Full question:
Currently, my now alien ex-spouse had the conditions removed from her 2 year conditional permanent resident card. She did so before we were divorced without my help because of a false VAWA claim. At the end of her 2 year conditional residency we were not legally divorced, therefore, in her case, her Immigration lawyer may have pointed out that VAWA was the surest and quickest way to succeed in getting the conditions removed from her 2 year temporary card without any questions being asked if we were still legally married. If still married, no other joint waiver option is allowed by law. However, regardless of VAWA claims (which can be proven untrue if need be) my alien ex-spouse committed a Federal Crime. How (especially the way VAWA works in conjunction with U.S. Immigration only allowing the alien spouse's side of a story) can an alien spouse or ex-spouse EVER be convicted of Immigration Marriage Fraud? Which leads me finally to my all important question: My alien ex-spouse has committed Immigration Marriage Fraud which, of course, means that I am the Victim of this Federal crime (my testimony and evidence is important). How do I go about bringing this to a court's attention, or maybe the Attorney General, and or the Department of Justice? Can any lawyer help me go down the right path to get this accomplished? I may also want to look at a Civil suit as well.
- Category: Immigration
- Subcategory: Citizenship
- Date:
- State: New York
Answer:
A sham marriage has been defined as a marriage which may comply with all the formal requirements of the law but which the parties entered into with no intent, or "good faith", to live together and which is designed solely to circumvent the immigrations laws. A marriage entered into for the primary purpose of circumventing the immigration laws, commonly referred to as fraudulent or sham marriage, is not recognized for the purpose of obtaining immigration benefits and immigration status may be rescinded.
Under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) passed by Congress in 1994, allegedly abused spouses and children of United States citizens or lawful permanent residents (LPR) may self-petition to obtain lawful permanent residency. There has been a lot of abuse of the VAWA Act, including many cases reported to this site. The agency that reviews the cases under the VAWA Act, the Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR), has been criticized for having a low/no standard of proof of abuse.
This content is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Legal statutes mentioned reflect the law at the time the content was written and may no longer be current. Always verify the latest version of the law before relying on it.
