Marriage fraud to immigrate into the United States, according to the Immigration and Nationality Act, is defined as an alien who has entered into a marriage for the sole or primary purpose of evading U.S. immigration law. Although not necessarily a problem that will effect the integrity of the United States population, the violation of the marriage fraud laws does go on with quite regularity.

There can be two innocent victims of marriage fraud crimes. Of course the crime is committed against the United States, so, the first victim of the crime is against our society. We have our criminal element, like any other society, already here in the United States. Frankly, we are not anxious to embrace the criminal element from some other country. Also, there can be another potential victim of marriage fraud, and that is either a citizen or Permanent Resident who is married by an alien for the sole purpose of using them to enter into the United States. Rare, there is strong evidence it does happen.

When marriage fraud for the purpose of obtaining a Green Card or immigrating to the United States does happen and you are caught and convicted,  severe penalties can include sentences of up to 5 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. After a convicted alien has satisfied their debt to our society, they will then be deported back to their country without the benefit of ever being able to come back.

The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a agency of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and is responsible for investigating border violations including any violations involving immigration. Marriage fraud comes under their jurisdiction.

Since the 9-11 terrorists attacks, the United States has developed a keen interest in all kinds of immigration violations. A recent crack down in Seattle, Washington for marriage fraud racketeering is characteristic of what the ICE is up to these days.

An exert from a  news article posted October 29, 2009 on the Bellevue Reporter website, read:

“Varee Bradford, 44, owner of the Thai Ginger chain of restaurants, pleaded guilty Friday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Seattle to Conspiracy to Commit Immigration Fraud, and three counts of Fraud Relating to Immigration Documents. “Marriage fraud undermines the integrity of our nation’s legal immigration system and potentially robs deserving immigrants of benefits they rightfully deserve,” said Leigh Winchell, special agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Seattle. “Today’s guilty plea demonstrates that those who engage in these schemes can face criminal charges for their actions.” According to the plea agreement, Bradford admits that she recruited U.S. citizens to engage in sham marriages with Thai nationals, so that the citizens of Thailand could obtain legal status to stay in the U.S. The U.S. citizens were paid $20,000 for entering into the sham marriages. When sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Ricardo S. Martinez on January 22, 2010, Bradford faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the conspiracy count, and 10 years in prison and $250,000 fine on the fraudulent immigration documents counts.”

From the exert, you should be able to see that marriage fraud for the purpose of entering the United States is serious business, especially in and around Seattle. If you have been caught up into something similar, or you just don’t understand our immigration laws, you really need an immigration lawyer to help you. Maybe you are just interested in legally immigrating to the United States, becoming a Permanent Resident, or becoming a US citizen. Contact us today at www.immigrationlawstation.com, and we will help you find an immigration attorney in your area who will answer any legal questions you may have about immigration law.

When you sign the Affidavit of Support for that relative you want to join you here in America, you had better know that relative pretty well. When you sign, you have just accepted legal responsibility for financially supporting the sponsored relative until they become U.S. citizens or can be credited with 40 quarters of work. Forty quarters of work equates to working continuously for 10 years in the United States Social Security System.

Any joint sponsor or household member whose income is used to meet the minimum income requirements to bring your relative here is also legally responsible for financially supporting the sponsored immigrant. If your relative receives any means-tested public benefits, you are all, as sponsors, responsible for repaying the cost of those benefits to the agency that provided them. If you do not repay the debt, the agency can sue you in court to get the money owed. In certain states, a successful judgment against you in a court of law can have your wages garnered until the debt is satisfied. When in doubt, ask the benefit provider whether the benefit is a means-tested public benefit.

The problem often occurs mostly when your relative you have sponsored is more independent and lives by themselves. They sometimes do not always consistently work nor do they always tell you everything they do in order to survive. For instance, if your relative is unemployed for a period of time by losing a job through no fault of their own, they may end up qualifying for unemployment benefits.

The temptation will be to take the money in order to help them to survive until they get another job. Although in most every instance, unemployment compensation is not a Means Tested benefit, in reality, it  may be a mistake that under certain conditions can cost the sponsor money.

Unemployed debtors often receive unemployment compensation pay. How unemployment benefits are applied in calculating current monthly income under the Means Test differs from one jurisdiction to another. The issue turns on whether the unemployment compensation is a benefit received under the Social Security Act and is therefore excluded from a debtor’s income calculation. Some courts have held that unemployment compensation is a benefit received under the Social Security Act and are excluded from the debtor’s current monthly income. Other courts find unemployment benefits are not excluded.

Also, your relative may be tempted to apply for Food Stamps or some type of temporary assistance in their time of need. Currently, Federal means-tested public benefits include Food Stamps, Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and the State Child Health Insurance Program.

