Green card marriage fraud is the process of using a pretend marriage to secure permanent resident status. The government has set this system up so that married couples can get a green card when one person is a citizen and the other is not. This allows the family to stay together in the United States. But some people will try to abuse this system by pretending to be in a relationship when they really are not.
This doesn’t necessarily mean that they aren’t married. They may technically get a legal marriage in order to use that as justification for a green card. But the romantic relationship is fraudulent, and the government may believe that the two will quickly get divorced after they’ve obtained that green card.
The interview process
To keep people from doing this, the government conducts green card marriage interviews. Not only does someone have to show the proper paperwork to demonstrate that they are married, but they have to show that their relationship is real by going through the interview.
These interviewers will just ask people general questions about their lives to get a sense of how many similar answers they give and how well they seem to know each other. A couple that is truly in a relationship should have no problem answering questions like:
- Where did you first meet?
- Who proposed?
- Have you met each other’s families?
- Where do you like to go out to eat?
- What are your daily routines around the house?
- Are you thinking about having children in the future?
- Where did you go on your first date?
As you can see, these aren’t questions with right or wrong answers, but it’s a red flag if both people give very different answers or seem not to know. Anyone who is going through this immigration process needs to be well aware of the legal steps they should take.