Several years ago I was casually dating a man from Colombia named Carlos*. On our second date, he raised the topic of matrimony. I was a bit surprised; barely two weeks of knowing one another seemed a bit early for him to basically propose to me. Many other girls might be flattered or even elated if they received a proposal so soon in the relationship. However, while I was attracted to Carlos and was indeed considering a future with him, I suspected he might have ulterior motives for bringing up marriage on our second meeting. Carlos was in Canada on a visitor’s visa. As he explained it, there were three ways he could stay in this country: by obtaining refugee status (which he ultimately did), staying here illegally and working under the table, or marrying a Canadian. Needless to say, I did not marry him.
Though I did not become an example of it, my experience with Carlos got me interested in the subject of marriage fraud. Marriage fraud is defined as the act of marrying an individual with the sole purpose of immigrating to or obtaining permanent status in his or her country of residence and lying about the true purpose of the marriage (i.e. pretending to be in love with him or her). Marriage fraud should be distinguished from marriage of convenience, where both parties agree to get married in order to help one of them immigrate but where there is no intent to deceive the other (a la Andie MacDowell and Gerard Depardieu in the film Green Card).
The most famous case of (probable) marriage fraud is perhaps that of African-American writer Terry McMillan and Jonathan Plummer. At the age of 42, McMillan took a trip to Jamaica and there met Plummer, then twenty. After marrying him and bringing him to the United States, she wrote a semi-autobiographical novel about her experience entitled How Stella Got Her Groove Back, which was later made into a movie with Angela Bassett in the lead role. The marriage ended a decade later when Plummer revealed he was gay. He claimed to have discovered his homosexuality only on coming to the States, but McMillan asserted he knew of it all along and merely used her to get a green card. Personally, I strongly believe McMillan’s explanation to be the more likely one – though as a gay man his desire to leave Jamaica was somewhat understandable given the extensive homophobia in that nation and though maybe McMillan should have wondered why, gay or not, a man half her age in a developing country would be so eager to walk down the aisle with her.
Away from the limelight, marriage fraud has recently become an issue in Canada as well. The Toronto Sun ran an article in 2006 about a Canadian woman who married a Cuban man, only to have him abandon her three months after he received his permanent residency and social insurance number in this country. She would moreover be legally obliged to reimburse the government for any welfare costs he might incur. A local Toronto Chinese daily featured a story on a woman whom many in the community suspected of marrying her now-deceased husband solely to enter Canada. Many marriage fraud incidents involve the South Asian community. The situation among them is further complicated by the fact that a considerable proportion of their marriages are arranged by family members, so it may be even more difficult for them to gauge their would-be spouse’s true intentions if he or she lives outside Canada.
Now some people have said “enough.” A number of organizations with names like Stopmarriagefraud.ca, the Canadian Marriage Fraud Victim Society, and Canadians Against Immigration Fraud have formed to combat fraudulent marriages. They have received support from British Columbia Member of Legislative Assembly Raj Chouhan. Their premise: that Canada’s immigration system makes it too easy for people abroad to wed Canadians just to get a foothold in this country. For instance, the husband or wife of a Canadian citizen is provided with permanent residency papers immediately upon arriving here. Anti-marriage fraud groups suggest that Canada instead adopt a similar framework to that in the United States and Australia, whereby foreign spouses of nationals must wait three years before they can become permanent residents. If the marriage dissolved before the end of that period, barring hard cases such as domestic violence the spouse would be deported to his or her homeland, and obviously the Canadian partner would not be on the hook financially for him or her.
