A significant appellate fight is underway that directly affects U.S. citizen spouses and their undocumented partners who are attempting to legalize status through marriage.
On February 1, the U.S. Department of Justice asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to overturn a Maryland federal court injunction that currently prohibits U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from arresting non-citizens at marriage-based green card interviews.
The underlying issue is not theoretical. It goes to the heart of whether couples can safely appear for a required U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) interview without risking immediate detention.
How This Situation Arose
In 2024, a Maryland district court issued an injunction after a class action lawsuit alleged that ICE officers were using USCIS interview locations as a “honeypot” to detain undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens who appeared in good faith to pursue lawful status.
The plaintiffs argued this practice:
· Undermined long-standing DHS guidance encouraging families to regularize status
· Chilled legitimate marriage-based filings
· Directly contradicted the purpose of the I-601A provisional waiver framework created in 2013 and expanded in 2016 to reduce family separation
The district court agreed, temporarily barring ICE from conducting these arrests. Now, the DOJ is asking the Fourth Circuit to lift that protection.
The Government's Legal Position
The DOJ's argument is direct: individuals with final removal orders have no lawful presence, and pursuing a provisional waiver does not provide protection from arrest or deportation.
In other words, the government's position is that appearing at a USCIS interview does not create any form of safe harbor, even where DHS policy historically encouraged people to step forward to fix their status through marriage.
Judges during oral argument pressed both sides on two critical questions:
1. Whether DHS has formally rescinded prior guidance discouraging such arrests
2. Whether ICE is in fact targeting interview sites as enforcement locations
Why This Case Matters in West Virginia and the Fourth Circuit
The Fourth Circuit governs Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. A ruling for the DOJ would immediately restore ICE's ability to conduct arrests at USCIS interview sites across all five states.
A ruling against the DOJ would solidify protections and likely prompt similar litigation in other circuits. For families in West Virginia, this is not an abstract appellate dispute. It affects whether it is safe to attend a required green card interview.
The Real Legal Tension
This case exposes a fundamental conflict between two parts of the immigration system.
On one hand, the immigration benefit system encourages marriage-based legalization, and the I-601A process was designed to reduce family separation. On the other hand, the enforcement system permits arrest of individuals with removal orders and takes the position that waiver pursuit offers no protection.
For years, practitioners relied on DHS guidance suggesting that good faith participation in the marriage-based process would not be used as an enforcement trap. The DOJ is now arguing that such reliance was misplaced.
Practical Impact for Couples
If the injunction is lifted, couples where one spouse:
· Has a prior removal order
· Entered without inspection
· Is pursuing an I-130 and I-601A process
· Must attend a USCIS interview
will face a material risk of detention at the interview. That risk changes how attorneys must prepare these cases and how couples must evaluate next steps.
Why Employers Should Pay Attention
This issue also affects employers indirectly. Many U.S. workers have undocumented spouses who are eligible to legalize through marriage. If those spouses are deterred from pursuing status, it prolongs household instability, work authorization constraints, and mobility limitations for U.S. employees.
What We Are Advising Clients Right Now
Until the Fourth Circuit rules, the injunction remains in place. However, couples should not assume long-term protection.
At Saluja Law, we are advising:
1. Do not attend a marriage interview without a case-specific risk analysis
2. Review any prior removal orders before scheduling interviews
3. Evaluate whether additional filings should occur before appearing at USCIS
4. Treat interview scheduling as a legal event that requires planning, not a routine appointment
The Bottom Line
For more than a decade, immigration policy encouraged undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens to come forward and fix their status through marriage. This case asks whether doing so may expose them to immediate arrest.
The Fourth Circuit's decision will determine whether USCIS interviews remain a place for adjudication or become an enforcement venue.
For families in West Virginia and across the Fourth Circuit, this ruling will directly shape how, and whether, they move forward with marriage-based green card cases.