Comprehensive immigration reform must deal with the high rates of fraud in America's immigration system. Congressional members not only lack constituent services to help U.S. citizen spouses used for immigration, but ignore lax marriage-based immigration laws that put their constituents in jeopardy.
Contact U.S. House and U.S. Senate members
Report fraud: Call (866) 347-2423 or (800) 375-5283
Voice of American Immigration Fraud Victims
Canadians Against Marriage Fraud
Thanks to the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), immigrant spouses have a streamlined green-card process based on false and flimsy allegations of abuse -- and the immigration service is not even required by law to investigate such allegations. Yet, when American spouses are attacked and terrorized by the people that they sponsor into the country, no such laws offer protection.
Mafia and terrorist organizations planting themselves in the United States know that fraudulent marriages and VAWA loopholes remain the Achilles heel of American immigration law. They’re hoping that American lawmakers continue ignoring the problem since there is nothing like guaranteed citizenship and legitimate, legal papers.
(Personal statement delivered to U.S. congressional members, June 23, 2010)
To Whom It May Concern,
I inadvertently sponsored a large-scale, illegal drug producer and trafficker into my country – a man that would dupe me into marrying him, and then threaten to kill me, stalk me and attack me to protect his fraudulent immigration status. And instead of the DHS [Department of Homeland Security] taking my pleas for help seriously, my husband had access to the confidential process established by the Violence Against Women Act (“VAWA”) whereby he could fast-track his immigration status by a simple, unsubstantiated claim of emotional or physical abuse -- without any evidence whatsoever or obligation of the DHS to investigate such a bogus claim. I, on the other hand, had no such protection in the process. Here’s my story.
Out of the blue, my Dutch husband announced on our second anniversary that he was divorcing me. When I wouldn’t simply give up on our marriage, he admitted that he only married me for a green card. As his sponsor into the Unites States, I started researching the process to rescind his marriage-based immigration application. When he found out, he went ballistic. He tried to strangle me and threatened to kill me if I ever contacted the immigration authorities. Luckily, I barricaded myself in a room and called the police, but since I had no bruises the police did nothing. They told me I’d have to leave my home if I didn’t feel safe.
As I was moving a week later, my husband threatened me at gunpoint. I fled the house when a phone call distracted him. My local police and district attorney still refused to get involved, despite that fact that a firearm was now involved.
When I contacted my congressional members for help, they offered to help me sponsor a foreigner into the country but refused to get involved with a “marriage dispute.”
Although DHS investigators believed my husband committed marriage fraud, they refused to do anything since we were married for the required two years to provide him with a permanent green card and citizenship. The DHS also refused to take his domestic violence seriously unless he got a year in prison and a felony conviction of domestic violence. That same immigration office had numerous resources available to immigrants needing help, including local pro bono legal services.
Meanwhile, my husband was still stalking me and threatening me unchecked. Desperate and scared, I hired a retired FBI special agent as a private investigator. We soon found out that my husband was an “inadmissible alien” under U.S. law, and lied about crucial information on his immigration papers – a felony. Both were grounds to rescind his green card. I also found out that my husband was involved in large-scale, illegal drug tracking and production in his home country, the Netherlands. He also bypassed a background check before permanently entering the U.S. since he was marrying an American, according to the FBI and Department of State. When I contacted the DHS with evidence that I meticulously gathered with the retired special agent, the investigations unit refused to take even a sworn statement from me. Later that year, the DHS admitted to “losing” every stitch of evidence that the special agent and I ever submitted.
Most immigration lawyers will not help citizen spouses in my situation since we are working against their future lines of business. Most family law attorneys do not know immigration law or the impact of alleged domestic violence claims on immigration status. With no resources available to me during this horrendous process, I’ve had to school myself on immigration and family law. Knowing that few people help immigration fraud victims, I set up a Web site (ImmigrationFraud.com) to share information. I’ve also recently written a book about my experiences.
I’ve been horrified to hear similar stories repeated from other victims. These victims range from college professors and doctors to recent college graduates and retirees. Some have green cards, themselves, or became naturalized U.S. citizens. Men are just as likely to be victimized as women. I’ve met men that were horrified to realize that the Russian brides they sponsored were actually running drugs and prostitution out of their homes, had links to local Russian mafia organizations, and were a little too well educated on the VAWA immigration process within months of marrying their American spouses.
Thanks to VAWA, immigrant spouses have a streamlined green-card process based on false and flimsy allegations of abuse. VAWA immediately allows foreigners to become self-petitioning -- without any kind of investigation -- whereas they would normally not be allowed into the country. By claiming protection under VAWA, immigrant spouses no longer have to engage in a legitimate two-year marriage to a U.S. citizen. They can simply claim abuse one day into the marriage and be given a fast-track green card, and ultimately citizenship. Because of confidentiality rules, U.S. spouses are not even notified of such allegations and have to no opportunity to defend themselves in the process. According to DHS rules, immigrant spouses simply need a note from a social worker, psychologist or police officer, and the DHS is not even required by law to investigate such allegations. By doing so, the federal government has actually created an incentive for scammers to make false abuse claims under VAWA. The reward is high: unfettered U.S. citizenship.
Mafia and terrorist organizations planting themselves in the United States know that fraudulent marriages and VAWA loopholes remain the Achilles heel of American immigration law. They are hoping that American lawmakers continue ignoring the problem since there is nothing like guaranteed citizenship and legitimate, legal papers. As a result, we are rewarding the kind of people willing to engage in shady practices to attain citizenship. Yet, when American spouses are attacked and terrorized by the people that they sponsor into the country, our government looks the other way. I urge you to take action to remedy this unjust, unfair, and unconstitutional problem that is a growing epidemic in our country.
Respectfully,