As a would-be victim of marriage fraud myself, I look at these organizations’ sites regularly and have even contributed to one of them (Stopmarriagefraud.ca). Some of them admittedly raise a few questions in my mind. For example, one states that the majority of Canadian-foreigner marriages involve deceit but provides no data to show this. The danger in making unsubstantiated claims is that when they are found to have no basis in fact they can cause the whole movement to lose credibility. They end up making the writer of the claim at issue (in this case, that most marriages with non-Canadians are shams) look irrational. As a result some readers might dismiss the existence of genuine marriage fraud entirely. I also have reservations about the wisdom of automatically deporting suspected marriage fraudsters. Deportation is not always practical: some individuals with deportation orders against them simply fail to show up at the immigration office and go into hiding. On the other hand, lengthening the period required to obtain permanent residence from zero to three years does not appear unreasonable. If the marriage ends before that time, the foreign partner should perhaps not be deported but nor should be entitled to alimony from his or her former spouse or to welfare from the public purse. This might ultimately push some fraudulent husbands and wives to go back to their home country if they knew they could not receive any financial assistance in Canada. Finally, these sites do an important job in raising awareness about the problem of marriage fraud.
* Pseudonym.
Sphere: Related Content
Many immigrant women and men use VAWA based immigration fraud to secure Greencards in the absence of abuse. Stop VAWA based immigration fraud!
Sean, I suppose this may be true in the United States, but I am not sure whether in Canada a woman (or man, for that matter) can be granted asylum if they marry a Canadian and then claim abuse. I should find out more.
I was frauded im 2003
I met mahjan morales from the phillipines on line in 2003 i brought her here on a k1 visa she thougt she didnt have to marry my just change visa so after finding that out she decided she really loved me and had to get married / well our gov has a loophole for them at the expence ofthe americian citizen . she had me arrested for domestic battery (total fraud on charge)so didnt have to stay married to me just self pertion she has a girlfrend here i found out later it was her plan all along proven . she even had chlimidia so bad when she arived that she had an ovary and tubes removed so they dont even test for that before they come here
i tried unsecessufuly to get her deported . now this is a tolal fraud been 3 years since this happened shehas left the country 3 times and returned Why because our gov doesnt care i was told at my divorce that i couldnt turn her in to ice as partof my divorce agreement whats so bad is before they come here they are required to go to a siminar on what to do if you are a victum of d/vso they already have a plan if thet so desire to use it at. She got here march 19 2004 we married march 29 2004 she dont her plan june 8 2004 3 weeks after having het operation
Dear Mr. Harris,
Could you clarify if you are Canadian or American? You also say “She decided she really loved me” but then you say that “I found out laterit was her all along proven.” Could you explain that, because it seems contradictory?
Thanks,
Emilia
Marriages of convenience are not allowed under Canada’s immigration law! Or are they?
I have sponsored my wife to immigrate to Canada and soon after she landed, she abandoned me.
Before sponsoring my wife, I visited the CIC website:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/media/facts/marriage.asp
“Marriages of conv[en]ience are not allowed under Canada’s immigration law. It is illegal to be married simply to immigrate to Canada. Spousal sponsorship is a serious legal commitment.” “If a person enters into a marriage of convenience and comes to Canada as an immigrant, enforcement action can be taken. This enforcement action could result in deportation, and is the responsibility of the Canada Border Services Agency.”
After sponsoring my wife, and after my wife abandoned me, I contacted Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and I have been told by the representative on the phone that “We are sorry that she has used you to come to Canada; there is nothing that can be done as she has already landed in Canada; she is recognized as a legal immigrant and you have to support her for three years although you might have been abused.” What does this mean? Has the government of Canada deceived me? Why is the marriage of convenience “illegal” before the sponsored persons land in Canada and “legal” after they land in Canada? When the sponsorship principle is based on the truthfulness of the relationship between the wife and the husband, why the sponsorship is not void although the relationship has not been genuine?
I am writing to express my deepest concern that there is no marriage commitment in Canada, marriage fraud is legal in Canada, and the Canadian system is victimizing the citizen sponsors by supporting marriages of Convenience with sole purpose of immigrating to Canada. My family and I are victims of the Canadian System that is not enforcing Canadian Immigration Law. I have been told by the RCMP that: my wife is an adult; she is free to decide; there is no such thing as a marriage commitment; there is no support for the sponsor; there are various supports for the sponsored; the sponsor should carry the burden of marriage fraud. Canadian system deceives the sponsor by providing an opportunity to the fraudulent sponsored people to enter Canada and then victimizing the Canadian citizens by supporting those criminals with tax payers’ income.
