Our client was held inadmissible under sub-section 212(a)(3)(B) of the INA; 8 U.S.C. §1182(a)(3)(B), for providing “material support,” in the sole form of medicines, to a foreign terrorist organization (“FTO”), specifically the New Peoples Army (“NPA”) of the Philippines.
USCIS had used the declaration she previously provided in support of her I-589 Asylum Application. Years ago, she was granted asylee status based upon her fear of persecution by either the paramilitary troops fighting the NPA, or by the NPA guerillas as she was caught in the middle of this conflict.
At the time she filed her I-485 adjustment application, USCIS denied her application on the basis that she was inadmissible under the material support clause. We filed a motion to reopen / reconsider based principally upon the Geneva Conventions, which hold that providing medicines, even to foreign combatants, is explicitly protected and she was only providing medicines to the affected civilian populations, (of which the government concluded it also collaterally aided the NPA).
Our motion languished for several years without any decision on the part of USCIS, until we submitted recently a status update request based upon the recent SCOTUS decision in Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project, which explicitly held that providing medicine did not fall within the criminal statute and was a protected activity. Therefore, we argued that it could not form a basis for inadmissiblity.
Yesterday, we received the notice from USCIS that they had reopened the application and had granted her adjustment of status. Big win, major win for our team.
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