Mother and Son Reunited Through I-130

• Ms. Taing, a legal resident, petitioned for a Permanent Residency for her son.
• The immigration officer asked for “Request of Evidence” to prove the biological relationship between the petitioner and beneficiary.
• The immigration officer questioned why the birth of the beneficiary was not registered promptly.
• The DNA Test was not provided to the USCIS.
• Needed to explain why the beneficiary did not accompany the mother as a derivative child.
• Needed to respond by April 21, 2019, to avoid the case being denied, which was a short period for all the work that needed to be done.

BACKGROUND

Death is an inevitable thing that happens in our life. It is hard enough knowing that the person you have known is no longer on this earth, but not having your close family to comfort you makes grieving even harder, and this was the case for Ms. Taing’s son. Ms. Taing had been separated from her son ever since she had remarried and resided in the United States. Although Ms. Taing was miles from her son who was in Cambodia, her two sisters were watching over him. Unfortunately, one of her sisters passed away in April of 2016, and two years later her other sister had passed away. This was not only heartbreaking losing her sisters but knowing that her son was grieving alone broke her heart more. Knowing that her son and ex-husband do not have a close relationship concerned her deeply and felt that it was in her son’s best interest that he come and live with her.

During this hard time, she needed a law firm she could trust would do everything in their power to help reunite her and her son. Ms. Taing came to Tsang and Associates hoping to find an attorney who could help her get a Permanent Residency for her son. We felt this case was one that needed immediate assistance, as it involved a grieving sister and a son, who needed each other more than ever, but unfortunately were thousands of miles apart during a most difficult time. Our legal team understood Ms. Sindy Taing’s pain and the dire situation she and her son were faced with and offered our legal services; despite the challenges and the time, it would take to win this case.

KEYS TO SUCCESS

The keys to success in this heartbreaking case involved the hard work of a confident legal team who understood the provisions of immigration law right down to the smallest of details, and Tsang and Associates proved to be that team. On January 24, 2019, our law firm received a letter from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services reviewing officer and requested that our legal team provide additional information and evidence on the beneficiary’s birth to establish the claimed biological relationship with the petitioner, needed the petitioner to explain why the birth of the beneficiary was not timely registered and to include an explanation as to why the beneficiary did not accompany his mother as a derivative child, considering that Ms. Taing obtained her Legal Permanent Residency status from her spouse of U.S. Citizenship, which allows for derivative visas for children who are under the age of twenty-one and unmarried.

Our legal team was pressed for time as we needed to respond to the USCIS by April 21, 2019, to avoid the case from being denied. In our efforts to meet this crucial deadline, we submitted all the “Request for Evidence” information that was asked of us, which included an affidavit from Ms. Taing. In the affidavit, she testified that she had provided many documents, which included a copy of her son’s original birth certificate showing that it was registered in a timely manner, and also explained that the only reason she has a second birth certificate was due to a government law change in Cambodia. To prove that our client was telling the truth, we submitted a copy of the Governmental Notice on the Amendment of Article 8 and 59 dated December 29, 2000.

Our legal team at Tsang and Associates went through great lengths to gather as many documents we could to further prove that the petitioner and beneficiary were biologically related and provided the following exhibits as evidence: A copy of the original birth certificate showing that the date is contemporaneous with the date of birth, a copy of the Family Record Book from Cambodia detailing the birth, etcetera, We even submitted an affidavit by one of Ms. Taing’s close friends of a twenty years, who describes her as being an honest and hardworking mother, and an affidavit from Ms. Taing’s doctor detailing personal knowledge of the birth of Ms. Sindy Taing’s son.

In her affidavit, Ms. Sindy Taing explained that she met the love of her life while touring in the United States, and whom she’s been married to for three years. She states that her two older kids from her previous marriage were not considered minors at the time of her divorce, so a decision for custody was not necessary. She genuinely explained that she didn’t request for her son to join her during the time she was applying to adjust her immigration status because she didn’t want her son, who was eighteen years old at the time, to feel forced to make drastic decisions, nor disrupt his lifestyle. She further explained that her son was comfortable with his lifestyle in Cambodia while under the care of his two loving aunts, that is, until they both passed away. Ms. Taing, a grieving sister and worried mother, felt that it was in her son’s best interest that he come and live with her as he copes with the loss of two loving mother figures. Although she visited her son as many times as she possibly could, and kept in touch with him, she knows in her heart that her son needs the maternal support and comfort that only she can give him during this difficult time.

Moreover, our legal team did not submit a DNA Test with hopes that the Immigration Reviewing Officer would not only find it unfair for Ms. Taing to have to undergo such a test due to governmental policy. Not only would it be unfair but also because it’s time-consuming and would only hold the case back, and our primary goal was to unite both mother and son, so the two can grieve together and move forward with life in a more positive and dignified manner.

OUTCOME

It is bad enough to cope with the death of a loved one, but to be miles apart from family and not be able to comfort one another, is tormenting enough. However, thanks to Tsang and Associates, a strong and yet caring legal team, the case was approved on May 14, 2019. We successfully got Ms. Sindy Taing’s son Permanent Residency, and now both mother and son are reunited, and ever so grateful with us for helping them through the most difficult time in their lives.