Adulteress deported

by Atty. Emmanuel Samonte Tipon 

There remain a few countries in the world (like the Philippines) living in the shadow of the Old Testament which still make adultery a crime.  Most, if not all, of the states no longer make adultery a crime. Adultery is not specified as a ground for deportation. Nevertheless, many immigration adjudicators still regard adultery as evil and will find ways to deport aliens or deny benefits to aliens who indulge in it without specifying it as the ground for deportation.

Take the case of Beltsy, decided last week by the Court of Appeals, First Circuit, involving an alien, who married Lemuel, a U.S. citizen. He filed a visa petition for her which was approved. She filed an application for adjustment of status which was likewise approved. She was given a 2-year conditional resident status. Before the 2 year period expired, she filed a petition to remove the condition of her residency and requested waiver of the requirement that her husband co-sign the petition because they had begun divorce proceedings. The petition was denied. She filed a second petition which was also denied because her divorce had not been finalized. She filed a third petition claiming that her marriage was in good faith but that she and her husband had separated. She claimed that her husband had confessed to her that he was attracted to other men. Ala ngarud.

During the interview, she admitted having given birth to a child while the couple was still married but that her husband was not the child’s father. While the petition was pending she remarried. DHS denied her petition to remove conditions on her residency because of lack of convincing documentary evidence that the first marriage was bona fide, i.e. that it was not entered into for the sole purpose of procuring her admission as an immigrant. DHS placed her in removal proceedings because her conditional resident status had been terminated and she had no continuing authorization to remain in the U.S. 8 USC § 1227(a)(1)(D)(i). Before the I.J., Beltsy pursued her petition for removal of the conditions on her residency under 8 USC § 1186a(b)(2) and also filed an application for cancellation of removal under 8 USC § 1229b(b)(1). While her removal proceedings were pending, her second husband filed a visa petition on her behalf.

The IJ found Beltsy removable as charged and denied her request for relief. The IJ noted several discrepancies in her testimony before the DHS and the court regarding her employment and residence history and that there were no contemporaneous documents regarding her cohabitation. The IJ concluded that she had not met the burden of establishing that her first marriage was entered into in good faith. The IJ also denied Beltsy’s application for cancellation of removal because she gave false information to immigration authorities and to the immigration court, and therefore could not establish good moral character under 8 USC § 1101(f) (6) for purposes of cancellation of removal.  The BIA affirmed. The Court of Appeals likewise affirmed, finding that substantial evidence supported the BIA’s decision. The court noted the birth of a child to Beltsy prior to her divorce from her first husband, but emphasized that it was “undisputed that the child was not born ‘to the marriage’”. Reynoso v. Holder, No. 11-2136, 03/26/13, CA1.

OBSERVATION:  A Filipina was petitioned by her husband. At the time of her interview, she was carrying a baby. The consul asked when the baby was born. She gave a date. The consul asked when was the last time that her husband visited her. She gave a date which was more than one year before the baby was born. The consul asked if the baby was her husband’s child. She said yes. The consul said she was lying because the husband could not have fathered the child if they had not seen each other for more than one year prior to the baby’s birth. The consul denied her a visa on the ground that she did not have a good faith marriage.


(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.)