Other countries, namely the United States, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Germany and many others grant periods of conditional establishment to spouses of their nationals. The sponsorship agreement should be void and the sponsored person’s visa should be void if there are sufficient evidences proving that the relationship has not been genuine and the sponsored person has married the sponsor only to immigrate to the sponsor’s country.
canadamarriagefraud@gmail.com
Citizens of the United States beware. At this moment, you are being stalked by a cunning, sophisticated predator. Thousands of American men and women have fallen victim to this ruthless hunter. The tool this predator uses is a smile, and the warm embrace of a lover.
This predator has one goal, to gain entry into the United States by marrying an American citizen. Once this objective is accomplished, you have served your purpose. You will be discarded like a rag.
Be assured this predator is not alone; He or she will have access to attorneys who specialize in distorting the intent of our legal system. No matter how unethical, they will get the job done.
The Predator, through legal maneuvering, is now transformed into a “victim.”
Americans live in a world of many threats from abroad. One of the least understood or talked about is marriage fraud. Foreign nationals, who marry American citizens solely to gain entry into the United States.
Thanks to the Violence Against Women Act, or VAWA, safeguards that once protected U.S. citizens from this type of fraud have been largely swept away.
There are Web sites that instruct foreigners how to circumvent U.S. law by using VAWA and an abundance of attorneys who specialize in distorting the well-meaning intent of this law.
While we wage war in Afghanistan and Iraq to combat terrorism, this insidious form of terrorism is taking its toll on American citizens inside our own borders.
Don’t count on help from your government or elected officials, you will be met with indifference or open hostility. Chief among this group is Sen. Sam Brownback. Only Sen. Ted Kennedy has a more liberal voting record on this issue.
This elitist group has turned a blind eye to fraud perpetrated against their own honest, hardworking citizens, while claiming to do so in the name of justice and fair play.
Gregory H. Bontrager
I thought that the United States had stricter laws in place in order to prevent marriage fraud, such as requiring foreign spouses of American citizens to wait a certain period of time before acquiring citizenship themselves.
Because of VAWA a foreign national (man or woman) can claim they were abused in some way and they will be granted a green card. The spouse of the foreigner has no right to know or be made aware of the claims made against them unless a criminal charge is filed. In effect he or she can say anything and you have no right to defend yourself. The standards of proof are so low they are nonexistent. There is an industry of attorneys in the United States that specialize in distorting the well meaning intent for VAWA. If your not there to defend yourself, you don’t have a chance!
I was with my girlfriend for 4 years from Sweden. We recently got married, she became a well know model here in the states. Recently she just bounced out of our home and I was suprised everything was taken including my dog, personal belongings etc. I come to find out she is trying to use the “abused women” law. Too bad for her I have never been arressted nor charges have never been filed nor reported regarding domestic violence. She called the cops on me the night she left, well……..her plan didnt work out cause I was sleeping in the bed when the cops showed up. They didnt file anything, infact the call was already erased by the time I arrived to the police station. Now she has no proof of me ever doing anything too her and I am glad cause I am so upset and hurt someone would do such a thing. Now she has 30 days or pack up and leave or a bench warrant will be out for her. The INS doesnt take fraud lightly and homeland security doesnt either. I was told by my legal counsel that the “domestic violence abuse visa” is the most common used fraud way to stay here in the states.
To Jason and Gregory, thank you for the comments.
