday even though two championship games are going to be shown that day?  “Clients first before football,” I told my colleague Atty. James A. Stanton, and we took the first flight to Maui on 01/20/13. We met our clients early, enabling us to see the 49ers win while having lunch at Lulu’s in Lahaina and see the Ravens win while enjoying pizza and Bikini Blonde Lager at Charley’s on the road to Hana.

WHAT IS A HAIL MARY PASS?

We did not see any “Hail Mary passes” in the two games. Neither were there any “Hail Mary Passes” in the high scoring Pro Bowl in Hawaii Sunday –AFC 35, NFC 62. In football, the term "Hail Mary pass" refers to a last-minute (sometimes less than a minute) effort by a player to throw the ball to a receiver with little chance of success. The term became popular when Dallas Cowboys player Roger Staubach threw the ball from about midfield to Preston Pearson with 34 seconds left to play. Pearson caught the ball for a touchdown. Before that, the Cowboys were trailing the Vikings 10-14. With the extra point, the Cowboys won 17-14. Asked to comment after the game, Staubach said he did not see the touchdown as he was tackled after throwing the ball, and “I closed my eyes and said a Hail Mary.”

In basketball when a player throws the ball so far away from the basket, like from mid-court, with a slim chance of dropping it into the basket, it is called a "Hail Mary shot" or "Hail Mary throw". Wikipedia.

The last time I said a Hail Mary was during an earthquake in Magsingal, Ilocos Sur when my grandmother asked me to join her. The Hail Mary was in Ilocano. The earthquake ended without causing damage, thus strengthening my belief that God is an Ilocano. There are many Hail Mary passes in life. But not every Hail Mary pass ends successfully.

IMMIGRATION HAIL MARY PASSES

Hail Mary passes have been attempted in immigration but they did not succeed. Here are some examples:

A Filipina was petitioned by an LPR parent as single although she was married. She was admitted to the U.S. When the fraud was discovered, she was placed in deportation proceedings. Her lawyer’s Hail Mary pass was advising her to go back to the Philippines and have her marriage annulled. She returned to the U.S. and told the IJ: I am now single. Here is my annulment decree. Hence I was never married because annulment is retroactive. The IJ and the Board of Immigration Appeals rejected her argument saying that (1) the relation back theory cannot be used to perpetuate fraud and (2) it was her status at the time of entry that determined her admissibility. Query: Why did not the lawyer ask for a fraud waiver?

An alien husband and wife overstayed their tourist visa. They hired a lawyer to legalize their status. The lawyer’s Hail Mary pass was to ask immigration authorities to place them in deportation proceedings, whereupon he would ask for suspension of deportation. They were placed in proceedings but when he asked for suspension the IJ told the lawyer that the statute under which he was seeking relief had been repealed and ordered the couple deported.  Query: Why did not the lawyer research the law before embarking on his foolish strategy?

A Filipina was petitioned by a USC as his fiancée. Upon arrival in Hawaii, she was shocked to learn that her fiancé was killed the day before. Her lawyer’s Hail Mary pass was to have her marry a U.S. citizen and then apply for adjustment of status. Immigration denied her application saying she had no status to adjust because when she entered the U.S. she no longer had the status of a fiancée as her petitioner was dead. She was deported.  Query: Why did not the lawyer tell her to go back to Ilocos Norte and let the U.S. citizen petition for her as a fiancée or have her go home with the USC and get married there and then have the USC petition for her as his wife? Footnote: I met the Filipina’s daughter a few years ago. She was planning to petition her mother.


(Atty. Tipon has a Master of Laws degree from Yale Law School and a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of the Philippines. He specializes in immigration law and criminal defense. Office: 800 Bethel St., Suite 402, Honolulu, HI 96813. Tel. (808) 225-2645. E-Mail: filamlaw@yahoo.com. Websites:  www.MilitaryandCriminalLaw.com; www.ImmigrationServicesUSA.com. He is from Laoag City and Magsingal, Ilocos Sur. He served as an Immigration Officer. He is co-author of “Immigration Law Service, 1st ed.,” an 8-volume practice guide for immigration officers and lawyers. Listen to the most funny, interesting, and useful radio program in Hawaii on KNDI at 1270, AM dial every Thursday at 7:30 a.m., rebroadcast at www.iluko.com. This article is a general overview of the subject matter discussed and is not intended as legal advice. No warranty is made by the writer or publisher as to its completeness or correctness at the time of publication. No attorney-client relationship is established between the writer and readers relying upon and/or acting pursuant to the contents of this article.)