Marriage Fraud and Visa Abuse

There are several types of visa fraud that occur. I will discuss each in depth below. I would also like to note that studies have shown that the actual rates of marriage fraud are relatively low. However, internal documentation about workloads from the USCIS was used by Congress when revamping the immigration code. Those statistics greatly inflated the percentage of fraudulent marriages and have affected the way that visas are processed and granted by both the USCIS and the foreign embassies.

In my personal experience these problems are rare, but they do occur. If you are the victim of a fraudulent marriage we can take steps together to correct the situation including alerting the Department of Homeland Security, flagging your children's passports so that they cannot be removed from the country, and other steps.

One of the concerns of USCIS is unilateral marriage. Basically, only one person in the marriage intends on having a lasting relationship. In other words, you are being used o provide someone with a green card. This is one of the reasons that rushed engagements and relationships are looked at in an unfavorable light. You may have legitimate feelings, while the other person is just desperatly looking for a way out of his/her country. This is just another reason to take your time and really get to know your foreign fiance.

In my experience many "unilateral" marriages start off as legitimate, but the pressures of living in a foreign and unfamiliar country cause the marriage to disintegrate. This is why it is important to discuss all of the issues raised in the fiance visa interview questions with your fiance/spouse. Speaking from personal experience, it is NOT easier to be married to a foreign person than to a US citizen. I understand both sides of this coin, having lived abroad and being married to a foreign citizen. While you may be looking for a more "traditional" marriage, you need to consider the fact that the person you are marrying is leaving everything they know behind for a new life. This is hard, not easy. The cultural, religious, and language differences add an entirely additional level of complication to a marriage. Make sure that you really understand this. I think that many people who feel that they have fallen victim to a unilateral marriage are really suffering from a legitimate marriage that broke down under the stress of life in a foreign country. These people often end up feeling used and bitter. Make sure that your really have a connection and a life plan for your marriage.

This is not to say that there are not victims of unilateral marriages. There are and I will be here to support you if this is the case. However, in my entire time as an immigration attorney, I have only encountered this problem less than 10 times.

Occassionally, people are taken advantage of by unscrupulous people who marry only for money. These people will take money in exchange for a marriage to you. Once you enter the country, you may find out that they actually have been married and filed for several other spouses and may even be married to multiple people at one time. Usually, the person getting into the marriage knows that this marriage isn't real, but may not know that the spouse has done this numerous other times. This scam will be mostly eliminated with the new systems being implimented by USCIS to track applications and visas.

Another major concern when marrying anyone and I think especially someone from a long distance relationship, is spousal abuse. There are hundreds of woman and children, and even some men who fall victim to this each year. VAWA and IMBRA are two new tools being used by USCIS to combat spousal and child abuse. These new laws require disclosure of criminal convictions to fiances and disclosure to USCIS of engagments that came out of international dating services or marriage brokers. All fiances will now receive a copy of their fiance's criminal history and information about spousal abuse before entering the US.

If you are in an abusive marriage, you need to contact me IMMEDIATELY. I will complete your VAWA self-petition and help you find a safe shelter. You should not remain in a situation where you or your children are being abused because you are afraid to be deported. You can petition for yourself and your children without involving your spouse. You can also ask for a waiver that would make the petition free (no filing fees). I do VAWA petitions pro bono (free) in legitimate cases.