If you are serious to try your luck with immigration to USA, UK OR any other 1st world countries, spend some time to develop your workable immigration plan. Your time spent on research will not go waste. You must exactly know what to do and How to do it.

Your first step is to define your Immigration Aim clearly.

How to define your immigration aim is the core point on which your complete immigration plan will be evolving. Let us take few examples of Immigration Aims.

• I want to enter USA on Visit Visa and develop my company Business.
• My aim is to get F-1 Student Visa for my post graduate study program.
• I must get a cheep study program like ESL for my F-1 Visa.
• My fiancé(e) should sponsor me for K-1 Visa.
• My Citizen spouse can file my immigrant visa and K-3 visa simultaneously.
• My company should file L-1 Visa petition for me.
• I am eligible for E-1 / E-2 Treaty Visas.
• I must search a Religious Visa sponsor for me.
• I can join a cultural / Musical group for my Q-Visa.
• Should I join Student exchange program for J-Visa.

These are few examples of simple Aims for your Immigration Plan. After selecting your simple Aim, you can start researching Visa requirements, procedural steps, Forms and Fees and immigration documents required for your selected immigration Aim. Remember that you must have only one immigration aim. Do not try to sail in two boats. You will get confused. One single and simple Immigration aim will allow you to develop a workable clear immigration plan. You must spend more time to decide upon your immigration aim according to your prevalent situation. But avoid having double aims. Only double minded people have double immigration aims. They get lost in the long run. They can not plan in advance their immigration steps.

We have seen many immigrants with simple and single immigration aim have mostly succeeded in achieving their immigration objectives. Even such immigrants who had planed to file an Asylum application after entering USA and followed their Asylum immigration plan without wasting time were more confident in their Asylum interview as compared to those immigrants who had Asylum as a second option.

Because second option Asylum applicants keep on waiting long for filing their Asylum application. They will first apply for their existing visa extension and when Visa extension will be denied by immigration officer then they will apply for Asylum.

Such double minded people are deducted by immigration officers from the database. So their Asylum application is likely to be disapproved by immigration officer. Because interviewing immigration officer will form his opinion that the Asylum application is an afterthought of refusal of the Visa extension application. Secondly you have already become out of status at the time after refusal of your Visa extension application.

International Students Planning their immigration to study in USA, UK and other 1st world countries have to meet certain academic and financial criteria. Apart from being eligible to get admission in certain educational program on the basis of their qualification, grade and merits, an international student must display their financial strength to pay their tuition and living expenses for at least first one year of their study program.

Many eligible and desirous students are unable to demonstrate their financial support to pay to the College / University approximately US$3600.00 which is normally the cost of tuition for their first semester. They do not have good Bank statements and there is no immediate relative to provide them affidavit of financial support. Hence their immigration desire on student Visa remains a dream.

I will narrate an immigration plan of a poor student from Egypt who I met in Los Angeles, California, USA in January 2005.

One of my friends introduced this young tall boy of about 23 years age, saying that Mr. Sam has arrived in USA in December 2004 on a student Visa to study English As a Second Language for one year. He needs some guidance to achieve his immigration objectives in USA. I asked Mr. Sam to briefly explain his study plan and his immigration objectives to me.

He started speaking English in a very poor accent. He told me that he had very little money in Egypt and he is only a High School graduate. This means that he had gone to school for only 12 years. But he was very serious about learning English and speaking with pure American accent fluently. He wanted to know the business culture, society and relationship building with American business communities. Then he wants to go back to his country and operate a Home based Call center for Telemarketing in USA. He wanted to achieve his immigration objectives during his legal authorized stay period of one year in USA.

He told me with a broad smile that his total expenses of Course admission and F-1 student Visa cost was just US$950.00. He arranged for this money to be paid for by his uncle who also provided an affidavit of support for US$9000.00. Before he applied to immigration officer for student Visa, he traveled to a neighboring country to enhance the value of his passport. He said that Blank passports do not impress the interviewing immigration officer at the US embassy.

During his conversation I noticed that he had planed his immigration activities with lot of care and research. He analysis the situation intelligently. He is accurate in defining his immigration targets. He knows what he can do. He planed a limited immigration goal. His first semester tuition fee was just US$450.00, which was within his resources.

