How to Report Immigration Marriage Fraud

Co-authored by David Katona

Last Updated: December 23, 2022 References

You fell in love with someone from another country, got engaged, and got married. You haven't been married for long when your spouse announces that he was never in love with you – that he only married you to get a green card. Not only do you want to end your marriage to such a lying and manipulative person, but you want to make sure you're no longer listed as his sponsor or petitioner for immigration purposes. There are steps you can take to get yourself out of this situation, but you have to act fast to avoid criminal liability yourself. ^{[1]
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Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Reporting to ICE

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Contact the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement division. If your spouse got married to evade U.S. immigration law, he is guilty of marriage fraud and can be deported or charged and then deported.^{[2]
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- Call the hotline at 1-866-347-2423 to report suspected marriage fraud.
- Find your local ICE office to report fraud in person. Each state have ICE office. Expect them to be very slow. Therefore you must act fast.
- ICE works independently of USCIS.
- If you're reporting someone else's marriage, you can remain anonymous if you don't want the couple to know.
- If your spouse has committed marriage fraud, he is subject to deportation under U.S. immigration law.^{[3]
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- Although you can make your report anonymously, you should identify yourself and state clearly that you were a victim to the scam who fell in love and thought his intentions were pure.^{[4]
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- Expect ICE officials to be skeptical since people claim to be innocent victims often when they really just became upset or bitter about the state of the relationship after the honeymoon ended.^{[5]
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- Also keep in mind that you previously went on record about the legitimacy of the marriage to get your spouse into the country in the first place, so you should expect some questions about that.^{[6]
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  Research source}. Best strategy is telling the truth.
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Depending on your situation, consider moving out immediately. If you remain in the marital home after you've discovered the fraud, ICE might consider you complicit in the fraud.
- You also should make sure you are safe, as well as any personal or sensitive information or documents. If your spouse lied to you about his reasons for marriage, he could be lying about anything else.
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Change passwords to any digital accounts you shared or the defrauder had access to.
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You can report also fraud and get help from identitytheft.gov to protect yourself.
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Contact U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services directly. You can call USCIS at 1-800-375-5283 to report the fraudulent conduct.
- You also may wish to schedule an appointment with a USCIS official to discuss the matter in person.^{[7]
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- Report your suspicion and explain that you were an innocent victim in this scam.^{[8]
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Comply with any investigation. If USCIS or ICE want to interview you or ask for any additional documentation, it's important that you provide any and all information you think might be of assistance.
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Consider hiring an attorney. Even though you may see yourself as a victim in this situation, ICE might find you criminally liable for the fraud as well.
- Marriage fraud is a felony. If you are convicted, you could face up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Withdrawing Support

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Determine how far along your spouse is in the green card process. What stage of the process your spouse is in will dictate what you can do to remove your support.^{[9]
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- If you've been married for over two years and your spouse already has his permanent green card, you have far fewer options than if the marriage was more recent.^{[10]
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- However, if your visa petition has not yet been approved, you can simply withdraw it and your spouse will not be able to continue immigration.^{[12]
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Write a letter to USCIS withdrawing your affidavit. If your visa petition was approved, you probably had to sign an affidavit of support, Form I-864, so your spouse could get a green card.
- This document is a legally binding contract between yourself and the U.S. government in which you agreed to financially support your immigrant spouse.
- If you don't withdraw this document, you will still be liable for your spouse's support, even if you get divorced and possibly even if you get the marriage annulled.^{[13]
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- Your spouse would need your cooperation here to get his green card. So if you withdraw your affidavit and refuse any further support, your spouse's immigration process would be stalled if not halted.^{[14]
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- However, keep in mind that if your spouse already has his green card, you likely cannot affect his immigration status simply by withdrawing support. Despite this, consider withdrawing your affidavit anyway to avoid further legal liability.^{[15]
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  Research source}. The naturalization or any other petition your spouse will file will trigger required action by USCIS on addressing the fraud.
- You must withdraw all petitions or affidavits you've filed on behalf of your spouse or any of his family members to ensure that you no longer have continuing legal or financial responsibility for them. Simply ending the marriage will not terminate your responsibility for them.^{[16]
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- Consider doing it on your own, without an attorney as attorneys could be part of fraud if you filed petition via an attorney.
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Refuse to participate in any further interviews or to sign any documents. If you've withdrawn your joint Form I-751 Petition to Remove the Conditions of Permanent Residence, you should refuse to attend any scheduled interviews.
- Keep in mind that your spouse may file a new form asking for a waiver of the joint filing requirement.^{[17]
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- However, to be successful with such a waiver, your spouse would have to prove that the marriage was bona fide, to begin with.^{[18]
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Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Having the Marriage Annulled

