Immigration | My birth certificate was tampered with

Dear Mrs Walker-Huntington

I was taken out of the country as a child of seven on someone else’s document. My adoptive mother tampered with my birth certificate, and the embassy found out, but I’m paying for that mistake that they made. Is it possible that I could explain the situation to them and get another chance at obtaining a visitor’s visa?

S.R.

Dear S.R.:

I am sorry that you are paying the price for what the adults in your life did when you were a child. Unfortunately, there are family members who believe that they are helping children to have a better life, and they falsify documents or secure fraudulent documents to permit children to travel to America or, in some cases, to live in America.

It is often when those children become adults that they discover that they were actually victims in situations over which they had no knowledge or control. Many adults in America believe that they are American citizens because they have no memory of their home countries only to discover that they are sometimes not even legally in the United States. Other family members present false documents to the US Embassy to secure non-immigrant visas for children, and the fraud is discovered and remains permanently in the child’s file.

There are people who genuinely do not know the immigration process and make mistakes that amount to fraud. However, there are also people in the community who dishonestly claim to have all the answers about how to obtain a visa or help someone live in the United States when there is no legal pathway to doing so. Always be wary of such persons.

A person under age 18 is considered a child for immigration purposes. The immigration statute may not specifically excuse a child from committing fraud, but immigration fraud has certain elements that must be present before a finding of fraud can be established. Key among those elements is intent. A child of seven cannot form the intent to commit immigration fraud and is acting under the direction of the adults in their life.

While a fraud finding remains on a person’s file forever, a waiver can eliminate the consequences of the fraud and permit the applicant to travel to the United States. A non-immigrant waiver would be required for a visitor’s visa, and anyone can apply for such a waiver. Keep in mind, however, that a non-immigrant visa is a discretionary privilege, and even without a history of fraud on a person’s file, the visa can be denied.

If a person is immigrating and has a history of immigration fraud, they must have a qualifying relative to whom hardship can be imputed before a waiver can even be considered.

You should contact an attorney in Jamaica to assist you with correcting your records at the Registrar General’s Department and with the Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency to ensure that your records are updated and accurate.

Dahlia A. Walker-Huntington, Esq., is a Jamaican-American attorney who practises immigration law in the United States and family, criminal, and international law in Florida. She is a mediator and former special magistrate and hearing officer in Broward County, Florida. Email: info@walkerhuntington.com.