Sponsoring a Legal Immigrant by Signing an Affidavit of Support, USCIS Form I-864, Could Leave You Vulnerable to Support the Immigrant Indefinitely

Great story out of Texas as reported by Bret Crandall of valleycentral.com. A Lawful Permanent Resident ("LPR" or "Green Card" Holder) sued her former husband for spousal support. The former husband was the person who signed the USCIS Form I-864 Affidavit of Support agreeing under a binding contract with the U.S. government that he would support his intending immigrant.

Here Is the Story

Steve Summers is being sued in federal court by his ex-wife Evangelina Zapata de Summers.

After six years of marriage they divorced in 2009.

Now, she is taking her ex back to court for breaking his contract with her and the U.S. government.

Since the mid-90's the law has required U.S. citizens like Summers to sign the I-864 affidavit to bring a non-U.S. citizen, like a spouse, into the country.

To ensure immigrants do not become a burden on social welfare programs, the sponsor must sign the document in which they essentially agree to support the immigrant at 125 percent of the federal poverty level if they have no income. But if the two parties divorce --- the affidavit of support still stands.

“A U.S. citizen can really get screwed under these circumstances," Summers said.

Zapata is suing to obtain alimony for the rest of her life.

Summers' attorney Marcus Barrera tells Action 4 even though they are divorced, and she's lived in the U.S. for about a decade, he may still have to pay up.

"The problem is these permanent residents come back and sue their sponsors and they sit at home and do nothing and the law makes it pretty clear that you have to support them at 125 percent of poverty,” Barrera said. “There is no mechanism built into this situation that forces the person to get a job as a permanent resident and become a citizen or you will be deported."

According to Summers, his wife can work, but she doesn't.

The only way to nullify the I-864 affidavit is if the immigrant becomes a U.S. citizen, works for 10 years, fails to keep permanent residency status or dies.

Even though Zapata has remarried and divorced, the contract remains.

"There is no incentive for them to become a U.S. citizen, no incentive to work. There is nothing where I can get out of that contract,” Summers said.

"So they stay here in limbo and basically become a parasite to the original person that signs the affidavit of support,” Barrera said.

Summers says he is doing all he can to bring attention to this part of immigration reform that is rarely spoken about and often misunderstood by lawmakers and attorneys.

"I had a very hard time finding an attorney. I went to attorneys who specialize in immigration and I was told this was a figment of my imagination -- 'you don't have anything to worry, Steve' -- only to find out that it has started to happen,” Summers said.

“The law is fairly ambiguous and I think there is some clarification that could be made,” Summers said.

"Any immigration bill should have something in there that forces a permanent resident, if they aren't going to work to become a permanent, productive member of U.S society they need to be deported back to where they came from or the rest of the U.S. citizens, including the sponsor, will have to continue supporting them and we just can't continue that,” Barrera said.

Los Angeles-area man admits operating websites that sold nearly $2 million worth of false identity documents

Two days ago, Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced they had successfully completed an investigation and prosecution of a Los Angeles-area man who admitted operating two websites that sold counterfeit IDs pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to transferring false identification document. This announcement followed a joint task force probe conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the HSI-led multi-agency Document and Benefit Fraud Task Force. This case was prosecuted by the Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property Section.

Ramin Bibian, 47, or Tarzana, admitted that, from approximately November 2005 to approximately August 2012, he operated two websites that sold false identification documents, specifically state driver's licenses, identification cards and international driver's licenses.

Through www.newidcards.com, Bibian offered state driver's licenses and identification cards for prices ranging from $135 to more than $250. For an additional fee, customers could add special features to their identification cards, such as holograms, magnetic encoded strips and high definition printing similar to that used by state agencies. Although he advertised his products as novelty items, Bibian admitted he was well aware the identification cards were similar to legitimately-issued state identification and that his customers intended to use them as substitutes for such.

In addition, Bibian sold invalid international driver's licenses on another website he operated – www.idriverlicense.com. An international driver's permit provides an official translated copy of an individual's home country driver's license for use abroad. The U.S. government has authorized only two entities, the American Automobile Association and the National Automobile Club, to issue such permits. Bibian admitted using false names, including Ray Fray, Arya Jahan and Tova Godsi, in connection with the offense. He also agreed to forfeit $1.9 million to the federal government, which represents the proceeds from the sale of the false identification documents.

Bibian was indicted by a federal grand jury Aug. 16. He was charged with three counts of transferring false identification documents. Under the plea agreement, Bibian pleaded guilty to one of those counts.

Bibian has been in custody since his arrest Aug. 28. His sentencing is scheduled for March 19, 2013, before District Judge Richard Seeborg in San Francisco. He faces a maximum statutory penalty of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Origin of the Term "Immigrant" In American Public Discourse

After the recent presidential election, the question of immigration reform has become one of the top issues that seems to have any likelihood of achieving legislative success. I personally hope there is some consensus reached between the parties that can achieve a favorable outcome.

This discussion however, started me thinking about how these terms originated, such as "immigrant." It seems that at the time of the founding of the United States, the more common words to describe recent entrants were words such as "alien," "foreigner," and "newcomer."

The Oxford English Dictionary reports that the pioneering American historian Jeremy Belknap was one of the first to use "immigrant" and its cognates in print. In his History of New Hampshire (1792), vol. 3, preface, 6, Belknap wrote, "There is another deviation from the strict letter of the English which is found extremely convenient in our discourses on population . . . The verb immigrate and the nouns immigrant and immigration are used without scruple in some parts of this volume."

The used of "immigrant" appears to have become frequent only after the heavy transatlantic movements of people to North America. After the onset of mass immigration to the United States, which began in the 1840s, the term became routine.

New Report Released by Pew Foundation Cites Net Zero Migration from Mexico

According to a just released report from the Pew Foundation Hispanic Center, the net migration from Mexico has fallen to zero, meaning the largest immigration boom in the history of the United States may have just ended.

The Mexican migration has been one of the largest in the nation’s history. About 12 million Mexicans have crossed the border, more than half illegally. That flow not only stopped but may have actually have begun to reverse, an equally historic shift. The report found that from 2005 to 2010, “about 1.4 million Mexicans immigrated to the United States and about 1.4 million Mexican immigrants and their U.S.-born children moved from the United States to Mexico.” The drop is the first of any significance in more than two decades. There are 40 million immigrants in the U.S. today. Mexicans account for 58 percent of the illegal population and 30 percent of all U.S. immigrants. China is the next largest country of origin, but accounts for only 5 percent of the total number of immigrants.

2012 Pew Hispanic Center Report