It’s a difficult situation. I suppose the question is how to tease out genuine cases of spousal abuse (which do happen, like the Filipina “mail order bride” who was murdered by her husband in Seattle) and false claims like in Jason’s situation. I strongly disagree that a green card should be given at the mere mention of abuse, with no investigation into the matter. I also suspect “domestic violence abuse visas” would dramatically go down in number if 1.) the claimant had no possibility of collecting spousal support from his or her ex-spouse, and 2.) the claimant could not collect welfare. Even without any allegations or evidence of violence, if you as a sponsoree want to leave the relationship, you should not be entitled to support either from your former spouse or from the state.
Hi my name is anthony.
I met my future wife in the summer of 2005. She was the au pare for my brother and his family. We started talking about a month or so after she got here. She was from south africa. Well we were dating off and on for about a year and a half before she sprung it on me that she wanted to get married. Which seemed odd to me because before she kept refusing to even be my girlfriend.
But I loved her and I felt that she loved me. So anyways long story short she left me about a week after she get her green card. She said that she got married young and just wanted to be on her own for a while. And would be back in a week, then it was two months and before you know it it was a year and some months and we hadn’t even seen each other in 6 months.
And its just been like torture to me because I love her and miss her but can’t understand why she’s doing this. Then at the beginning of september she told me she wanted it to be over for no reason. Then when I mentioned divorce she acted like she didn’t really want to. Which seemed odd.
Then later my sister in law and her got into an arguement about it and she sent two emails and copied them to me, my sister in law and her other email address. Basically saying in the emails that I abused her and cheated on her during our marriage which were both not true at all. And it upset me and hurt me deeply. To think someone I love and care about so much would do something like that.
Then she changed her phone number and I haven’t spoken to her since. And then I went to go see her only to find out that the address she gave me she hadn’t lived at since june of this year. So I pretty much have no idea where she is or who she’s with and what she’s doing.
And my and my sister in law went to ins and reported the incident and they said that they were really cracking down on these cases. But when I looked at the immigration laws the more I think that they really don’t take it seriously. It seems like the laws are all in the immigrant spouses favor. Like pretty much totally in their favor.
And as for the abuse things it seems like she could claim abuse on normal stuff that goes on in regular boyfriend girlfriend relationship. Like she could claim abuse just for me refusing to speak to her for a period of time. But its funny that she could just do and say anything to me but im the bad guy because I don’t want to argue because when my spouse upsets me I don’t want to say anything upsetting to her so I would rather not say anything.
And the fact that they don’t even let you argue your case is rediculous. That is just unconstitutional period. No immigrant spouse should be allowed to get their green card on their own. They’re there because they are married and that’s the way they need to stay.
These laws need to be brought to the supreme court and changed immeadiatly. Its a sad day when immigrants have more rights than the natural citizens of this country and the ins needs to get off there butts and do the job they’re supposed to do.
If anyone has any advice please comment back or email me @ tcbusiness83@tmail.com
I need to know if there is anything else I can do to stop this.
Dear Anthony,
Hi. I’m sorry for what you went through. I would advise you to speak to a legal advisor. Are you still seeking a divorce? You might wish to know what your options are.
Now this is a non-professional piece of advice, but it seems that you are emotionally hurt by what has happened to you. I might kindly suggest you seek a counsellor or psychotherapist to help you through this if this continues. Also, there is an organization called Stop Immigration Fraud, and I would think you might wish to check them out if you feel you could contribute to it or get some moral support from people who might have gone through a similar situation.
Emilia
The first responsibility of a government is to protect its citizens. When it comes to marriage fraud, the United States Government has failed, and in many instances will collaborate with perpetrators.
Because of the Violence Against Woman’s Act a foreign national, man or woman can claim they were abused, verbally or physically by there American spouse and they will be granted a visa. The standards of proof held by the immigration service under VAWA are so low they are nonexistent.
The American spouse of the foreigner has no right to know of the claims made against them unless a criminal charge is filed. In effect, the foreigner can say anything about a Citizen and you have no right to defend yourself, no matter how scurrilous the lies may be.