His arrival cost in USA on student immigration Visa was just US$950.00 only. He intends to go back home within legal stay period of his immigration student Visa.  If we analysis his immigration Aim, we can learn that simple and practical thought process can make your plan workable. You do not have to be ambitious while developing your immigration plan.

I made a guideline plan for him to learn and adjust in business culture of corporate America So that he can develop a good call center with lot of success in Telemarketing for his USA clients. I remember this young man left USA in December 2005. He was speaking English in fluent American accent and had developed deep business relationship with many ready clients who trusted him and were willing to outsource their Telemarketing project to his call center in Egypt.

A poor student had achieved his immigration objectives with hard work and intelligent planning. Those international students who have meager financial resources can follow such Immigration Plans to achieve success in life. Telemarketing projects require understanding of your client business psychology and speaking English in fluent American accent. You can learn both these requirements during your student immigration stay on an ESL course in USA.  You may also develop good personal relationship with your potential Telemarketing customers during your stay in USA. Your large friendship circle with American students will also help you in future Life.

Build your huge assets with good human interpersonal friendly relationship; you will never be poor in Life. Plan your immigration within your resources, you will be always successful. Do what you can easily perform. There is no shortcut to research and hard work. Good Luck to all International Students.

U.S. Department of Justice
Immigration and Naturalization Service
425 I Street NW
Washington, DC 20536

HQADN 70/11

MEMORANDUM FOR:

ALL REGIONAL DIRECTORS,
ALL DISTRICT DIRECTORS (INCLUDING FOREIGN),
ALL OFFICERS IN CHARGE (INCLUDING FOREIGN),
ALL SERVICE CENTER DIRECTORS,
FLETC,
ARTE A

FROM:

Michael D. Cronin
Acting Executive Associate Commissioner
Office of Programs

SUBJECT:    Guidance on Parentage Testing for Family-Based Immigrant Visa Petitions

The purpose of this memorandum is to provide guidance to Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) field offices on parentage testing to establish a claimed relationship for benefits under the Immigration and Nationality Act. Such testing may be appropriate to establish a parental relationship in support of a petition for a child, son, or daughter (Form I-130). The procedures discussed in this memorandum may also apply to establishing the biological parent of a foreign-born adopted child to support an orphan petition (Form I-600) or to establishing a parental relationship for citizenship cases (Form N-600). In addition, these procedures may be used to establish a parental relationship for refugee and asylum relative petitions (Form I-730). This memorandum has the concurrence of the Office of Policy and Planning and the Office of the General Counsel.
Authority to Require Parentage Testing

A petitioner must establish eligibility for a requested immigration benefit. An application or petition must be filed with any initial evidence required by regulation or by the form instructions. Any evidence submitted is considered part of the relating petition or application and may establish eligibility. 8 CFR 103.2(b)(1).

In the case of a petition for a child, son, or daughter, the petitioner must provide evidence of the claimed relationship. 8 CFR 204.2(d)(2). The initial evidence for a child, son, or daughter includes a birth certificate. When a birth certificate is unavailable, the petitioner must demonstrate that it is not available and submit secondary evidence, such as a baptismal certificate, or church or school records. If the petitioner demonstrates that both initial and secondary evidence is unavailable, two or more affidavits may be substituted. However, the unavailability of a birth certificate creates a presumption of ineligibility for the benefit, and any alternative evidence submitted must be evaluated for its authenticity and credibility. 8 CFR 103.2(b)(2)(i) and 204.2(d)(2)(v).

A director may also require that Blood Group Antigen or Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) blood parentage testing be conducted on the child, son, or daughter and putative mother and father to establish eligibility for a benefit. 8 CFR 204.2(d)(2)(vi). Statistical analysis of these tests provides a likelihood of parentage. These test results will often establish or disprove the claimed parental relationship. Since blood parentage testing can be a valuable tool to verify a relationship, it may generally be required when initial and secondary forms of evidence have proven insufficient to prove a claimed relationship. As a result of technological advances, field offices should be aware that Blood Group Antigen and HLA tests are no longer widely available for testing by laboratories, and are not considered to be as reliable as DNA tests.

