In March, 2008, the 8th Circuit held that an individual who checked the box on the I-9 Form given to him by a private employer stating that he was U.S. Citizen was found inadmissible. Despite marrying a U.S. Citizen five years later and claiming that someone instructed him to check the box so that he would be able to work, the petitioner is ineligible for permanent residency. The court reasoned that in checking that he was a U.S. Citizen on his I-9 form to a private employer, the petitioner was fraudulently seeking a benefit under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
To read the case, Rodriguez v. Mukasey, click here.
By Michelle Richart