United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________ No. 20-3088 ___________________________ Simon Osagi Iyawe; Alicia Nichole Iyawe lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiffs - Appellants v. Merrick B. Garland, Attorney General of the United States; Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security; Tracy Renaud, Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services lllllllllllllllllllllDefendants - Appellees ____________ Appeal from United States District Court for the District of Minnesota ____________ Submitted: October 21, 2021 Filed: March 11, 2022 ____________ Before COLLOTON, SHEPHERD, and KELLY, Circuit Judges. ____________ KELLY, Circuit Judge. Alicia Nichole Iyawe filed a Form I-130 Petition for Alien Relative (I-130 petition) on behalf of her husband, Simon Osagi Iyawe.1 United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) denied the petition because it concluded that Simon’s first marriage, to Yolanda Kilpatrick, was fraudulently entered for the purpose of evading immigration laws. After the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) dismissed the appeal, Simon and Alicia sought judicial review. The district court2 granted the government defendants’ motion for summary judgment,3 and, having jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291, we affirm. I. Background A. Statutory Background When an American citizen marries a noncitizen, the citizen can petition for lawful permanent residency for the spouse by filing an I-130 petition. See 8 U.S.C. §§ 1151, 1154; 8 C.F.R. § 204.1(a)(1). Once the I-130 petition is filed, USCIS conducts “an investigation of the facts” and adjudicates the petition. 8 U.S.C. § 1154(b). If the I-130 petition is approved, the noncitizen spouse can then apply for permanent residency. 8 U.S.C. §§ 1255(a), 1186a. However, the statute provides that: no petition shall be approved if (1) the alien has previously been accorded, or has sought to be accorded, an immediate relative or preference status as the spouse of a citizen of the United States or the 1 We refer to Simon and Alicia Iyawe by their first names for clarity. 2 The Honorable Joan N. Ericksen, United States District Judge for the District of Minnesota, adopting the report and recommendation of the Honorable Becky R. Thorson, United States Magistrate Judge for the District of Minnesota. 3 The Iyawes do not appeal the dismissal of their due process claim. -2- spouse of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence, by reason of a marriage determined by the Attorney General to have been entered into for the purpose of evading the immigration laws, or (2) the Attorney General has determined that the alien has attempted or conspired to enter into a marriage for the purpose of evading the immigration laws. 8 U.S.C. § 1154(c). This rule is mandatory and bars approval of an I-130 petition if the noncitizen previously sought immigration benefits through a fraudulent marriage or attempted or conspired to do so, even if the current marriage is bona fide or if the noncitizen was never prosecuted for the past conduct. See Zerezghi v. U.S. Citizenship & Immigr. Servs., 955 F.3d 802, 804–05 (9th Cir. 2020) (citing Matter of Tawfik, 20 I. & N. Dec. …
Original document
Source: All recent Immigration Decisions In All the U.S. Courts of Appeals