Although a director may require blood parentage testing, he or she has no statutory or regulatory authority to require DNA testing. However, when initial and secondary forms of evidence have proven inconclusive and blood parentage testing does not clearly establish the claimed parental relationship, field offices may have no alternative to suggesting DNA testing as a means of establishing the relationship. The petitioner has the burden of proof when the evidence submitted has not satisfied his evidentiary threshold and the INS would otherwise deny the petition without more conclusive evidence such as that which DNA testing could provide. In such cases, field offices should inform the petitioner that: 1) DNA testing is absolutely voluntary; 2) the costs of DNA testing and related expenses (such as doctor’s fees and the cost of transmitting testing materials and blood samples) must be borne exclusively by the petitioner; and 3) submitting to DNA testing is in no way a guarantee of the approval of the petition.

Field offices should keep in mind that no parentage testing, including DNA testing, is 100 percent conclusive. Therefore, due to the expense, complexity and logistical problems and sensitivity inherent in parentage testing, offices should be extremely cautious when requiring blood testing or suggesting DNA testing as a means of establishing a claimed parental relationship.

While blood testing is not and should not be a routine part of the adjudications process, it can be an extremely valuable tool in cases when it otherwise would be impossible to verify a relationship. Parentage blood tests involve laboratory procedures performed on blood samples or other genetic material obtained from the child and putative parent or parents. The statistical analysis of the blood test provides a likelihood of parentage if the putative parent is not excluded. The likelihood of parentage is greater with increased information. Increasing the number of genetic testing systems tested provides stronger results, while the absence of information diminishes the strength of results. Officers should be aware that parentage testing is an extremely fact-driven procedure. A laboratory may more accurately determine what tests to run based on specific facts. A more accurate answer will be provided by the laboratory if the Officer provides the laboratory with suspicions of fraud or other pertinent facts.
Minimum Standards

Parties tested: The most accurate results are received when the alleged mother, father and child available for testing. However, testing of only the mother and child or father and child are also acceptable.

Statistical probability: All tests must produce a 99.5% statistical probability for the conclusion of results to establish parentage. Laboratories can continue with a battery of tests until a 99.5% conclusion of parentage is established. After testing the samples from all parties, laboratories will produce a conclusion of parentage which will inform field offices which tests were administered and the conclusion for the results they obtained.

Preferred test: The preferred test is the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test drawn with a buccal swab or a PCR test based on a blood sample.

Please see below for a more detailed explanation of the parentage testing process and procedures.
Blood Testing

Blood consists of red and white blood cells, platelets and liquid plasma. Each component of the blood contains several antigens or “markers.” The blood group antigens are structures on the surface of the blood cells that help to distinguish individuals within a population. The antigens, inherited from the parents, are controlled by genes on a pair of chromosomes. Each parent contributes one of each chromosome pair carrying the genes that determine the detectable properties of an offspring’s blood. The presence of a specific antigen indicates a particular genetic composition or marker. Conclusions in parentage blood testing are based upon the principle that the child inherits genetic markers in his or her blood from each of his or her biological parents.

Conventional Blood Tests

There are four basic tests used in conventional blood testing: 1) basic red cell antigens (ABO, MN, CcDEe); 2) extended red cell antigens; 3) white cell antigens (HLA); 4) and red cell enzymes and serum proteins. The laboratory begins by conducting the first test. If parentage cannot be ruled out based on the results of the first test, the laboratory will conduct the second test. The process continues until either the putative parent can be entirely excluded or a good statistical probability is established that the relationship is bona fide.

DNA Testing

DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) parentage testing provides an alternative to more conventional parentage blood testing methods. DNA testing can be especially useful in countries with limited medical and transportation facilities because, unlike HLA testing, it does not require the use of live human blood cells, which must be tested within just a few days, and are sometimes difficult to obtain. DNA parentage testing can often provide conclusive results even when not all parties are available for testing.

Officers should be aware that parentage testing technology changes rapidly. Whereas HLA blood testing was widely used until 1994, it is now rarely used. Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) tests which have been widely used since 1994 are now being phased out by laboratories in the U.S. The DNA test which is most recommended for use in parentage testing is the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test. Although DNA testing has traditionally been accomplished through blood testing, buccal (mouth or cheek cavity) swabs are an alternative to drawing blood for testing. Cells are drawn from the inside cheek using a long cotton swab. As opposed to blood testing, buccal swab testing does not require the assistance of a physician, and is non-invasive. Nevertheless, it is recommended that only a person specially trained to collect a tissue sampling perform the procedure in order to ensure the quantity is sufficient for testing.