Keep in mind the foreigner making the claim of abuse has a vested interest in making you sound as bad as possible and will be represented by an attorney who specializes in doing whatever it takes, no matter how unethical to destroy your good name.
Who is there to defend this Citizen? No one, you are at the mercy of whatever distortion a highly paid shyster can conjure, all done in darkness, behind closed doors.
On the surface VAWA sounds great, how can anyone be against violence against woman? But with any legislation, the devil is always in the details.
VAWA has opened loop holes in the law big enough to drive a bus through. And many predatory foreigners, armed with foreknowledge of these loop holes and a ready list of attorneys are boarding that bus for a free trip to the U.S. at the expense and welfare of an American citizen.
G Bontrager
Dear Greg,
Thank you for responding again. Yes, I would agree that the VAWA was made with all good intentions in mind, but in some cases people have abused it. I would say that maybe the people using it to get a visa might have less incentive if they knew that they would not receive alimony from their ex-spouse (even if the charge were accepted) or welfare from the state. Again, I think the difficult thing is how to separate real cases of spousal abuse from false ones. I don’t have an easy answer to this problem, but I think if they knew there would not be spousal support or a welfare cheque waiting for them more people would think twice about laying false allegations.
Another (partial) solution would be before such a marriage contract, a prenuptial agreement would be required as to what should be done if the marriage breaks up. I don’t know if this idea would have any chance of becoming law, but it might be a partial solution.
Emilia
Please sign my petition and pass it on
http://www.petitiononline.com/ivfrape/petition.html
SAVE BABY X
Artificial Insemination used for Immigration & Paternity Fraud and the
complete removal of this child’s rights to a father.
Baby X has been stripped of his rights to have a father, by the State
of New Jersey and Bergen County Courts, by a malicious plot involving
NJ Bergen County Family Court and the corrupt Judge Edward Torack, Dr.
Tanmoy Mukherjee, of the Mount Sinai Hospital/Reproductive Medical
Center of New York.
Baby X is a victim of a sinister plot by the ruling class to destroy
Black Families and Men using the false flag of Child Support system
and Women’s Rights. Baby X was created during unauthorized artificial
insemination by Dr. Mukherjee and a Black Woman facing deportation for
defrauding a university in New York City. In order to avoid
deportation, Dr. Mukherjee and The Mother of Baby X conspired together
to take and illegally use the semen of a Black Male US Citizen in
order to perform an artificial insemination, and create an anchor
baby. They also conspired to victimize the said Black Male with the
responsibility of Child Support without his consent to an IVF.
During hearings at NJ Bergen County Family Court, Baby X’s Father was
able to present a copy of Baby X’s Mother’s immigration records (which
should a history of immigration fraud conducted by Baby X’s Mother)
and get Baby X’s Mother to admit, under questioning, that she had the
child via Unauthorized Medical Experiment/IVF.
Immediately after clear evidence was presented in the court, that Baby
X was created by an via Unauthorized Medical Experiment/IVF for the
purposes Immigration Fraud, the Father was completely banned from all
courts and all judges – by the corrupt Judge Edward Torack of NJ
Bergen County Family Court.
The court ban against the Father to Baby X includes the denial of the
following rights:
1) Ban against a “Request for a DNA test of all parties”
2) Access to appeal & any other judges/courts
3) Ban against visitation between Baby X and Father X.
4) Any modifications to Child Support, including a decrease in income
of Father X
5) Any ruling on evidence pertaining to immigration and paternity
fraud in the case.
The end result is to totally strip Father X from any rights to the
child except to shut up and pay. He did not have a right to say when
where and how to have a baby, and he did not have a right to have any
representation in court. And therefore the State of New Jersey has
stripped Baby X’s right to have a Father!
i m sick of these frauds.i dont know why these people make inocent people fool.i m also a victim(internet immigration fraud)…
i m really in extreme distress.i m looking for a sincere and serious lady..
if u r interested plz mail me secreturs@hotmail.co.uk
Dear M. dani, I would go to a dating site if you want to meet someone. And although I may sound really cynical, I would suggest (depending on where you are; from your e-mail I presume you’re in the UK) be careful of getting involved with someone from a country with a lot of people who want to immigrate.
