Asked in Divorce and Immigration Law

Q: If a husband commits a crime, and the wife wasn't involved but still gets affected by it, why is that?

My mother and father seem to be in a hassle at the moment, my father committed a crime for trying to cross drugs and got sentenced to jail for about 8 months. At the time my mother was responsible for us but was not involved in anything that my father had done, she was taking care of us. However, they took away her visa for being an "accomplice" or a partner in crime lets say. The lawyer claims she has little to no chance of getting back her visa (even after filing divorce and it going through.) because they claim she benefited from the money my father had made due to the crime, but she had no idea of any of this until he was caught. Her lawyer also stated that this crime is been taken more seriously nowadays and her chances are low, even though this crime going from this year back was 7 years ago (like around 2015-2016). What I want to ask is why they are making these claims when they have no evidence of my mother knowing the money was from the crime and she "benefited" from it?

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2 Lawyer Answers
Alexander Ivakhnenko
Alexander Ivakhnenko
Answered
  • Immigration Law Lawyer
  • Wheeling, IL

A: You hit the nail on the head: if a family member was deeded an accomplice of a criminal enterprise that may result in

civil and criminal penalties.

Kevin L Dixler
Kevin L Dixler
Answered
  • Immigration Law Lawyer
  • Milwaukee, WI

A: Knowledge is not required. It’s strict liability, which means that if it’s true, then you and your mom, among others, are inadmissible as the immediate family member of a drug trafficker. The visa should be revoked as a matter of law. Congress passed this law. Only Congress can repeal it. This is a civil law, so you are not being criminally charged, just deprived of a privilege.

If you have any other concerns, or issues, then I strongly recommend an appointment or teleconference with a competent and experienced visa attorney before there are any other complications.

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