Woman Arrested in Connection With 'Green Card Marriage' Craigslist Ad

[Alex+R 0]

but it's on par (imo) with a well off older man marrying a young, gorgeous woman from an impoverished nation. They may not love each other, but they both mutually benefit from the marriage.

The stereotype couple you described are NOT committing marriage fraud as they intend to stay married. ...and who is to quanitify whether any couple here 'loves' each other beyond the evidence to support a bonafide marriage to immigration?

I'm not quantifying whether people 'love' each other or not...since love is not a prereq to a 'bonafide' marriage in the eyes of USCIS, it's superfluous to this conversation. I wasn't implying that so and so doesn't love each other.....I'm just saying that with an IMB, surely the non-foreign SO looking for 'an American' is doing so at least partially for immi benefit.

This particular story was blatant, and yes, morally wrong as there's money being exchanged. But at the same time, all I'm saying is I see some shades of grey.

I actually agree with Lisa. If you meet your spouse because they signed up for some program for meeting Americans who come to your country looking for wives, then you are marrying for an immigration benefit, even if you later fall in love. I also don't think you can assume those people intend to stay married. One partner might not. I don't see a difference.

As far as USCIS is concerned it's only when it's primarily for immigration benefit that there is a problem. If one of the attractions is that the guy is American and it's a ticket to financial security and a better overall life, that's okay. No one says that your marriage to a foreigner actually has to be happy, or that the USC is not deluding themselves, or that it has to be ideal.

It's a delicate balance, certainly, but if the standard were 'the USC's nationality is irrelevant' many, many couples wouldn't get through immigration. It's allowed to be relevant, just not the sole purpose. That's the big difference between the craigslist and the marriage broker.

I understand waht the law says. I just don't agree. Either it's ok for immigration to be a reason (or the sole reason) or it's not. It's too hard to determine, but I don't see a problem with GC marriages if marriage-broker marriages are ok. Maybe people should have to show ties to their home country to get an immigrant visa?

[one...two...tree 2,762]

I don't think anyone is arguing that people who marry for love don't have other requirements/prerequisites/filters when choosing a spouse. The notion of not marrying for love is alien to me.....but before we got to the 'love' part, there were other things to gauge first. Like compatibility/personality/education/views/stability/etc. Had D not possessed what I was looking for, I wouldn't have stuck around love enough to have fallen in love with him.

This is why I don't have any issues with foreign brides (or grooms) who specifically seek out a spouse from the US. I see it as no different than a woman here in the states looking for a potential husband who is well educated, has a prestigious career or is financially successful.

[Alex+R 0]

I don't think anyone is arguing that people who marry for love don't have other requirements/prerequisites/filters when choosing a spouse. The notion of not marrying for love is alien to me.....but before we got to the 'love' part, there were other things to gauge first. Like compatibility/personality/education/views/stability/etc. Had D not possessed what I was looking for, I wouldn't have stuck around love enough to have fallen in love with him.

This is why I don't have any issues with foreign brides (or grooms) who specifically seek out a spouse from the US. I see it as no different than a woman here in the states looking for a potential husband who is well educated, has a prestigious career or is financially successful.

But looking for a spouse from a certain country isn't something you unconsciously filter for, like we do with class, religion and sense of humor. It doesn't factor into the initial attraction. And it has nothing to do with compatibility. It doesn't say anything about the person other than where they were born. And what immigration opportunities they could offer them in the future.

[southernchic 0]

Eh, I'm not so sure how I feel about this, tbh...I've been thinking about this a lot since that person asked me if I'd marry his friend for money....of course, that's sooooo not for me and I'd never do that, BUT the USC is still filling out an affadavit of support in this instance & to me, that's a lot better than just being illegal. USCIS doesn't define a marriage as requiring love....I suppose the money aspect of it is the problem...but it's on par (imo) with a well off older man marrying a young, gorgeous woman from an impoverished nation. They may not love each other, but they both mutually benefit from the marriage.

I would also say this straightforwardness is a lot better than the foreign born so duping the USC into thinking it's a traditional, love filled marriage.

I completely agree with you about the honesty issue. People marry USC all the time for papers. This person just was clueless enough to get caught. Just read VJ long enogh and you'll realize that there are lot of people who have lied, manipulated and scammed their way into someone's heart. That should SERIOUSLY be a crime.

[JJWashington 0]

Just stupid