Sean, I suppose this may be true in the United States, but I am not sure whether in Canada a woman (or man, for that matter) can be granted asylum if they marry a Canadian and then claim abuse. I should find out more.
Thank you Ms. Liz for posting your near-disaster story as well as thanks to the other postings. Here is mine.
I have suddenly become cynical of my current relationship. I entered into what I knew to be a potentially difficult relationship with a woman who has a deportation order. I befriended her at first and then after several months fell in love with her. She was clear she did not want a boyfriend at first – then suddenly she proposed that we should get married – to ‘help her out’. She also suggested we could have a ‘real marriage’ later on after the ‘first’ one. I refused saying I was only interested in a ‘real marriage’. I stayed with her because it appeared that her illegal status might improve: she says she has the FBI assisting her in obtaining a VISA because she is the victim of crime (she tried to ‘buy’ a green card from a guy on the internet – he took her money and ran). She also filed for VAMA assistance during her last relationship in the U.S. She also left her first husband in the U.S. months after obtaining legal status following the wedding. This ultimately led to her losing her legal status.
I know what you are thinking – I must be an idiot to stay involved. Well, I am typically known as the ‘nice guy’ and she knows I would do anything for those around me. AS well, her story is all too compeling – it includes her young ‘american’ daughter who will be left to foster care if she is deported. Her story also includes her getting breast cancer recently.
I have now broken things off because she offered me $15,000 dollars to marry her. She is feeling very pressured to get legal soon and she looks to be in the market for a temporary husband. At least one of her friends has already been successful with a fraud marriage and this is very motivating for her. She claims she has several friends who are willing to marry her for free to help her – but this hasn’t happened. Her story may be all true or it may not be. I have no way of knowing anymore – and the stakes seem to be very high if I guess wrong.
It helps to hear that others have found similar desparate aliens or immigrants. But it is more unsettling to hear Americans becoming victims. I am also reading that last year a senior ICE official was arressted for taking bribes from immigrants – there would appear to be corruption at both ends. I wonder if the reality of fraudulent marriages should be broadcast more openly to Americans and move beyond internet sites and blogs.
I don’t think I will ever get involved with a immigrant again.
My opinion on so-called marriages of conveniences (where there is no attempt of one party to deceive the other with professions of love) are I have no moral objection to them but you enter into them at your own risk. I remember speaking to a Sikh friend who told me about such marriages. He says immigration officials really try to find out who’s genuinely married by questioning each spouse carefully. Questions I thought these officials asked were things like what’s your husband’s/wife’s favourite food, what time do they get up in the morning, etcetera. So I said, naively, “They don’t ask about sex, though.” Well, according to my Sikh friend, yes, immigration officials do ask about sex. So beware!
Hi all, I am now going through with a divorce following my south American wifes unresonable behaviour she is here in the UK on a 2 year marriage visa we have actually been married for 3 years but when we tried to get ILR at the end of her initial visa the immigration refused to issue ILR as she had not completed the skills for life test.
The actual relationship has been very rocky for a long time but I like a fool have tried to make it work for the good of us all as her daughter from a previous marriage is here also.
On reflection the marriage has only been bad because of her treatment towards me i.e her violent behaviour during arguments, no doubt trying to provoke me into hitting her which thankfully I have not done,she has made no contribution to the family finances although she will send money to her mother back in Peru.I went into this relationship with all intentions of making it work but it is now an immpossible situation.She has now left the family home,taking with her anything of value from the home including my beloved dog and gone into a refuge now this may look pretty desperate to the immigration dept as she has the cunning plan of applying for ILR on the grounds of emotional abuse.I am just wondering how i can defend these allegations any advise would be appreciated.The only person suffering emotional abuse is myself.I have commenced divorce proceedings, and withdrawn my sponsorship with the immigration department but alas have heard nothing from them,although I will be writing to them to explain my side of things I understand that they require hard evidence of domestic abuse before they will consider an application for ILR.Before she left the home she did call the police and gave them a sob story but as there had been no violence there was no arrest or caution.She has gone down this road as I think she guessed that i would not be signing for ILF in August as I was really at the end of the road.Again any advise would be appreciated and thanks for taking your time to read.
