Alcoholism: A Ground For Denial of Green Card

[ad_1]

Are you making use of for an immigrant visa with a U.S. Consul, or adjustment of standing to lawful everlasting resident with america Citizenship and Immigration Providers (USCIS) or earlier than the Immigration Choose?

With a view to be admitted as an immigrant, you need to set up that you just wouldn’t have any health-related floor for inadmissibility.

Below Part 212(a)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, in relation to the laws of the Secretary of Well being and Human Providers (HHS), an alien decided to have a psychological dysfunction related conduct which will pose, or has posed, a menace to the property, security, or welfare of the alien or others, is inadmissible.

And below interpretations prescribed by the Secretary of HHS, alcohol abuse/dependence leading to alcohol-impaired driving might function a foundation for a dedication that an alien has a psychological dysfunction related dangerous conduct, which in flip could also be a foundation for a discovering of inadmissibility below Part 212(a)(1)(A)(iii) of the Act.

USCIS Memorandum To Administrators:

William R. Yates, Affiliate Director for Operations of the USCIS, issued on January 16, 2004 the Memorandum, on Requesting Medical Re-examination: Aliens Concerned in Vital Alcohol-Associated Driving Incidents and Comparable Situations. It was directed to Regional Administrators, Service Middle Administrators and District Administrators.

The aforesaid Memorandum supplies coverage steering for figuring out inadmissibility below the health-related grounds of Part 212(a)(1) of the Act, in circumstances the place an applicant for immigration profit has a major report of alcohol-related driving incidents.

It reiterates the authority of the USCIS area workplaces to require that sure candidates for immigration advantages with a historical past of alcohol-related driving incidents be re-examined by a civil surgeon to make sure that they aren’t inadmissible on health-related grounds.

It cites knowledge offered by the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention (CDC) that alcohol-impaired driving has resulted in over 17,000 deaths yearly, over 500,000 accidents, and over $51 billion in property damages.

Felony Historical past For Alcohol-related Driving:

In the midst of adjudicating immigration profit purposes, USCIS officers require or encounter felony data from the FBI or State Division of Justice that point out arrests and/or convictions for alcohol-related driving incidents, similar to driving below the affect (DUI), punishable below Part 23152 of the California Automobile Code.

In response to the aforesaid Memorandum, the felony histories might or might not rise to the extent of a felony floor for inadmissibility below part 212(a)(2) of the Act. Certainly, driving drunk isn’t a criminal offense involving ethical turpitude, below part 212(a)(2)(i)(I) of the Act.

However the identical Memorandum states {that a} report of felony arrests and/or convictions for alcohol-related driving incidents might represent prima facie proof of health-related inadmissibility below part 212(a)(1)(A)(iii) of the Act, as a bodily or psychological dysfunction with related dangerous conduct.

The dedication {that a} health-related floor of inadmissibility exists is made by the USCIS adjudication officer, primarily based on the findings of a civil surgeon (licensed doctor) who performed the medical examination of the alien.

Examinations performed by civil surgeons are ruled by the Technical Directions for the Medical Examinations of Aliens in america, printed by the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention (CDC).

Queries by the civil surgeon embody:

(1) ascertainment of the psychological standing of the alien;

(2) detection of the presence of any psychological dysfunction; and

(3) use of alcohol and different psychoactive substances.

If a civil surgeon makes the prognosis of alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence, (every of which is a medically classifiable psychological dysfunction), and there may be proof of dangerous conduct related to the dysfunction (similar to driving below the affect), a Class A medical situation shall be licensed by the inspecting civil surgeon on the Report of Medical Examination of Alien in search of Adjustment of Standing, Type I-693.

And on the idea of such Class A situation licensed on the Type I-693 medical report, the USCIS officer shall make a dedication that the alien is inadmissible, and due to this fact, ineligible for adjustment of standing to lawful everlasting resident.

Medical Re-examination Process:

If the civil surgeon’s Type I-693 medical report doesn’t state any alcohol-related driving incident, as a result of the alien didn’t report it; and subsequently, a felony report printout from a finger print verify reveals a major historical past of alcohol-related driving arrests, the USCIS officer shall require the alien applicant to be re-examined.

The medical re-examination shall be restricted to a psychological standing analysis, particularly contemplating the report of alcohol-related driving incidents.

The civil surgeon might in flip refer the alien applicant to a psychiatrist or a specialist in substance-abuse problems for additional analysis, as offered for below the CDC’s Technical Directions.

If the designated civil surgeon determines {that a} Class A medical situation (alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence as psychological dysfunction) exists, he/she shall amend the Type I-693 medical report accordingly. And the USCIS officer shall decide that the alien is inadmissible.

The inadmissible alien might, nonetheless, file an utility for waiver of inadmissibility because of a health-related floor on Type I-601 below Part 212(g)(3) of the Act, which authorizes the USCIS to put phrases, circumstances and controls, together with giving a bond, on the waiver, to permit adjustment of standing to lawful everlasting resident.

Guideline For Medical Re-examination:

The aforesaid Memorandum stresses that “solely candidates with a major felony report of alcohol-related driving incidents that weren’t thought of by the civil surgeon in the course of the authentic medical examination ought to be referred for re-examination”.

And as a coverage steering, a major felony report of alcohol-related driving incidents contains:

1) a number of arrests or convictions for alcohol-related driving (Driving below the Affect/Driving whereas Intoxicated) whereas the driving force’s license was suspended, revoked or restricted on the time of the incident(s);

2) a number of arrests or convictions for alcohol-related driving, the place private harm or dying resulted from the incident(s);

3) a number of conviction for alcohol-related driving, the place the conviction was a felony within the jurisdiction the place the incident occurred, or the place a sentence of incarceration was truly imposed;

4) two or extra arrests or convictions for alcohol-related driving, inside the previous two years; or

5) three or extra arrests or convictions for alcohol-related driving, the place one arrest or conviction occurred inside the previous two years.

The ethical of this text is: Do not drink and drive!

[ad_2]

Source by Roman Mosqueda, S. J.D.