Immigration Marriage Fraud and VAWA Fraud 101
by John Sampson – CSI Consulting and Investigations

ImmigrationFraud.com
Resources for Understanding Immigration Fraud

Hello, I Love You, Won’t You Tell Me Your Name: Inside the Green Card Marriage Phenomenon
The Center For Immigration Studies examines green card marriages.
Download the PDF file here.

CRS Report for Congress – Immigration: Noncitizen Victims of Family Violence
Congressional Research Service did an report for Congress on May 3, 2001 about immigration, family violence, and VAWA.

It’s Hard Work Spending All That Money!
This is another special report conducted by RADAR, focusing on wasteful spending related to VAWA.

50 myths of domestic violence revealed
#25) False allegations of domestic violence are almost nonexistent.
>> One study found 71% of civil restraining orders were unnecessary or false. Another analysis found over half of restraining orders did not involve even an allegation of violence.
#26) If we were to prosecute persons who commit perjury, true victims would be less likely to come forward.
>> False allegations weaken the credibility of true victims, making it less likely they will file a complaint. False allegations also undermine public support for the national effort to stop domestic violence.
#27) Even if they are not true, allegations of domestic violence help assure the domestic violence issue remains in the public eye.
>> False allegations divert needed services and resources away from true victims of violence. This claim reveals an easy disregard for the rights of the falsely accused.

Bar Association Spreads False Information on Partner Abuse, Report Says
Every day lawyers turn to the American Bar Association for information to help them represent their clients. But when it comes to facts about partner violence, that information is likely to be misleading, false, or even harmful to children, according to a report released today by RADAR, a victim advocacy group.

Adjustment of status for VAWA self-petitioner who is present without inspection
This is a USCIS memo dated April 11, 2008. What is this memo’s purpose? It seems to be giving an illegal immigrant the right to bypass the immigration laws of the U.S. by claiming he/she is a victim of spousal abuse. Once this claim is made, then the illegal immigrant does not have to prove that entry into the U.S. was lawful.

Congressional Guidelines for Abusing Women
Since the adaptation of welfare reform and the passage the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), the social policies and civil liberties of the United States have collapsed with regard to family law, causing our legislatures and courts to become the shills of radical ideologues. At times it seems that law enforcement officers have been reduced to acting as little more than the personal hit men for vindictive intimate partners.

DHS Q&A Sessions – VAWA Questions
From November 9th and 11th, 2005 in Irvine, California; panelist questions for the Vermont Service Center regarding VAWA cases

2006 GAO Report: Immigration Benefits
Similarly, another USCIS attorney told us that the provision of INA(Immigration and Nationality Act) that pertains to marriage fraud is rarely used because, due to the significant commitment of resources necessary to establish a finding of fraud, enforcing it might not be cost-effective…(page 37)

Note from Immigrationfraudvictims: American citizens and Legal Permanent Residents are put at great risk of false abuse allegations because it is not “cost effective” for the U.S. government to have the safeguard of a thorough investigation when there is potential marriage fraud. In fact, it is NOT permitted by law. Also, the statement alone from the foreign national spouse attesting to abuse has enough merit to grant the petition for the Green Card. Where as the statement from the U.S. citizen spouse in defense of the allegations and evidences for such have no merit to the USCIS and are ignored.

2006 GAO Report: Additional Efforts Needed to Help Ensure Alien Files Are Located when Needed
While deemed critical, especially in making citizenship decisions, A-files are sometimes missing during adjudications. In 2002, naturalization was granted to an alien whose A-file was missing and who was later found to be associated with a terrorist organization.

The Danger Marriage Fraud Poses to the National Security of the United States
I am Special Agent Tom Depenbrock of the San Francisco Field Office of the Bureau of Diplomatic Security with the U.S. Department of State. The Bureau of Diplomatic Security has worked closely with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Internal Revenue Service, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Seattle for more than 19 months on Operation Pit Boss, an investigation of marriage fraud ring.I am here today to deliver a clear message. Marriage and visa fraud potentially threaten the national security of the United States.

Strengthening Interior Enforcement: Deportation and Related Issues
Without strict and fair enforcement of our immigration statues, our country will remain vulnerable to the threats that arise from individuals who willingly exploit gaps in our immigration system.

2002 GAO Report: Immigration Benefit Fraud
Benefit application fraud involves the willful misrepresentation of a material fact to gain an immigration benefit in the absence of lawful entitlement. Benefit application fraud includes immigration benefit fraud schemes such as marriage fraud, in which an ineligible alien makes a false claim to a bona fide marriage with an eligible petitioner in order to obtain immigration benefits..(page 6)
In fiscal year 2000, INS’s district investigative units opened approximately 4,000 cases involving fraud, almost half of which involved marriage fraud…(page 9)
A Los Angeles District Office fraud unit investigative official told us that it receives approximately 200 leads per month, but because of resource limitations, very few of the leads are investigated. Chicago officials informed us that they had a backlog of approximately 300 marriage fraud cases. They used their own discretion in deciding which immigration benefit fraud leads to investigate…(page 19)
Also, some officials believe that adjudication officers are discouraged from taking the time to discuss questionable cases with investigators. For example, an official in the Vermont Service Center told us that adjudication supervisors have complained that the operations unit slows the application process by taking adjudication officers’ time away from reviewing applications. The official added that as a result of a production concern that the unit would not make its numeric goals, some adjudication officers have had to sneak over to the operations unit to discuss fraud related issues…(page 30)

Revocation of VAWA-Based Self-Petitions
Letter from the USCIS to district offices advising them that the Vermont Service Center is in charge of all VAWA based self-petitions and it is the VSC decision alone whether or not a VAWA based self-petition is revoked.

VAWA Speech of Rep. John Conyers
This is a must read! The pertinent areas of the speech that relate to our cause have been highlighted. As you read this, you will see the following: that the US citizen’s evidence is forbidden from being used by the USCIS; that the US citizen spouse, called the “abuser”, is considered a “prohibited source”; that the new reenactment of VAWA in 2005 prohibits the Federal government from having contact with its own citizens to gather or receive evidence. We have to wonder if in the past too many US citizens had submitted evidence to their own government that made the granting of these petitions troublesome for the VAWA staff in Saint Albans Vermont? If not, then why close this window if a just and balanced decision is the goal?

Immigration Marriage Fraud Amendments of 1986
One of the quickest ways to adjust one�s status in the United States is through a lawful marriage to a U.S. citizen. As a result, the Immigration Service saw many sham or business marriages. To protect the agency and the country from fraudulent applications and marriages, Congress passed Immigration Marriage Fraud Amendments of 1986.

THE IMMIGRATION MARRIAGE FRAUD AMENDMENTS: SHAM MARRIAGES OR SHAM LEGISLATION?

1985 Congressional Hearings on Fraudulent Marriages and Immigration