EL PASO, Texas — A Bahraini princess who sought U.S. asylum after escaping her own country to marry a U.S. Marine was made a lawful permanent resident Thursday.
The Immigration and Naturalization Service granted immigrant status to Meriam Al-Khalifa Johnson because she is married to a U.S. citizen. Her husband, Jason Johnson, filed the petition Nov. 3.
Al-Khalifa Johnson had asked for asylum on the grounds she would be persecuted at home for marrying a non-Muslim.
She was given a green card at the U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juarez and entered the United States through El Paso on Thursday afternoon, said Lauren Mack, a spokeswoman for the INS in San Diego.
Johnson was a Marine private assigned to a security unit in Manama, the Bahraini capital, when he met Al-Khalifa at a mall in the Bahraini capital of Manama. Johnson has since been discharged from the Marines on his own request.
Al-Khalifa Johnson is one of four daughters of Sheik Abdullah bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa, a distant relative of Bahrain's ruler Sheik Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa.
Johnson forged U.S. military documents to allow her to fly to Chicago's O'Hare International Airport on a commercial airplane. Immigration officials in Chicago discovered the ruse.
On Nov. 5, 1999, the INS started removal proceedings against Al-Khalifa Johnson.
A U.S. immigration judge ruled in July 2000 that she must face charges of illegally entering the United States in a case that could cause her to be deported.
On March 30, 2000, after the couple moved to San Diego County, the case was transferred to the San Diego INS district where her immigration removal proceedings are still pending.
Meanwhile, the immigrant visa request filed by Johnson in November was approved by the San Diego INS district office. The U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juarez approved Al-Khalifa Johnson's application for a permanent resident visa.
Four media organizations had sought to gain access to the INS hearings in San Diego. A federal judge in San Diego ruled in November that the INS could close the proceedings but released some documents in the case.
The move to close the hearings was welcomed by her lawyer, Jan Bejar, who said at the time: "There are serious issues of security. My client has a reason to be fearful."