22 Jun I-130 Petition and I-485 Adjustment of Status Application for U.S. Citizen Sponsoring Spouse Approved Following Notice of Intent to Deny issued by the Philadelphia Immigration Office regarding the Validity of a Dominican Divorce Decree
Our client applied for a green card based upon a marriage to a United States Citizen. He was previously divorced in the Dominican Republic and even though his Dominican Divorce Decree was valid, the Philadelphia Immigration Office issued a Notice of Intent to Deny the I-130 Petition requiring proof of the validity of his divorce decree because he had been in the United States at the time of the divorce. The Philadelphia Immigration Office also requested U.S. Embassy authentication of the Dominican Divorce Decree which was a legally inappropriate request under the terms of the 1961 Hague Convention. In response to the Notice of Intent to Deny, we submitted the record of the Dominican Divorce Court proceedings showing that all of the legal requirements for a divorce in the Dominican Republic were met and a letter from the Court stating that the divorce was valid under Dominican Law. We also pointed out the legal insufficiency of the request that the Dominican Divorce Decree be authenticated by the U.S. Embassy in Santo Domingo. Following our response to the Notice of Intent to Deny the I-130 Petition was approved and our client was granted United States Permanent Resident status.