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Consider hiring a family law attorney. Divorce and annulment alone are not complicated but adding immigration law into the mix makes it slightly complicated. Immigration laws are separate from family law. By hiring an attorney you can ensure your rights are best protected.
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Consider talking to an immigration attorney as well, however, keep in mind that many immigration attorneys will not work in your best interest.
- If you were the victim of marriage fraud, you also could face criminal charges if you don't handle the matter quickly and carefully, so having legal representation is most important in that situation. The first step is withdrawing either i-130 or any other petition you or a lawyer have filed.
- Divorce simply ends the marriage, while if you get the marriage annulled it is treated as though it never happened - retroactively dissolved. Having the marriage annulled could have vastly different consequences for you than simply getting a divorce. Child(s) is protected thus annulment is your best bet.
- Family court will be reluctant on granting an annulment, however, you have to push to get it. You can further ask the same court to make corrections to the birth certificate(s) of the child to remove your spouse's name.
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Find out if annulment based on fraud is available in your state.^{[19]
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Research source} Annulment based on fraud means that the court will treat the marriage as though it never happened if there was some sort of fraud perpetuated on you by your spouse to induce you to marry.^{[20]
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- You must prove that your spouse intentionally lied, and also that you would not have gone through with the marriage had you known the truth.^{[21]
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Comply with any legal conditions. Many states have certain legal conditions that you must meet to qualify for an annulment as opposed to a divorce.
- In some states, for example, if you want to get an annulment based on fraud, you must move out of the marital home as soon as you discover the fraud. Otherwise, the reasoning goes, you can't argue that you never would've married your spouse had you known the truth, because after you knew the truth you continued to live as a married couple.^{[22]
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File for an annulment. Provided you qualify and the option is available in your state, you can file for an annulment in your county court.^{[23]
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- If you have information from an ICE or USCIS investigation, you might use this as evidence to support your petition for an annulment.
- If your spouse has applied for a green card on the basis of his marriage to you (for i-360), an annulment of the marriage will cancel the application as USCIS follows the statutes during adjustment of the status.^{[24]
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Expert Q&A

Question

How do I report someone who lied to immigration?

David Katona
Immigration Lawyer
David Katona is an Immigration Lawyer and the Founder of Katona & Associates PLLC in New York City. With over 20 years of experience, he specializes in business immigration and green card sponsorship. He earned a law degree from American University Washington College of Law, a Master of International Affairs from American University’s School of International Service, and a BS in Business from Wake Forest University. Super Lawyers named him a Super Lawyer - Business Immigration in 2014, 2016-2022, and a Rising Star - Business Immigration in 2011. His firm was also rated by Best Lawyers as a Tier 1 immigration firm in NYC and Tier 2 nationally from 2020-2023. David is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) and the NYC Bar Association.

David Katona

Immigration Lawyer

Expert Answer

The most probably effective way would be to write a letter to the immigration office that is processing the application and provide as much detail about the alleged fraud as possible. They're less likely to take action if it's so would have just an unsubstantiated letter—if there's any hope that there would actually be action taken, there has to be supporting evidence and highly specific information provided because the government would bear the burden to prove that there really is fraud there.