Marriages don’t always work out – we all know that. It’s hard enough sorting out your differences in the process of divorce. If you add immigration issues on top of marriage issues, things can get even more complicated. The good news is if you get divorced when you’re under a conditional green card and then remarry, there’s a recent development that may make life a little easier.

As an Immigration Lawyer in Houston, I sometimes get asked, What is a Sham Marriage? Sham marriages are a way people avoid complying with immigration laws. A few years ago, sham marriages came into the spotlight with a hit movie, The Proposal, in which the two main characters conspire to enter into a sham marriage for the purpose of tricking immigration authorities. However, it isn’t just a movie plot – sham marriages occur in everyday life, too. They don’t always end up with the two people falling in love, like in the movie. And they don’t always have a happy ending, where everyone can just move on with their lives.

If you’re a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, and you are thinking, I need to bring your spouse to the U.S.A., there’s a process to do this. Dealing with marriage and immigration issues can take time, and when you want to relocate to the USA together, it can feel like a long process. Doing things right is the best way to make this happen as quickly as possible.

You may be wondering, can I apply for a marriage-based green card in the US? If a person who is not a citizen or a lawful permanent resident marries a citizen, he or she has the same legal status as before. However, that person then becomes eligible to immediately seek to become a lawful permanent resident. As a permanent resident, that person will have most of the rights and privileges of a U.S. citizen, and will be eligible for naturalization after five years.

You and your spouse probably don’t expect a denial of your marriage-based green card. You’re married, you live together. Why would your case be denied?

There are lots of reasons a marriage-based green card case might not be successful. Some marriage and immigration issues stem from questions about whether your marriage is real and not just a sham for immigration purposes. Other problems might be related to your spouse’s eligibility for a green card.

You may have seen a marriage-based immigration interview in movies and on TV. The movie, The Proposal, showed a scene in which an immigration officer questioned a couple about where and when they would marry – in essence, interviewed the couple before they were actually married. The popular TV show, Will and Grace, had a “green card wedding” involving the marriage of a gay man to a female friend to allow her to stay in the U.S. When the couple went to immigration, a gay officer interviewed them and felt that their marriage was not bona fide, but nonetheless approved their petition for the woman’s green card. You may be wondering what happens at a marriage-based green card Interview in real life?

How do I show my marriage is real in a marriage based immigration petition? A United States citizen or Permanent Resident may file a petition for his or her foreign born spouse to become a permanent resident. The petition serves as a basis for the foreign-born spouse to get a “green card” – permanent residence – that allows the spouse to live permanently in the United States. To qualify to apply for a green card based on marriage, you and your spouse will need to show that you have entered into a “bona fide” marriage and that one of you is a United States citizen or permanent resident. You and your spouse must file a marriage-based petition with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) by submitting a Form I-130. 

When filing a marriage-based immigration petition for a foreign-born spouse to live permanently in the United States, many questions may arise. This article will answer some of the most frequently asked questions. There are a few ways for a foreign-born beneficiary of a marriage-based petition to apply for a green card, including from inside the United States with USCIS, or outside the United States through a U.S. Embassy. Showing that your marriage is genuine and not just for immigration purposes is the main focus of the marriage-based petition

US Immigration Process: Honesty is the Best Policy

It’s not unusual for someone to ask me if something they do will affect their US immigration process or status in the U.S. –  my job is to advise my clients and assist them with these decisions. My clients run ideas by me all the time, so it’s not unusual for a client to approach me and ask how anyone (meaning anyone in the U.S. government) would find out if they did something that might hurt their chances to stay in the U.S. Often I am asked travel-related questions such as this: “If the U.S. Customs and Border Protection people don’t stamp my passport when I leave the country, how would anyone know when I left the U.S.?” Usually people ask me this because they’re thinking they might be able to list a different date on an application. In citizenship applications, most people must show that they’ve spent a certain amount of time in the U.S. If someone hasn’t spent enough time here, listing a different date that they left the U.S. might help them appear to qualify even if they don’t.

The Supreme Court has granted certiorari in the case of Kerry v. Din, in which a U.S. Citizen wife had petitioned for her husband. When her husband went to his immigrant visa interview at the U.S. Embassy is Islamabad, Pakistan, he was told he should receive his visa in two to six weeks. However, the Embassy ultimately sent a decision denying him the visa. The Embassy refused to provide specific reasons for the denial but indicated that it was due to terrorist activities. The Supreme Court held in 1972 that there is no constitutional right to obtain a visa. This case was brought in the 9th Circuit, where the is precedential case law distinguishing the denial of a visa where the denial affects a citizen's protected liberty interest in marriage.