What Is a Green Card Marriage?

People from all over the world dream of coming to live in the United States, and most immigrate legally through work- or family-sponsored visas. A green card marriage is a fraudulent or "sham" marriage that takes place so that a foreign national can legally reside in the United States. According the Center for Immigration Studies, 25 percent of foreigners who become lawful permanent residents have done so by marriage to a U.S. citizen. While a majority of these marriages are legitimate, a small number of people married solely to deceive immigration officials.

Family-Based Visas

Marriage to a U.S. a citizen is the fastest way to become a lawful permanent resident. In the interest of keeping families together, U.S. immigration law gives priority to family-based visa applications, and families are not subject to quotas (limitations on the numbers of people who can emigrate from any one country in a year) or the long wait times that other visa applicants face. While applicants for marriage-based visas undergo the same security and background checks as other immigrants, most family-based visas are issued within months rather than years.

Scams

In some green card marriages, the foreign national pays a U.S. citizen to get married and sponsor his or her immigration. Other times, the foreign national tricks the U.S. citizen into believing the marriage is real and files for divorce shortly after the green card has been issued. Green card marriages are also arranged through online mail-order bride companies and through traditional arranged marriages where the "dowry" is the fee paid to the American. These fees typically range between $5,000 and $10,000.

Arrests

In recent years, immigration officials have uncovered dozens of criminal green card marriage rings nationwide and arrested hundreds of American and foreign participants. These groups offer money to American citizens to marry foreigners or convince people they are "saving" a foreigner by helping him escape his country. The couples receive assistance with the extensive paperwork involved in getting a green card, and they are coached on how to deceive immigration officials in their interviews. In some extreme cases, the American spouse is threatened or otherwise coerced into staying in a marriage with an abusive or criminal spouse.

Prevention

All couples applying for green cards and marriage-based visas have personal interviews with U.S. immigration officials. The purpose of these interviews is to determine whether there is a legitimate relationship. Couples are asked about things such as how they met, who attended their wedding and each other's personal habits, and they may also be asked to provide proof of their relationship such as letters, phone bills showing calls to each other or photographs of vacations together. If fraud is suspected, the couples are subjected to more intense personal questioning in separate rooms, and their stories are examined for inconsistencies.

Consequences

If a marriage is found to be fraudulent, the penalties are steep. U.S. citizens who knowingly participate in a green card marriage may spend five years in prison and be fined up to $20,000. Foreign nationals are immediately deported and banned from future entry into the United States, and they may also be fined. Because of the increase of criminal marriage fraud and the accompanying security concerns, U.S. Immigration and the U.S. government are looking at possible changes in immigration policy and procedures.

Resources

• Marriage Fraud