Immigration fraud is taken seriously by the U.S. government and that penalties following a conviction are harsh. A prison sentence, fines and deportation are among the severe legal consequences of immigration fraud.
Your Source for Immigration Fraud Legal Help in New Jersey
If you have been accused of immigration fraud in New Jersey contact Pagliara Law Group in Jersey City We have handled numerous immigration fraud cases, including cases involving charges of:
- Providing false information.
- Using a false identity
- Falsifying documents
Have you been accused of fraud in your pursuit of a work visa, immigration visa, green card, student visa or other immigration privilege? Contact Pagliara Law Group with many years of experience in criminal law.
We work closely with clients to ensure that their goals and needs are at the forefront of our strategy throughout the legal process, and we are careful to remain available and to regularly update clients until their case is resolved. For more information, please contact our office.
The Immigration Marriage Fraud Amendment Act of 1986 amended 8 U.S.C. 1325 to include subsection (c), which provides a five year imprisonment and a $250,000 fine for any individual to knowingly enters into a marriage for the purpose of evading any provision of the immigration laws. The immigrant also becomes a high priority for removal (deportation).
The typical scenario is where a U.S. citizen and immigration fulfill all the state requirements for a valid marriage. Those could be medical tests, apply and receive a marriage license, and a valid marriage ceremony. However, the U.S. citizen is paid to marry the immigrant so that he or she can get a green card. The couple doesn’t intend to live together as man and wife. The law has found that despite being legally married that marriage is does not matter to their having defrauded USCIS.
Similar situation arises when the couple has a bona fide legal marriage, but over time the relationship is unsuccessful. However, the couple stays in the marriage in order that the immigrant can keep his or her legal status in the U.S. I believe, that if the initial marriage was bona fide the fact that the relationship failed is not a basis to invalidate a green card. With one exception, if the immigrant has a conditional green card. The Immigration Marriage Fraud Amendment modified 8 U.S.C. 1186a by creating a two year conditional status for marriages that were less than two years old when the initial green card petition was filed. For those marriages, Congress has spoken and USCIS can look at the marriage two years later and determine that is or was a sham. Just because the relationship fails, doesn’t mean the the marriage was a sham.
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