Fraud Considerations
Because the K-1 visa leads to immediate immigration, and eligibility for employment, in the United States, it is considered to be a high fraud visa category. To partially address these concerns, Congress passed the Immigration Marriage Fraud Amendments of 1986, which placed a two year conditional period on a foreign spouses permanent residency. Dissolution of the marriage within those two years can lead to removal of the foreigner's permanent residency status.
Detecting marriage fraud is of utmost importance to the USCIS. Government officials are specially trained to detect any fraud. Attributes of a "normal relationship," which proves validity, can be common language or religion, shared vacations, events, and holidays, combined finances and property and more, but most of all, it is the intention to have a real marital relationship.
A survey completed by the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) in the 1980s found approximately 30% of these marriages are under suspicion of fraud. Fraudulent marriage is any marriage that has been entered into with the sole purpose of circumventing the law. According to the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), Act 255, the consequences of entering into a marriage in order to evade the law include incarceration for up to five years, a fine of up to $250,000, or both.
Other fraud concerns include routine romance scam or romance fraud, usually victimizing the American petitioner, as well as attempts by foreigners to pay an American to knowingly enter into a sham marriage.
Read more about this topic: K-1 Visa
Famous quotes containing the word fraud:
“Things gained through unjust fraud are never secure.”
—Sophocles (497–406/5 B.C.)