SORIANO

Citations

• 19 I. & N. Dec. 764

Syllabus

SORIANO, 19 I&N Dec. 764 (BIA 1988) ID 3081 (PDF) (1) Where a visa petition has once been denied based on a finding that the marriage was entered into solely to bestow an immigration benefit, the petitioner bears a heavy burden of proof with respect to any subsequently filed visa petition involving the same beneficiary. (2) A petitioner may be put on notice of evidentiary requirements by means such as a requirement in the regulations that a particular document be submitted with the visa petition a notice of intent to deny, letter, or form noting the deficiency or requesting additional evidence or an oral statement at an interview that additional evidence is required. (3) Where a visa petition is denied based on a deficiency of proof, the petitioner had not been put on notice of the deficiency and given a reasonable opportunity to address it before the denial, and on appeal the petitioner proffers additional evidence addressing the deficiency, the record will, in the ordinary course, be remanded to allow the Immigration and Naturalization Service to initially consider and address the new evidence. (4) Where the petitioner was put on notice of the required evidence and given a reasonable opportunity to provide it for the record before the visa petition is adjudicated, evidence submitted on appeal will not be considered for any purpose, and the appeal will be adjudicated based on the record of proceedings before the Service.