A widower who formerly held a CNMI entry permit has decided to sue the US government. It had approved his Form 1-360, which informs US Citizenship and Immigration Services of marriage to a now-deceased US citizen and the wish to get a green card, but then changed its mind and revoked the approval.
Obaydul Hoque Bhuiyan says that he arrived in the CNMI 20 years ago and lived there continually until November 2015. His immigration status was that of a nonresident worker. In March 2004, Bhuiyan married US citizen Ana Atalig Torres. This made him eligible to gain the status of immediate relative to a citizen under CNMI law, and he was given an IR entry permit. He renewed this in both 2005 and 2006.
On July 7, 2006, Torres died after just over two years of marriage. Under CNMI immigration law, however, Bhuiyan would still be eligible for that status in spite of his wife’s death. The IR permit continued to be renewed in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Based on his status in 2009, which remained valid until November 29, 2011, he received an umbrella permit.
Based on USCIS guidelines, Bhuiyan believed he would become eligible for a green card as the widower of an American citizen, provided he filed his Form 1-360 by October 28, 2011. His Form 1-360 was approved and then revoked after he filed for Form 1-485. Bhuiyan is now suing the government for damages.