I really couldn’t give you any legal advice, but I would suggest seeing a lawyer on this one.
Maybe as a precaution, people who marry a foreign national could be sure to have a prenuptial agreement.
How stupid can some people be? There are enough people in this country. If you can’t find someone here, then you aren’t going to find it in another country. The stupid American men love their subservient third world women. Eventually, those women learn or already knew the deal.
I don’t think all marriages between Americans (or Canadians or inhabitants in any First World inhabitants) are based on notions of subservient women. However, I know the so-called mail order bride agencies often emphasize how the women from whatever nation featured are uncontaminated by the radical feminism that has supposedly destroyed male-female relationships in the US. By the way, I may write an article on mail order brides, so stay tuned!
Hello everyone. Quite a few years ago I was a victim of marriage fraud. I found out just in time. These people can be very clever. We were married long enough to have a child. He left before she was born. he has never supported her has no real contact with her, and suddenly out of the blue he conned her social security number out of her. I have no idea what he wants with her social security number. Can anybody out there explain this.
Thanks
I would contact either the police or social services.
Thank you I am. I also will be filing complaints with the Department of Home land Security, and the FBI as he is putting my daughters information in the hands of potential terriost. The people he plans to get his fake documents from are criminals. They could also steal her infromation and one day provide a terroist with fake documents and put our nations security at risk again. I have taken this theft very seriously, and I am reporting it to every high authority I can
Is your divorce from him final? I would advise you to do so if you haven’t already.
I was helping Martha so much. After her divorce I offered her my house. She and her 3 sons lived in my house for three years. I helped her with so many things: house, car, driver’s license, doctors, surgeries, money.
She told me she wanted to be my wife. I agreed to marry her so she can be legal in this country. I was then that trouble started.
There is a law in this country called Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). Under this law a woman can simply claim that she is a domestic violence victim and she gets all the help she needs: Housing, Legal, Psychological, Medical, Employment and Immigration papers to stay in this country…
She contacted a VAWA agent, Laura Mora of the International Woman’s House, and claimed there was verbal violence. After being in the shelter for a couple of weeks she signed a petition for a Temporary Protective Order that was full of lies.
When I met Martha in October 2005 she was a Domestic Violence Victim and I wanted to help. I never imagined she would end up accusing me of the same. I offered her and her 3 sons to stay in my house.
In august 2008 she asked (begged) me to marry her because she was out of legal status in the US and wanted to become legal and needed to see her son in Mexico. Again I wanted to help and I agreed. On Aug. 27 – 2008 Martha and I got married.
Immediately after we got married her behavior changed dramatically. It became clear to me that something was totally wrong with our marriage. Martha threatened me to “leave me a present” meaning “send me to jail”. I thought she was under a lot of stress and again I felt pity. On Oct. 5 – 2008 I filed for immigration for her and on Nov. 9 – 2008 for her 2 children.
Martha had managed to create a deep conflict between her 2 children and their own father and now she was working on doing the same between her 2 children and me. Her children’s behavior was becoming more and more unhealthy. When I discussed her sons’ situation with her she lost her temper, and later she would turn that into Emotional Violence in order to gain Immigration Benefits. On November 27 she told her son, Raul to cut off the TV cables which he did in 4 places.