States and local jurisdictions may also designate certain of their programs as means-tested public benefits. The following types of programs are not counted as means-tested public benefits: emergency Medicaid; short-term, non-cash emergency relief; services provided under the National School Lunch and Child Nutrition Acts; immunizations and testing and treatment for communicable diseases; student assistance under the Higher Education Act and the Public Health Service Act; certain forms of foster-care or adoption assistance under the Social Security Act; Head Start programs; means-tested programs under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act; and Job Training Partnership Act programs.

As you can see, the system is somewhat complicated depending in which area of the country you live in. Therefore it is best to not only know your relative that you have petitioned (sponsored) to come to the United States, it is very important you understand immigration law.

In the event you or a relative are facing this type situation, it might be best you play it safe by seeking an immigration attorney. Contact us today at www.immigrationlawstation.com, and we will get you in contact with an immigration lawyer in your area who will help answer any questions you may have concerning immigration law.

Just what is a Green Card anyway? A Green Card is an identification card attesting to the permanent resident status of an alien in the United States of America. It can also refer to the immigration process of becoming a permanent resident. The Green Card serves as proof that its holder, a Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR), has been officially granted immigration benefits, which include permission to reside and take employment in the USA.

The holder must maintain permanent resident status, and can be removed from the US if certain conditions of this status are not met. Green Cards use to be issued by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), but after 911 and the forming of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the INS was absorbed into the DHS. Under the administration of the DHS, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) is the bureaucracy now responsible for issuing Green Cards.

Some facts about Green Cards we all should know:

• When an alien (foreigner) holds a legal Green Card, it entitles him or her to two very important permits while in the United States- a temporary work permit formally called an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) and a temporary travel document, advance parole, which allows the alien to re-enter the United States. Both permits confer benefits that are independent of any existing status granted to the alien.

• Being an LPR is not the same as being a citizen of the United States. Lawful Permanent Residents generally do not have the right to vote, the right to be elected in federal and state elections, the ability to bring family members to the United States, or eligibility for federal government jobs.

• The term “permanent” as used in LPR is probably more closely associated with the term indefinite. The Green Card has to be renewed every 10 years and continued residency is conditional. The issuance of the card to an alien will allow the alien to remain in the United States indefinitely if the card is renewed on time and he or she abides by the conditions set forth at the issuance of the card.

• An LPR can elect to become a naturalized citizen of the United States after five years residency.

• An LPR can elect to become a naturalized citizen of the United States after three years residency if married to a citizen of the United States.

• An LPR can elect to become a naturalized citizen of the United States after four years residency if residency was received through political asylum.

• Male LPRs between the ages of 18 and 26 are subject to register for the Selective Service System.

• Green Cards got there name because the cards were originally green in color. Today, the cards look similar to most driver’s license having the picture, thumb print, and other identification of the LPR along with the United States Seal. They are no longer green in color.

• Permanent residents who reside in the US must pay taxes on their worldwide income, like U.S. citizens.

What has been the Green Cards impact on Miami, Florida? Florida has over 18 million residents today of which, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, approximately 20 percent of them are foreign born. Since 2000, it is estimated there has been an increase of around 40% in foreign born residency. Miami, Florida has a population of over two million residents. Applying the state percentages of foreign born residents and taking into consideration that it takes at least five years before an LPR can become a citizen, there could be well over one hundred thousand Green Card holders in the Miami area alone. Since there is just over one million jobs in the Miami area, the implication is that at least ten percent of those jobs are held by Lawful Permanent Residents. (Note: These statistics have been taken from Government census charts and are approximations intended for generalizations. They are not intended to be used as detailed and exact data for research)

If you know someone who is seeking permanent lawful status, to immigrate, or become a citizen of the United States, contact us right now at www.immigrationlawstation.com, and we will help you find an immigration attorney in your area who will answer any legal questions you may have about immigration law.

Most scientists believe that human beings first came to America over the Bering Straits about 20,000 years ago. These were the ancestors of the many Native American cultures, which would people the landscape for thousands of years. Around the year 1000, a small number of Vikings would arrive. Five-hundred years later, the great European migration would begin. Crossing the Atlantic meant two to three months of seasickness, overcrowding, limited food rations, and disease. But the lure of available land and the hope for political and religious freedoms kept the Europeans coming.

So, they came to America, “Land of the Free”, and people from Europe and all around the World are still coming today. The United States of America has embraced and welcomed immigration since its beginning. Between 1880 and 1930 over 27 million people entered the United States, but after the outbreak of World War I in 1914, American attitudes toward immigration began to shift. Nationalism and suspicion of foreigners were on the rise, and immigrants’ loyalties were often called into question. Through the early 1920s, a series of laws was passed to limit the flow of immigrants.

Between 1892 and 1955, nearly all immigrants came in to the United States through Ellis Island, the historic “gateway” to America. Those with visible health problems or diseases were sent home or held in the island’s hospital facilities for long periods of time. They were then asked 29 questions including name, occupation, and the amount of money they carried with them.

