NOTE: Mr. Rooney took over INS on March 26, 2001

LATEST UPDATE APRIL 17, 2001

1.Wolfgang's passport expired January 6, 2001, because the INS in Helena refused to return it, after they confiscated it in 1996.
And he can't get a new one without sending his old one in. How is he supposed to re-enter Germany?

2. The INS in Helena did choose April 23, 2001, because that would have been their last day to file a response to the Board of Immigration Appeals in trying to explain, why they granted the I-130, but now are trying to force Wolfgang to leave the country or make a criminal out of him. Wolfgang will be either in prison that date as a criminal or already on his way back to Germany. In any case of this scenario, the INS in Helena would not to have to explain that situation any longer.

3. Today the Board of Appeals refused to listen to Wolfgang's arguments. They only might listen if Wolfgang is already in custody and in prison. If he is on his way back to Germany, there is no reason to listen to his arguments any longer in the first place.

4. If the INS in Helena is successful, Wolfgang at least for the next 10 years will not be allowed back into the country under any circumstances, he can't go back to his home, his US citizen wife, his US citizen minor son, etc. Even in case of a death, he can't re-enter the US. Josephine von Eitzen's home is here, so is the place of all her family, her/their properties and her/their businesses. Because of her health situation she can't leave the US either.

April 17, 2001

Dear Friends:

Here is the latest from the media on our INS case.

We thank again Mr. David Crisp for having written a factual correct and fair article about our "nightmare" and for his interest in our case.

Jo and Wolfgang

THE BILLINGS OUTPOST, April 18, 2001 (www.billingsnews.com)

Re-typed by Jo von Eitzen

VON EITZEN ORDERED TO REPORT FOR DEPORTATION

By DAVID CRISP
The Billings Outpost

Despite federal recognition of his marriage to an Amircan citizen, Wolfgang von Eitzen has been ordered to leave the country by next Monday.

Mr. von Eitzen, a German citizen who has lived in Billings for more than 19 years, said he planned to file a federal suit against the Immigration and Naturalization Service this week in hopes of winning one more delay in a five-year battle to avoid deportation.

Documents he provided last week showed that he has been ordered to report, ready for deportation with no more than 40 pounds of baggage to an immigration officer in Helena at 11:00 a.m. April 23rd.

In February, Mr. von Eitzen thought he might have won his long legal battle when the INS approved his wife's application for his recognition as an alien relative. Earlier, the INS had denied the application, finding that he had entered into a marriage of convenience to stay in the United States.

Mr. von Eitzen warned at the time the I-130 was granted that his legal troubles might not be over. He was right.

"I don't think any longer that it's political" he said Sunday. "I think it's become totally personal." In an April 12th letter, INS District Director Harry A. Thomas told Brandon Marinoff, Mr. von Eitzen's attorney in Denver, that no further processing of the I-130 application could occur until after deportation.

"This Service has compassion for the concerns and issues of Mr. and Mrs. von Eitzen; however, the law is clear and must be enforced," Mr. Thomas wrote. "The respondent will be permitted to renew his request to return to the United States as a spouse of a U.S. Citizen, but he must accomplish this from Germany."

Other portions of the four-page letter disputed Mr. von Eitzen's claims that deportation would impose an extreme hardship on him. The letter argues, among other things, that his son, who now lives with Mr. von Eitzen's ex-wife in Texas, could continue to visit him in Germany; that construction of his unfinished house could be completed by someone else; and his wife, Josephine, could receive good medical care in Germany.

"Failure to comply with this directive will result in Mr. von Eitzen be reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation as a 'Fugitive from Justice,' and entered into the National Crime Information Center as a 'Wanted Person,'" the letter said. "A warrant for his deportation has been issued and will be enforced to assure his repatriation to Germany."

Mr. von Eitzen came to the United States under a provision of immigration law that allows visas for entrepreneurs and business investors. His status became clouded following a divorce case in the mid-90s, and he was briefly arrested in 1996.

Following approval of the I-130 petition in February, Mr. von Eitzen amended his appeal of the deportation ruling against him. In the meantime, Mr. von Eitzen said, he no longer even has a German passport - the INS confiscated it in 1996.

"We consider the activities of the INS in Helena unbelievable totally against any common sense and logic," the von Eitzens said in a written statement.

David Crisp can be reached at (406) 247-5020 or at editor@billingsnews.com