Parentage Testing Procedures

The American Association of Blood Banks (AABB) accredits parentage-testing laboratories for a 2-year period.[1][1]   The current list of AABB accredited parentage testing laboratories is attached to this memorandum. Offices may accept parentage-testing results only from laboratories on this list. The current AABB list does not include any laboratories located overseas, however, the AABB does expect to begin accreditation of laboratories located overseas soon. Therefore, foreign offices should not accept test results from local parentage testing laboratories until the local laboratory has received accreditation from the AABB. The burden of proof is on the petitioner to show that the laboratory chosen is accredited by the AABB.

When a field office requires blood testing or suggests DNA testing, it should provide the petitioner with the list of AABB accredited laboratories. Field offices should be aware that the state designations on the list are for laboratory headquarters. Many laboratories have collection sites in many different states and locations. The petitioner must select a laboratory, contact the laboratory directly, and make the necessary arrangements for conducting the tests. To assure the integrity of the test results, all stages of parentage testing must be conducted under appropriate safeguards. These safeguards must include strict controls concerning: 1) protection of the chain of custody of blood or tissue samples; 2) identification of the parties to be tested, generally by photographing individuals being tested; and 3) correct presentation of test results.

Communication should be directly between the laboratory and the civil surgeon or panel physician or the field office. Under no circumstances should a third party, including the individuals being tested, be permitted to carry or transport blood or tissue samples or test results. Since the applicant bears full financial responsibility for testing, the Service has no objection to that person receiving a copy of the test results from the laboratory or panel physician. It is imperative that the same facility test both the alleged child and the alleged parent(s). Where the petitioner is physically present in the U.S., a U.S.-based lab must conduct the tests and relay the results. Instructions usually require the participation of a witness, identification taken from all (adult) parties involved, and photographs taken of all parties.

Analysis of Test Results

In all cases of parentage testing, laboratories should provide the statistical probability for the conclusion for the results they obtain. Offices should use the following interpretations of the plausibility of parentage to analyze test results. In general, AABB standards mandate 99 percent to be the minimum requirement for the proof of parentage. However, this statement does not mean that all test results 99 percent and higher should be accepted as conclusive proof of parentage, or that all test results below 99 percent exclude parentage. The type of parentage test performed, the genetic profile of the local population, and facts specific to the case will all affect the percentage that an office should require to establish a parental relationship. Field offices should provide laboratories with non-genetic evidence which may affect the lab’s assumptions in performing the testing, analysis of the results or the number of genetic markers tested.

Plausibility of Parentage (Percent) and  Interpretation

99.80% – 99.90%:  Practically Proved

99.1% – 99.80%:  Extremely Likely

95% – 99%:  Very Likely

90% – 95%:  Likely

80% – 90%:  Undecided

Less than 80%: Not Useful

Please note that in societies where interfamily marriage is common, close relatives will share many genetic markers and the test results of an aunt, uncle, or grandparent of a beneficiary may appear to establish the claimed parental relationship. The statistics used in paternity testing are designed for evaluating an alleged father as compared to unrelated men. Unlike the random population where persons may share genetic markers by chance, related men will share genetic markers by descent. First degree relatives, such as father, brother or son, will share 50% of their genetic material on average. Therefore, directors should consult with local physicians and parentage testing laboratories, and consider local fraud patterns, to determine the appropriate tests and particular test results to reliably establish the parental relationship in questionable cases. Officers should ask labs to calculate both a father-child and uncle-child or sibling relationship in these cases and should examine reports provided by the laboratory to ensure that sufficient testing was done to distinguish between family members. Officers should feel free to contact the laboratory for clarification if the lab’s findings are inconclusive. Labs are able to conduct tests on additional genetic markers if necessary to resolve inconclusive cases.

[1][1] The accreditation standards were developed by the committee on parentage testing of the AABB under a grant from the Federal Office of Child Support Enforcement of the Department of Health and Human Services and with the assistance of special consultants and representatives from the American Bar Association, American Medical Association, American Society of Clinical Pathologists, American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics and the College of American Pathologists.

Should I apply for the K1 fiance visa or the spouse visa?

This depends on many factors. If time is your foremost consideration, the K1 visa is usually quicker – often taking 9 months or less for visa issuance. If time is not the foremost factor then the spouse visa is usually the preferred option. The spouse visa is an immigrant visa that allows the foreign national spouse to enter the U.S. as a newly arriving lawful permanent resident. This is noteworthy, because the K1 fiance visa does not provide for immediate permanent residency upon admission to the U.S.