Generally, those immigrants who were approved spent from two to five hours at Ellis Island. However, more than three thousand would-be immigrants died on Ellis Island while being held in the hospital facilities. Some unskilled workers were rejected outright because they were considered likely to become a public charge. About two percent were denied admission to the U.S. and sent back to their countries of origin for reasons such as chronic contagious disease, criminal background, or insanity. Ellis Island was sometimes known as “The Island of Tears” or “Heartbreak Island” because of those two percent who were not admitted after the long transatlantic voyage.

Today, Ellis Island no longer processes people who want to immigrate to the United States, but the millions of immigrants who were processed through the Island still has their influence on America. Everyone in America understands how music influences our culture, our souls. No place on Earth understands the influence of music on our livers better than Chicagoans.

Chicago has given rise to many forms of music and is the birthplace of House Music, but did you know it is also the place where Jule Styne grew up and was educated? Styne became a famous American songwriter for his compositions contributed to Broadway and often revived to this day. He was championed by none other than Frank Sinatra who sung Styne’s hit single, “Saturday Night is the Loneliest Night of the Week.” He wrote many songs for the movie industry, and he was elected to the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame in 1972. Jule Styne immigrated from England to the United States and through Ellis Island in 1913.

Today’s immigration laws, like in the 1920s, are still designed to limit the flow of immigrants into the United States. They are much more complicated than they were in those early days of America, but there are still many ways a foreigner can immigrate to the United States, become a permanent resident, or become a citizen.

Maybe you have had or know someone who has had a difficult time immigrating to the United States, becoming a permanent resident, or a citizen. If you don’t understand our immigration laws, you want to learn how to immigrate, or you have a relative that wants to immigrate to the United States, you will need legal help to understand our immigration law.

Even if you already live here and just want to become a permanent resident or citizen, or have a relative that wants to become a permanent resident or citizen of the United States, contact us right now at www.immigrationlawstation.com, and we will help you find an immigration lawyer in your area who will answer any legal questions you may have about immigration law. Who knows, your relative, or a friend may be the next Jule Styne that influences America.

Most scientists believe that human beings first came to America over the Bering Straits about 20,000 years ago. These were the ancestors of the many Native American cultures, which would people the landscape for thousands of years. Around the year 1000, a small number of Vikings would arrive. Five-hundred years later, the great European migration would begin. Crossing the Atlantic meant two to three months of seasickness, overcrowding, limited food rations, and disease, but the lure of available land and the hope for political and religious freedoms kept the Europeans coming. People from Europe and all around the World are still coming today in order to seek out the “Land of the Free.”

The United States of America has embraced and welcomed immigration since its beginning including Herbert H. Dow, developer of Dow Chemical Co., who was born in Ontario, Canada.

Dow moved with his family to Cleveland, Ohio, and graduated with a B.S. from Case Western Reserve University in 1888. His senior thesis, which he presented that summer at the Cleveland meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, dealt with brine waters in Ohio.

From 1888-89, when Dow was professor of chemistry at the Huron St. Hospital College, he developed a process for manufacturing bromine from brine, receiving a patent in April of 1892.

In 1889 he organized a company to work with brine water in fields near Canton. That venture failed, however in 1890, he started Dow Process Co. in Midland, Mich. where the brine water contained heavy concentrations of bromine. Dow organized Midland Chemical Co., and in 1895 began manufacturing chlorine and its derivatives. He formed Dow Chemical Co. in 1897 to manufacture chlorine and caustic soda.

In 1900, Dow Chemical absorbed Midland Chemical Co. Dow was president and general manager of Dow Chemical, responsible for developing new chemical processes for which more than 100 patents were granted. His home in Midland, known as the Herbert H. Dow House, was declared a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1976.

Between 1880 and 1930 over 27 million people entered the United States, but after the outbreak of World War I in 1914, American attitudes toward immigration began to shift. Nationalism and suspicion of foreigners were on the rise, and immigrants’ loyalties were often called into question. Through the early 1920s, a series of laws was passed to limit the flow of immigrants. Today, millions of immigrants throughout the years have had their influence on America. Herbert Dow has had a lasting influence in not only Cleveland, but he has had a lasting influence on all of America.

Today’s immigration laws, like in the 1920s, are still designed to limit the flow of immigrants into the United States. They are much more complicated than they were in those early days of America, but there are still many ways a foreigner can immigrate to the United States, become a permanent resident, or become a citizen.

Maybe you have had or know someone who has had a difficult time understanding our immigration laws. If so, you or they need legal counsel. Even if you already live here and just want to become a permanent resident or citizen, or have a relative that wants to become a permanent resident or citizen of the United States, contact us right now at www.immigrationlawstation.com, and we will help you find an immigration lawyer in your area who will answer any legal questions you may have about immigration law.

Who knows, maybe you, your relative, or someone you know that wants to be a legal resident in the United States will be the next Herbert H. Dow.