Opinion ID: 2736643
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Newlywed Game

Text: When May became pregnant in September 2009, the father was not her new husband, but rather, the same man who fathered her younger child. During her pregnancy, both Samson and Ronald asked her to sign papers for Samson's green card; initially, she refused. Finally, on February 24, 2010, after Ronald called her and explained the relevant paperwork, May signed an I-130 Petition for Alien Relative. May gave birth in, appropriately enough, May. Six weeks later, Samson called her and asked her to attend an appointment in South Portland the following day, in order to secure his green card. Samson and Ronald picked May up the next morning, along with her two children. During the ride, Ronald, a veteran of the process, directed the couple in a rehearsal of what they would -5- likely be asked, and what they should say. In particular, they agreed that if asked what TV show they liked, they would answer NCIS. Ronald also pointed out that the presence of May's infant child of another father would look bad, and so Ronald remained in the car with the infant while the couple and May's older child attended the interview in the immigration office. Unsurprisingly, the interview did not go well. Immigration Service Officer Kurt Pelletier questioned the couple separately. Both May and Samson gave their address as 20 Garfield Street, Apartment 25--Ronald's address--although both claimed to live there with May's one child. No mention was made of either the new baby or Ronald living there. Samson provided a lease to Pelletier for the Garfield Street apartment, with Alice Sengoonzi and Samson Sengoonzi listed on it. Pelletier asked May and Samson a series of questions, individually, about their wedding and what they watched on Saturday night. May forgot her lines and, instead of NCIS, talked about watching a movie. Samson, on the other hand, missed his cue; when asked about Saturday night, he said my favorite show is NCIS--a statement that Pelletier felt was not an answer to the question he had posed. There were other red flags; according to Pelletier, they gave conflicting answers to several questions, although they both agreed that they met through a friend named Ronald. -6- After failing to win over Pelletier in this high-stakes newlywed game, the couple received not lovely parting gifts but a notice of intent to deny (NOID). Having determined that this was possibly a fraudulent marriage, Pelletier sent the notice to May at Ronald's Garfield Street address.