Married for Canada PR, US green card? You can land into serious trouble

Lovebirds in Canada: "Real love isn’t a crime, but marriage fraud is!" said Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Valentine's Day.

 

It warned Canadian citizens and permanent residents to be cautious about falling into the trap of a "marriage of convenience" and allowing a sponsored spouse or common-law partner to immigrate to Canada deceitfully.

 

"It can lead to serious legal repercussions," IRCC said. Canada's warning comes as it cuts immigration targets and is scrutinising papers to trace possible immigration fraud by foreign workers and students.

 

The Canadian government said, "Think carefully before marrying someone and sponsoring them to come to Canada, especially if:

— You’ve just met

— They want to get married quickly

— They’ve been married or in a common-law relationship many times before

— They haven’t shared very much information about their background or family."

 

For some people, marriage is a scam to jump the immigration line.

 

It's not just Canada. The United States is also dealing with marriage fraud.

 

At a US House Judiciary Committee hearing on January 22, 2025, immigration expert Jessica M Vaughan said, "The marriage-based categories remain one of the most vulnerable to fraud in various forms, some of which can be difficult to prevent and detect, such as in the case of US citizens who are duped by the alien."

 

"Obtaining legal immigration benefits through fraud or misrepresentation is another form of illegal," she added.

 

Vaughan, who is the Director of Policy Studies for the Center for Immigration Studies in the US, said, "Americans value immigration, but our current system suffers from lax oversight and too many loopholes that allow large numbers of unqualified applicants to receive benefits and a path to citizenship. Examples abound: a marriage fraud ring run by a local official in Connecticut that facilitated hundreds of sham green card marriages, 'pop-up' marriages to visa lottery winners."

 

"Our immigration system today lacks integrity and this has contributed greatly to waning public support for liberal immigration laws."

 

Measures suggested to tackle fraud

 

Vaughan suggested several measures to the US government to correct the problem, including:

1. Congress should direct and fund DHS, in conjunction with USCIS, the State Department, the Labour Department, and ICE, to conduct rigorous fraud assessments for every temporary and permanent visa programme.

2. All immigration-involved agencies should be required to report periodically to Congress on fraud trends and anti-fraud actions.

3. Congress should mandate that no marriage-based petitions are approved without an in-person interview of the applicants.

4. Both sponsor and applicant should be at least 18 years old and independently self-sufficient (no affidavits of support from parents or others).

5. DHS agencies should establish a training programme for local officials issuing marriage certificates and conduct an outreach programme about marriage fraud consequences.

6. DHS should create a tip line for fraud referrals and require USCIS to maintain a dedicated marriage fraud investigative programme.

7. USCIS should assist US citizens and lawful permanent residents who believe they are victims of marriage fraud.

 

Cases of marriage fraud

 

In September 2023, Vikrant Chauhan, 35, a citizen of India living in Chicago, Illinois, pleaded guilty before US District Judge Lawrence J Vilardo to conspiracy to commit marriage fraud. He was sentenced to five years in prison and a $250,000 (approximately Rs 2.2 crore). Chauhan and a female US citizen were not in a genuine relationship, never lived together, and entered a "contract marriage" only to obtain a Green Card.

 

In 2016, fourteen people of Indian descent were charged with involvement in visa fraud through fake "green card" marriages or by falsely claiming to be crime victims, according to officials. Authorities said they entered fraudulent marriages with US citizens and applied for U-visas, normally given to crime victims who help law enforcement.

 

In March 2024, four people from California were sentenced in a Boston federal court for running a large-scale marriage fraud agency. The scheme involved staging hundreds of fake marriages, fabricating abuse claims under the Violence Against Women Act, and submitting fraudulent immigration applications.

 

The group, all originally from the Philippines, worked with seven others. They ran the operation from Los Angeles, charging clients $20,000 to $35,000 to stage fake marriages with US citizens. His agency provided false documents, coached clients for immigration interviews, and sometimes fabricated domestic abuse claims to secure green cards.

 

Authorities uncovered at least 600 fraudulent applications linked to the agency between 2016 and 2022. Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI, and US Citizenship and Immigration Services led the investigation.

 

The IRCC has also flagged 'marriages of convenience' – where the sole purpose is to let the sponsored spouse or common-law partner immigrate to Canada.

 

"Our officers are trained to recognise real immigration applications. They know how to detect false marriages. They have many ways to spot marriage fraud," the government agency has said.

 

If a person enters into a marriage of convenience to immigrate to Canada, IRCC may:

— Take legal action against them

— Not allow them to enter Canada for five years

— Deport them from Canada

 

How IRCC detects fraud

 

— Document checks

— Visits to people’s homes

— Interviews with both sponsors and applicants