Q. I got my conditional, two-year green card after my husband petitioned for me. Now the petition for my permanent card has stalled. Could it be because I work as a prostitute at the Bunny Ranch in Nevada where prostitution is legal? My husband is aware of my work and he signed my petition for my permanent card. We both live in Florida, but occasionally I work at the Bunny Ranch. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is aware of this fact.
R., Florida
A. Whether your work at the Bunny Ranch impacts your rights depends on whether you worked as a prostitute before you got your conditional two-year green card and the frequency of that work. That prostitution is legal in Nevada doesn’t matter.
You received a two-year conditional residence card because you became a permanent resident within two years of your marriage. Conditional residents must apply for a permanent card (valid for 10 years and renewable) in the 90 days before their conditional card expires. As a conditional permanent resident, you have the same rights and benefits as other permanent residents. That means USCIS can’t deny you a permanent card nor can immigration deport you for prostitution engaged in after you became a permanent resident.
Prostitution engaged in after getting permanent residence is not a grounds for deportation. However, if you were a prostitute in the 10 years prior to getting permanent residence, that is an inadmissibility ground — a ground for denying permanent residence. If you were inadmissible when you became a conditional permanent resident, you may be deportable now. However, to be inadmissible for prostitution, you must have engaged in sexual intercourse for pay on a substantial, continuous and regular basis. It is unclear to me whether you are inadmissible using this test. Because of a law enacted in 1990, if you engaged in prostitution after you got your green card, this is not a ground for deportation.
Speak to an immigration law expert about your situation. USCIS may decide to grant you permanent residence despite your work at the Bunny Ranch. If USCIS decides to send your case for deportation proceedings, you may have defenses that will allow you to remain in the United States.
Allan Wernick is an attorney and director of the City University of New York’s Citizenship Now! project. Send questions and comments to Allan Wernick, New York Daily News, 7th Fl., 4 New York Plaza, New York, N.Y., 10004 or email to questions@allanwernick.com. Follow him on Twitter @awernick.
