A seven-year Army service member and his wife are bracing for a second immigration hearing later this month that could determine whether she is deported, after a paperwork denial over a missing tax return spiraled into removal proceedings. Jacob Olson and his wife, Rosa, a Mexican national, say they followed every step USCIS asked of them, only to end up facing a deportation case instead of a green card.
According to KTSM 9 News, Jacob met Rosa in July 2024 while she was in the country on a student visa. The two got engaged and married after his deployment in November 2025, and Rosa stopped attending school that December, according to Jacob. Jacob told the station that any information he shared reflected his own views, not those of the U.S. military, and he did not disclose his rank.
The couple moved quickly to formalize Rosa's status, filing both an I-130 petition and an I-485 application to adjust status within three weeks of their wedding. The first application was denied because it was missing an IRS tax return, a requirement Jacob said he had not realized applied to his filing. He said the entire application cost $1,440, and that USCIS could have simply requested the missing document instead of rejecting the paperwork outright.
From Biometrics to a Courtroom
After the denial, the couple refiled through a notary, and Jacob said USCIS later provided a work-permit receipt number but never issued an actual denial notice for that second attempt. USCIS then scheduled the couple for biometrics to collect fingerprints. Instead of moving their case forward, Jacob said, the biometrics appointment was followed by a notice to appear in court for removal proceedings.
The couple has since hired an attorney and attended a first immigration hearing, where they say the judge was presented with misinformation claiming Rosa had entered the country illegally and violated the terms of her student visa, per Jacob's account to the station. Their second hearing is scheduled for October 22, and Rosa could face deportation depending on its outcome.
'Treated Like a Criminal'
Rosa told the station she has never been so scared of not seeing her husband again. “I've never done anything wrong and I've been treated like a criminal this whole time,” she said. Jacob said he fears his efforts on her behalf may not be enough to prevent the couple's separation. USCIS had not responded to KTSM's inquiry about Rosa's application as of publication.
The Olsons also pointed to a shift in federal policy they say has complicated their case. They said that in April 2025, ICE issued a memorandum stating that a relative's military service no longer automatically exempts noncitizen family members from immigration enforcement. That characterization could not be independently verified beyond the couple's account.
A Broader Pattern Among Military Families
The Olsons' situation fits into a wider trend documented by other news organizations tracking immigration enforcement against military relatives. An Associated Press investigation cited by ABC News found that more than 50 parents and spouses of service members have been swept up in the administration's deportation campaign during President Trump's second term, with at least six already deported. The outlet also reported that an advocacy-group leader said she was working with eight active-duty service members and one veteran whose family members had been detained as of August 20.
Those cases include Cristy Maryori Villafranca Trejo, the wife of an Army sergeant and mother of a six-year-old, who was deported to Honduras. The Department of Homeland Security said she was removed on August 24 in accordance with U.S. immigration laws, the same report noted. In Kansas City, Rosmery Alvarado was arrested by ICE immediately after a USCIS spousal interview for her green-card application, according to the Kansas City Star, and her attorneys have filed an appeal with the Board of Immigration Appeals to delay her deportation and end her detention, with a decision still pending. A representative of a North Kansas City immigration law firm told the paper that green-card petitioners have increasingly faced the risk of ICE arrest at USCIS field offices in recent months.
The Star's report also noted that naturalizations through military service rose sharply, from about 4,500 in 2020 to 16,000 in 2024, according to Department of Homeland Security data cited in the same reporting. Despite that growth, the available evidence on military-family immigration cases supports only that a relative's service does not automatically provide parole, lawful status, or immunity from enforcement.
What Happens Next
Under Justice Department policy, removal proceedings formally begin when the Department of Homeland Security files a Notice to Appear with the immigration court after serving it on the individual. People already in proceedings before an immigration judge can still seek certain forms of relief, including adjustment of status, cancellation of removal, or waivers of inadmissibility, according to USCIS guidance. It remains unknown whether Rosa Olson's case will result in deportation or what outcome the October 22 hearing will bring; the dossier of public reporting establishes only that the hearing is scheduled and that removal remains a possibility.
