Green card marriage
Encyclopedia
Green card marriage is a neologism that refers to the phenomenon of a marriage of convenience
between a legal resident of a country and a person who would be ineligible for residency but for being married to a resident.
cited consular officials who estimated that between 5% and 30% of all marriages between American residents and foreign nationals were fraudulent, but that very few of these marriages were detected or acted upon.
Many of the arrangements are simple transactions between two individuals, often in exchange for money paid to the legal resident. In other cases the legal resident is an unwitting victim of a fraudulent marriage. In yet other cases the marriages are arranged by criminal enterprises, sometimes involving the complicity of corrupt immigration officials who accept payment for describing the marriage as legitimate in immigration paperwork.
is a romantic comedy
that portrays a green card marriage. The film The Proposal
portrays a similar marriage of convenience designed to allow the main female character to stay in the United States
. In the show Parks and Recreation
, the character Tom Haverford
entered into a green card marriage with Wendy, his Canadian college friend. On the show, My Name is Earl
, Catalina, a Bolivian immigrant, and Randy, her dimwitted American friend, were forced into a green card marriage, so Catalina could come back to America.
Marriage of convenience
A marriage of convenience is a marriage contracted for reasons other than the reasons of relationship, family, or love. Instead, such a marriage is orchestrated for personal gain or some other sort of strategic purpose, such as political marriage. The phrase is a calque of - a marriage of...
between a legal resident of a country and a person who would be ineligible for residency but for being married to a resident.
Description
The term derives from the availability of work permits ("Green cards") for spouses of legal residents in the United States, where marriage is one of the fastest and most sure ways of obtaining legal residence. Marriages, if legitimate, entitle the spouse to live and work in the United States, as in most other countries. In the United States, 2.3 million marriage visas were approved from 1998 through 2007, representing 25% of all green cards in 2007. Even if the non-resident spouse was previously an illegal immigrant, marriage entitles the spouse to residency, generally without the waiting time required for persons caught being in the United States illegally.Legality
The practice of obtaining residency through marriage is illegal in the United States if the marriage itself is fraudulent. A marriage that is solely for purposes of obtaining legal residence is considered a sham, and is a crime in the United States for both participants. A 2008 study by the Center for Immigration StudiesCenter for Immigration Studies
The Center for Immigration Studies is a non-profit research organization that advocates Immigration reduction in the United States. Founded in 1985, its executive director is Mark Krikorian. As a 501 organization, it is subject to limits or absolute prohibitions on engaging in political...
cited consular officials who estimated that between 5% and 30% of all marriages between American residents and foreign nationals were fraudulent, but that very few of these marriages were detected or acted upon.
Many of the arrangements are simple transactions between two individuals, often in exchange for money paid to the legal resident. In other cases the legal resident is an unwitting victim of a fraudulent marriage. In yet other cases the marriages are arranged by criminal enterprises, sometimes involving the complicity of corrupt immigration officials who accept payment for describing the marriage as legitimate in immigration paperwork.
Cultural references
The film Green CardGreen Card (film)
Green Card is a 1990 romantic comedy film written, produced, directed by Peter Weir and starring Gérard Depardieu and Andie MacDowell. The screenplay focuses on an American woman who enters into a marriage of convenience with a Frenchman so he can obtain a green card and remain in the United...
is a romantic comedy
Romantic Comedy
Romantic Comedy can refer to* Romantic Comedy , a 1979 play written by Bernard Slade* Romantic Comedy , a 1983 film adapted from the play and starring Dudley Moore and Mary Steenburgen...
that portrays a green card marriage. The film The Proposal
The Proposal (film)
The Proposal is a 2009 American romantic comedy film set in Sitka, Alaska. Directed by Anne Fletcher and written by Peter Chiarelli, the film features Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds as the leading roles, with Mary Steenburgen, Betty White, and Craig T. Nelson in supporting roles...
portrays a similar marriage of convenience designed to allow the main female character to stay in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In the show Parks and Recreation
Parks and Recreation
Parks and Recreation is an American comedy television series on NBC that focuses on Leslie Knope , a mid-level bureaucrat in the parks department of Pawnee, a fictional town in Indiana. Created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, the series debuted on April 9, 2009; it has run for three seasons and...
, the character Tom Haverford
Tom Haverford
Thomas Montgomery "Tom" Haverford , born Darwish Sabir Ismael Gani, is a fictional character in the NBC comedy Parks and Recreation. He is a sarcastic, underachieving government official for the city of Pawnee who is revered for his high levels of swagger and unmatched entrepreneurial skills...
entered into a green card marriage with Wendy, his Canadian college friend. On the show, My Name is Earl
My Name Is Earl
My Name Is Earl is an American television comedy series created by Greg Garcia that was originally broadcast on the NBC television network from September 20, 2005, to May 14, 2009, in the United States...
, Catalina, a Bolivian immigrant, and Randy, her dimwitted American friend, were forced into a green card marriage, so Catalina could come back to America.