71-year-old Fort Worth woman admits role as leader of visa fraud

[soniew910 0]

http://www.ice.gov/pi/nr/0907/090701dallas.htm

[Peace be still 6]

"She faces a maximum statutory sentence of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and restitution. In addition, she is required to execute and provide a $35,000 lien on her home."

She should be put under the jail because it makes it difficult for those that are entering into a marriage for real love, but petition get sent back to USCIS because the consulate doesn't believe you. Yet some how sham marriages seems to get by real easy.

[Krikit 1,163]

Moving from Major Changes to Immigration Related Discussion forum.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

"She faces a maximum statutory sentence of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and restitution. In addition, she is required to execute and provide a $35,000 lien on her home."

She should be put under the jail because it makes it difficult for those that are entering into a marriage for real love, but petition get sent back to USCIS because the consulate doesn't believe you. Yet some how sham marriages seems to get by real easy.

I agree with your sentiments, but this is a little different from what you describe. This isn't a visa scam - it's a green card scam. These "foreign nationals" (as they are described in the article) are already in the US, and seeking to stay here legally. This woman arranged fake marriages so they could get a green card. This is a very common form of fraud, especially in states that border Mexico.

Five years does seem like a pretty light jail term for this sort of crime, but given her age I think the odds are good she'll breathe her last breath behind bars.

[maliciant 7]

I'd rather see a story like this one where both people are aware the marriage is a sham, than the stories where only one side knows it's a sham, love scams are just ridiculously cruel.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

I'd rather see a story like this one where both people are aware the marriage is a sham, than the stories where only one side knows it's a sham, love scams are just ridiculously cruel.

I hear 'ya!

People often get reamed in a divorce, but you get reamed repeatedly when you get scammed by a foreign bride. First, there's the truckload of money spent to bring the bride to the US, marry her, and apply for her green card. Follow this with an accusation of abuse, a few nights in jail, and a criminal record. When it finally lands in divorce court, the judge hands her a sizable portion of the marital assets, and alimony inline with the I-864 requirements that potentially lasts a lifetime.

I know I'm going to get shouted down for this, but I sincerely believe the majority of VAWA applications are fraudulent, and that no real abuse took place. There are just too damned many websites dedicated to teaching women how to do this before they've even landed an American pigeon. I said some time ago I thought this fraud could be ended if they didn't automatically hand out green cards for screaming 'abuse'. American women don't get a reward for getting out of an abusive relationship. Why should foreign women?

[maliciant 7]

I know I'm going to get shouted down for this, but I sincerely believe the majority of VAWA applications are fraudulent, and that no real abuse took place.

I'll match your theory about VAWA being mostly fraudulent with my theory that most of the divorces we hear about here, were just failed relationships and not marriage scams. What I've also seen is the most convincing marriage scams (it's hard to imagine how it could have been legitimate) are usually the ones posted by people who clearly have VERY controlling and vindictive personalities... it's all speculation though, I don't think either of us will ever really know the facts... but what is definitely true is marriage scams are so potentially brutal that it's scary (think shark attacks... they really are rare but people have a relatively extreme fear of it, or airplane crashes...).