From JFON Chinatown

Efia Addi from Ghana

Efia Addi*, a native of Ghana married Botwe Danquah* a US expatriate living in her country. They lived happily in Ghana until Botwe succumbed to a long battle with terminal cancer. Throughout their marriage, Botwe's daughter Martha* visited them on several occasions and Martha and Efia became very close.

Following Botwe's death in1998, Efia emigrated to the United States to reunite with her stepdaughter. Martha, now an adult, retained the services of a private attorney and filed an I-130 petition on Efia's behalf. This petition was rejected.

Because Efia and Botwe had a customary marriage that was witnessed but was not registered with any government body, the petition failed to prove the existence of a step relationship between Efia and Martha.

Efia sought JFON's assistance at the Chinese UMC clinic. In lieu of filing an appeal of the I-130, JFON re-filed the I-130 and specifically addressed the area of concern. JFON argued that since customary marriages are lawful in Ghana they should be recognized as legitimate under U.S. Immigration Law. They accomplished this by including a letter from a foreign law specialist at the US Library of Congress and citations to Ghana law. To prove the existence of a valid step relationship, JFON included detailed affidavits from family members in Ghana who vouched for the fact that Martha was the biological daughter of Botwe who took part in a customary marriage ceremony with Efia in 1961.

On March 31, 2009, CIS granted the petition and Efia is now eligible to file an application for a green card.

*not their real names