How does the K1 fiance visa work?

The K1 fiance visa is a non-immigrant visa which gives the foreign national spouse permission to apply for admission to the U.S. for the purpose of marrying their U.S. citizen spouse within 90 days of admission. The foreign national spouse entering on a K1 fiance visa is not entitled to work without separate employment authorization, nor is the K1 fiance authorized to travel outside of the U.S. In order to gain permanent resident status, the K1 fiance must affirmatively apply for adjustment of status to permanent residence upon marriage to the U.S. citizen fiance. All this must be accomplished within the first 90 days of admission into the U.S.

What is the advantage of the K3 spouse visa?

The K3 spouse visa was created to give foreign national spouses the option of coming to the U.S. as a non-immigrant spouse for the purpose of waiting for the approval of the I-130 immigrant spouse petition in the U.S. instead of abroad. In theory, the K3 visa was intended as a means for the foreign national fiance to get to the U.S. quicker, rather than waiting abroad during the lengthy petition approval process. In reality, most service centers are now processing immediate relative petitions at the same pace as the K-3 spouse petitions. For some couples, however, it may still be worthwhile to submit the K3 petition (filed on the Form I-129F).

What is the difference between the K3 spouse visa and the immigrant visa for spouses?

The K3 spouse visa is not an immigrant visa and does not convey U.S. permanent residency. Its primary purpose is to allow the foreign national spouse and derivative children under the age of 21 to travel to the U.S. for the purpose of joining the U.S. citizen spouse and avoiding lengthy wait times abroad. Once the K3 spouse arrives in the U.S. they are admitted as a K3 non-immigrant. K3 spouses must apply for employment authorization before they can work. After the underlying I-130 spouse petition is approved, then the K3 spouse may apply for adjustment of status to permanent residence. This whole process can often take several years, though it sometimes can save a couple months of living apart.

Should we get married in the U.S. or abroad?

If you and your fiance are contemplating marriage and willing to marry abroad and wait a couple of extra months for the immigrant visa, this is usually the preferred option. The primary advantage of coming to the U.S. as a married spouse, rather than a fiance, is that the foreign national spouse is able to enter the U.S. as an immigrant and is entitled to permanent residency upon arrival.

Do we need a visa attorney to help us?

Perhaps the foremost issue in immigration processing time delays is whether the couple is attempting to submit the petition and paperwork on their own, or whether they are availing themselves of the services of a qualified and U.S.-licensed attorney with experience in family-based immigration law.  Most processing time delays surface several months after the U.S. citizen petitioner has submitted the petition and then receives what is called a “Request for Evidence” (RFE) from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. An RFE can set your case back months, and can often be avoided by a properly prepared and documented petition at the outset. An immigration lawyer can be a great asset in this process.

It’s pretty clear that the economy is bad with only a few holdouts are denying it at this point. So what to do when you are on an H1B visa and you get laid off? Well first of all don’t panic. You likely have a visa that lasts for years at this point so you are NOT accruing unlawful presence even though you ARE out of status. What in the world does that mean? Well, simply put too much unlawful presence means that you will not be allowed back into the US for many years. Specifically, 180 days to 365 days of unlawful presence means that you will be barred from the US for three years should you leave and attempt to return. Anything over a year results in a 10 year bar to reentry should you leave the United States.

But I’m out of status so I’m accruing unlawful presence right?

No, not at all. The date on your I-94 rules your world. So if you still have time on your I-94 then you are not accruing unlawful presence until that date has passed.

GREAT! I’ll just stay!

Well the bad news is that you ARE deportable since you are out of status so that’s a really bad idea! Additionally, you can’t change your status to any other status once you are laid off since you are no longer in valid non-immigrant status. That means you’ll have to leave if you try to change your status.

So what do I do??

I can’t answer that question for you. However, I can say that you aren’t supposed to be here (and I would never advocate that you violate any immigration laws) BUT if you quickly find a new and appropriate H1B visa sponsor you MAY get lucky and the USCIS MAY allow you to change employers without leaving. It’s certainly happened before and, arguably, you getting laid off isn’t your fault and you and your new employer shouldn’t be punished for you getting laid off. In other words, you shouldn’t have to spend the money to leave the US, get your new H1B issued, and then reenter costing you and your employer time and money. The likely worst case scenario in this instance is the USCIS issuing you an H1B but making you leave to get your new visa stamped. But you’ll have to find an appropriate job and beg for mercy from one of the most merciless agencies in the United States!

