Nguyen v. Holder, No. 07-3889 (Unpublished) (8th Cir. Feb. 17, 2010).

Although this court may not review the BIA’s ultimate determination as to whether to grant a good faith marriage waiver, we have jurisdiction to consider what the legal standard is to show a good faith marriage, and to determine whether the alien’s credited evidence meets that standard.

To determine whether the petitioner entered into her marriage in good faith, the central question is whether she intended to establish a life with her former U.S. citizen spouse at the time they were married. This court concludes the credited evidence submitted meets the legal standard for good faith when it includes the following: (1) Testimony from the petitioner that her former U.S. citizen spouse wooed her and she fell in love with him; that their parents had met to discuss marriage; and that after the wedding and honeymoon in Vietnam, she went to live with her mother-in-law, and her former U.S. citizen spouse returned to the United States; that after she came to the United States, she and her former U.S. citizen spouse lived together at her brother’s home, and that her former U.S. citizen spouse left her for another woman; (2) testimony from the petitioner’s brother that he and others had attended the petitioner’s wedding in Vietnam, that he allowed her and her former U.S. citizen spouse to live at his home rent-free because his former brother-in law did not make much money, and that the former brother-in-law had abandoned the petitioner; (3) testimony from the former wife of the uncle who had introduced the petitioner to her former U.S. citizen spouse regarding the couple’s courtship and marriage; (4) documentary evidence included photographs and videos of the couple’s wedding ceremony and wedding banquet in Vietnam, a marriage document from a Catholic church in Vietnam, a marriage certificate issued by the state of Minnesota, a joint tax return, statements from a joint bank account, and a health insurance statement showing joint coverage.

Because the petitioner demonstrated that she entered into her marriage in good faith, she is eligible to be considered for a discretionary good faith marriage waiver under 8 U.S.C. Section 1186a(c)(4). This court therefore remands to the BIA to determine whether to grant the petitioner a waiver under section 1186a(c)(4) and to address the IJ’s findings as to the fraud-based grounds. Accordingly, the petition for review is granted.