As I realized the situation was becoming very unhealthy I asked her to look for another place to stay. On November 29 Martha went to the police which escorted her and her children back to our residence. On Sunday Nov. 30 2008 Martha informed me that she intends to stay married only for the purpose of gaining Immigration Benefits. On Monday Dec. 1 2008 – for the above reason – I filed the Divorce Petition.
Martha immediately began to look for ways to retaliate against me. She contacted Laura Mora of the International Woman’s House, She joined the Domestic Violence Program – VAWA claiming there was “Emotional Violence” against her children.
On Dec. 19 2008 Martha and her children left our residence and moved to a Dekalb County Domestic Violence Women’s Shelter (the International Woman’s House). Martha left to the shelter using my 2007 SUV that I lent her.
On Dec. 31 2008 I came to Martha’s sister’s house to wish them a Happy New Year and to pick up my 2007 SUV. When I was driving the vehicle away Martha and her two sons ran out in front of the vehicle in an attempt to forcefully stop the running vehicle thus endangering their on lives and mine.
On Jan. 8 2009 Martha filed a petition for a Temporary Protective Order with Cobb County GA Superior Court – FALSELY accusing me for domestic violence against her and her children. On Jan. 13 2009 when appearing in front of the judge Martha committed Purgery for the first time.
On Jan. 23 2009 the Temporary Protective Order – was dismissed by Cobb County GA Superior Court judge – finding Martha’s accusations to be FALSE. At the court session Martha committed Purgery for the second time.
While giving her testimony Martha referred to events that allegedly took place on a trip to Orlando , FL in June 2008, proving that when she asked me to marry her in August 2008 her intentions were dishonest.
On Jan. 29 2009 the FINAL DECREE of Divorce was granted – by Cobb County GA Superior Court judge.
I don’t really have any legal advice for you, so I would get a good lawyer and try to reach some kind of settlement. I suppose there is always a bit of a danger with transnational marriages – in my view they always call for a prenuptial agreement.
Whatever you do don’t co-sign a credit card/loan with any illegal immigrants. A scam is going around the U.S. where illegals get their green cards then run up their spouses credit cards. Since it’s impossible to know if they are marrying you for love or just to get the green card why take the risk?
Well, maybe the American system, where spouses of Canadian citizens aren’t automatically given permanent residence, is a more effective means to prevent such marriages.
I have a situation with my father (60) and don’t know if I should call Immigration or the FBI.
In the spring of 2008, my father met a woman and a group of friends. The friends were chinese and owned a restaurant. My dad kept this all private to us and dated her secretly until Nov 2008. That’s when he announced he had a girlfriend (44) and he would know next month where it was going. She was a student but has just opened up Lucy’s massage and spa. He denied giving her the money, but we didn’t believe him.
So, I called the spa and pretended to be a customer and just asked about the spa. She immediately traced my number and called my dad and broke up. He was mad at us, but she had a college daughter in Canada, who she couldn’t get over unless she married. So, the interest in my dad.
We thought she was out of the picture. But she was still contacting my dad and talked him into buying tickets for China. He bought them in Jan 09 and left March 09.
In the Feb, the ex-girlfriend set him up with her cousin in China. My dad and this woman emailed each other with chinese translation software for 4 wks before he left for his trip. Then he was there a week and married her. She too has a college daughter that is wanting to come to America.
My dad since then has cut off all contact with us. It has been 11 months since he has talked to me. We found out thru twitter, that the chinese daughter is trying to get into an exchange program in Florida. We believe the wife is in China.
So, I think my dad is caught up in this. Thinks that he fell involve with her over the internet thru chinese software and doesn’t think that its strange that both woman have been trying to get their daughters to America. I would really like for someone to investigate the ex-girlfriend, her business, and the chinese restaurant where this all started.
Any suggestions where to begin?
Thank you.
Stephanie
ronald bola of newport ave #d tustin ca 92780 maried and paid a US citizen to obtain a green card. he also used fake bank and ss documents to get a tourist visa and work at power circuits in costa mesa ca between 1987-93. he is now a naturalized citizen.