Moss v. INS
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
651 F.2d 1091 (5th Cir. 1981)
Juanita de los Santos Moss (petitioner), a Philippine citizen, entered the U.S. on a K-visa as the nonimmigrant fiancee of a U.S. citizen, a visa category requiring the couple to show a bona fide intent to marry within 90 days of her entry; Moss and her fiance had already lived together in the Philippines for a year and undisputedly intended to marry, but circumstances outside Moss's control delayed their marriage to 92 days after her entry. They had a child, though her husband abandoned her two months before the birth, and after the INS sought her deportation, an Immigration Judge rigidly applied the 90-day period as an absolute mandatory deadline and found her deportable, a ruling the Board of Immigration Appeals affirmed.
Whether substantial compliance with the requirement that a marriage take place within 90 days of entry into the United States is satisfactory under sections 101(a)(15)(K) and 214(d) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.