With the new legal advancements surrounding immigration in America, private investigators are seeing an influx of marriage fraud investigation cases. Have you heard of the show 90 Day Fiancé? Usually, an episode involves the story of two people, one from America and the other from another country. They see if they can last the 90-day visa period, and decide if they want to get married. This is actually considered marriage fraud. Marriage fraud is a loveless marriage where both parties mutually agree to get married for the sake of citizenship.
Is Marriage Fraud Really That Bad?
Well, after all, there’s an entire show about marriage fraud! Is it really that bad? If you’ve ever been investigated after marriage to a US citizen, you know it’s a serious matter. Every country has legislation around foreign marriage; some countries are stricter than others. In America, it’s well known that if you intend to marry a person from another country, there will be a few interviews and eventually granted a decision. You must prove the relationship is legitimate through evidence like chat history and a record of family meet ups. The couple will have follow up’s, at least a few times, by authorities. Finances and living situation would be assessed and monitored for the duration of the process. Though the process seems long, immigration takes time, money and resources. The immigration process often takes longer than 10 years. Criminals can enter the country through marriage and slip through the crack, endangering citizens. Unfortunately, marriage fraud is a thriving business here in the States. There are no precise statistics on the prevalence of marriage fraud in America, but it’s estimated there are thousands of instances over the span of a single year. The result of being convicted of marriage fraud are fines and deportation.
An Unveiled Past
In this case, RGH Investigations was called to investigate a potential marriage fraud. Our case started with a wife asking to investigate her husband’s past. She wanted to determine if her husband has been cheating, so she can take the evidence to divorce court. Instead, RGH Investigations found out so much more.
Her husband, a Nigerian citizen, had another wife! The husband was currently in the process of getting American citizenship through marriage with our client. Meanwhile, unknown to his second wife, the first wife already had a child with him. He was absent in the child’s life, and thus the court previously ruled child abandonment. However, he still had to pay for child support.
But that’s not all, he also has a record of domestic abuse. Our client feared that if she stayed with him any longer, he would also physically abuse her. Her concern grew as she found out that she was pregnant with his child. Since the husband is a green card holder, our client provided this newfound information to immigration officials. As the immigration laws have tightened recently, he now is facing immigration repercussions based on domestic violence. He can be facing deportation as a result. As this case is ongoing, we’ll keep you updated on the outcome.
Investigating for Marriage Fraud
Marriage fraud comes in many different forms. Oftentimes, it’s a loveless marriage where the couple mutually agree to get married for the sake of citizenship. However, in this case, the marriage fraud was infidelity, and polygamy. Tighter immigration laws have changed the future of private investigators in Chicagoland and across the country. RGH Investigations expect to see an influx of cases regarding immigrations. If you or someone you know needs assistance getting to the bottom of a marriage fraud case, contact RGH Investigations at 312-768-0376 to get started today.
