sham/bogus marriages

[Paheli00]

Re: sham/bogus marriages

@Doppleganger

Can they claim it as mutah or whatever the sunni equivalent of mutah is (misyar?) that is practiced in Saudia? Personally, I would do that as if it is a temporary marriage, then might as well sample the goods for the time being.

No. In the U.S., the key is the INTENT of the parties at the time of marriage. USCIS is not saying that you can’t marry someone in order to get a green card. The issue is that you can not plan in divorcing that person once you get the green card. There are plenty of marriage where green card is obviously a “benefit” to the immigrant. However, in a “real marriage”, despite the benefit, the husband/wife still plan on building a life together. In “sham marriages”, the INTENT is to get divorced when the immigrant gets the green card.

Same concept would apply to mutah. If you get married with the INTENT to get divorced, then USCIS counts that as a sham.

That’s why most arranged marriages (at least the ones I deal with) do not generally face a problem with USCIS. The couple may not be experts on each others history or behavior, but during the interview and through the documents/evidence filed…the USCIS wants to be shown that the couple INTENDS to build a life together as husband/wife.