Good luck!

The importance of seeking US citizenship…

If there is one thing I stress to my clients who have recently become lawful permanent residents it’s the importance of becoming a US Citizen if he or she intends to stay in the United States. I have received many calls from prospective clients who are long-time permanent residents that have gotten themselves into a bit of trouble and are at risk of being deported from the only home they have known for decades and separated from their children and spouses.

The reason I make sure my clients are thinking about this issue even though they have just become permanent residents is that as a resident you have far less rights than a US Citizen. In fact, other than basic due process rights under the US Constitution your life in the United States is dictated by the political winds blowing through Washington D.C. at any given moment and those change frequently.

The provisions of the 1996 IIRAIRA bill have had devastating effects on many lawful permanent residents and their families by removing relief and creating new grounds for removal which were retroactive. In other words, lawful permanent residents were (and are) being removed for acts they committed, or at least said they committed as part of a plea agreement, years ago.

The perfect example of this is HR4437 passed by the House of Representatives this year. This ridiculously harsh bill not only makes it an “aggravated felony” to be in the United States without status (either you entered illegally or you fell out of status at some point) it also makes anyone who assists a person who is here without status an aggravated felon as well. This is not only applicable to smugglers as the bill has a separate penalties for those who are assisting the undocumented or out of status for profit. This bill also applies to family members, clergy, attorneys, anyone that may do something (arguably anything as the language of the bill is very broad) that causes the individual to stay in the United States while out of status.

As mixed status families (families with some undocumented members and members who are in the US legally) are common this could create a situation where not only does the undocumented worker get removed from the US but the family members who are permanent residents may be charged with an aggravated felony and subject to removal as well. Being charged with an aggravated felony may preclude the family member from seeking any relief from removal and they may be removed no matter how long they have been in the United States.

On the other hand, a US citizen cannot be removed from the United States (and would arguably be subject to prosecution as a felon but it’s not clear how much of a realistic risk this is) and that is why it is important to pursue naturalizaion if you are eligible and if you intend to remain in the United States, particularly in the sort of anti-immigrant climate we see today.

Spouse immigration laws are always very stringent and are followed very strictly by all countries. Firstly, the documentation and other necessary certificates are checked very thoroughly for people coming into a country under the Spouse Immigration Law.  If there are any inconsistencies in the documents, the individuals are immediately deported or denied entry into the country. Needless to say, such incidents are an everyday matter in cases where people from a poorer country are trying to get into a richer country, them commonly being the USA and Canada.

Fraudulent marriages are another way through which men and women get into a country easily under the Spouse Immigration Law. In such a case, men and women vouch for the foreigner as their fiance, husband or wife and help them enter into the country. Once the individual is inside the country, they wait for a proper span of time – say six months – and file for divorce or separation. In such a way, the person comes into the country under spouse immigration laws, but is soon a single person in due course of time.

Such fraudulent marriages are commonplace, with most of them being mere financial transactions, wherein the alien pays a certain amount of money to the citizen to get them into the country. Earlier, most of such interactions were carried out clandestinely and off-line. But today, more and more people are coming online to carry out these antics. The Internet is one of the freest media and the basic lack of security makes it a very good place to carry out such conversations and therefore, decisions.

There is almost no way that the authorities can find out whether a citizen and alien are getting together for a fraudulent marriage with spouse immigration laws in mind. More commonly, the US citizen vouches for the alien as being their fiance, and once again, there is almost now way for the authorities to know the truth until it is too late.

The again, the entire concept of fraudulent marriages for spouse immigration laws is very complex. There is no set modus operandi that the US citizen as well as the alien is hand-in-glove to carry out this scam. There are chances that the alien has hoodwinked the US citizen so that they can get into the country riding piggyback on the US citizen’s passport.

There are specific websites, blogs and message boards which cater to fraudulent marriages under the Spouse Immigration Act. Some individuals also quote a ‘going rate’ or ‘coming rate’ for the same.

Finally, it should be remembered that all such fraudulent acts are scrutinized quite thoroughly and in almost all cases, there are possibilities to get a judicial rap on the knuckles, which could be deportation to say the least, and often arrests and jail time are involved. Hence, it is advisable not to fall prey to such deals, and make use of genuine methods in acquiring passports and visas to other countries.