A longtime illegal-immigrant New Yorker — who was granted a pathway to permanent residency last year — is now on the verge of being sent back to China because of a paperwork snafu by the NYPD, a new lawsuit charges.
Married Brooklyn father Ren Fu He, 46, won a coveted “U-Visa” in January 2013 as part of a federal program that gives illegal immigrants who are victims of violent crimes legal status if they cooperate with police.
Ren was beaten by armed thugs while delivering food in The Bronx on Christmas Eve 2002, and Capt. Lorenzo Johnson of the 49th Police Precinct certified him to immigration officials, saying he gave “helpful information” to track down the robbers, records show.
But a year after Ren was approved to live and work in the country, the NYPD contacted the US Citizenship and Immigration Services to inform the agency that the approval was invalid because only former Police Commissioner Ray Kelly could approve it, according to court papers.
Ren has until May 10 to get his documents signed by Commissioner William Bratton or face deportation.
A city Law Department spokesman had no comment on the suit.