Thread: ICE task forces tackle sham marriages

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/l ... 04,00.html

By Sara Burnett, Rocky Mountain News
January 1, 2007
Peruvian immigrant Oscar Palian posed for fake "couple" photographs with his new American bride - as his first wife snapped the pictures.
Alexandre Koudriachev occasionally slept on his new wife's sofa, though he lived most days with a woman from his native Russia.

His sister, Goulnara Koudriacheva, had her American husband's mail delivered to her apartment, though they never lived together, and he, in turn, never told his parents he'd been married. According to court documents, he received $1,000 to $1,500 for his participation.

All three came to the United States on temporary visas, and all three were so desperate to remain in the country that they forked over thousands of dollars to Americans who agreed to marry them, court documents show.

Their hope was that marrying a U.S. citizen - and convincing immigration officials the marriage was legitimate - would lead to legal permanent resident status.

It was a gamble that was costly to all of them.

The three were among about a dozen people charged in federal court over the past five years with marriage fraud, a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

Though the cases are uncommon - a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Colorado said it gets one or two per year - prosecutors say that in order to reward people who go about becoming citizens the right way, it's important to fully prosecute each one.

"Any violation of the immigration law is a problem," U.S. Attorney for Colorado Troy Eid said.

What's unclear is whether more cases are occurring, with some bogus marriages going undetected.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement does not keep track of how many marriage fraud cases it investigates or how often people are prosecuted for it, ICE spokesman Carl Rusnok said.

But identity and benefit fraud has become enough of a problem that in 2003 ICE created a special unit to tackle those cases.

It also created task forces in 11 cities nationwide, including Denver, to focus on the effort.

Task forces target fraud

The goal of the task forces is to dismantle threats to national security and "address the vulnerabilities that currently exist in the immigration process," according to an ICE statement.

The targets include marriage fraud, as well as people who falsify their identities or make false statements to gain political asylum.

In fiscal year 2005, ICE initiated 3,512 investigations and arrested 1,430 people. There were 1,151 convictions, Rusnok said.

In the first 10 months of fiscal year 2006, there have been 2,902 investigations, 1,064 arrests and 771 convictions.

Typically, Eid said, marriage fraud cases fall into one of two categories: "They either love each other or they don't."

In some cases, a noncitizen will pretend to be in love with a citizen, at least until they are married and have made it through a two-year conditional period, Eid said. In other cases, the marriage, from the start, is a sham.

And a risky one.

Why roll dice?

In addition to spending up to five years in prison, people convicted of marriage fraud - whether they are the immigrant or the legal U.S. resident - also face a $250,000 fine.

Immigrants often are deported after serving prison time, Eid said.

So why roll the dice?

In the cases prosecuted in Denver in recent years, the answer almost always was desperation - either to remain with family or to live free of poverty or political oppression.

In one case, a native of Iran had been waiting for five years for a visa when he came to visit family and, before it was time for him to leave, paid a woman who worked at McDonald's more than $3,000 to marry him.

Another man, a member of Armenia's political opposition party, said he came to the United States with his sister and two friends after being repeatedly beaten for speaking out against the government.

In a letter to the judge, Davit Manuykan said he feared what would happen if forced to return.

"The only thing (Armenian government officials) care about is themself (sic) and their foreign bank accounts," he wrote.

Opposing them, he said, results in banishment or death.

Alexandre Koudriachev was one week away from an expired visa when he agreed to pay a woman he met through a friend $5,000 to marry him.

He picked the woman up at her home and drove to the Arapahoe County administration building, where they signed a marriage application that brother-in-law Artour Aroutiounov later dropped in the mail.

"(The couple) did not consummate the marriage, nor have a romantic or sexual relationship," a plea agreement they reached states. "There was no honeymoon."

burnetts@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5343

It's only the tip of the ICEberg (pun intended). There are tens of thousands of undetected "illegal marriages"---but it's a good start!

I'd like to see them stay away from these people for the time being and keep the focus on criminal aliens and workplace enforcement for a bit longer.

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When I was active duty and stationed in Asia marriage offers were rather common place. I never met anyone that took someone up on the offer but they were commonly made.

There is alot of this in Florida. They have actually caught alot of them. It is very hard to go through with it. When you go to an immigration hearing they actually separate the husband and wife and question them both on likes and dislikes and even ask questions like what kind of shampoo or deodorant their spouse uses. After the interviews they compare notes. We had one case in Miami where the Cuban husband who was getting papers for his Dominican wife, had a massive heart attack and died during that interview. She was lucky as she still ended up getting her greencard. If the guy was so worried about the interview it makes be believe that he may have been a bogus marriage.

I know a case like this, but dont know where to go and share the information, maybe some of you know better. The guy name is Jose Luis Alvares Pena he lives in 814 Peachtree St Clinton, NC 28328-2640 DOB 11/20/83, he was born in El Salvador, enter ilegaly in usa some years ago, now have TPS and make a fake marriage with an american citizen, but they did not consummate the marriage, nor have a romantic or sexual relationship, ...I am not sure but it seems the guy is gay. They dont even lived together.
I even send a letter to immigration once, but it look like they don't take it seriusly. His cel is (910) 9900636.

Good luck getting something done. I have seen and read about Cubans marrying for money to get lega; residency for illegals. People have written senators and congress but go nowhere. I also recently read that the military people in Iraq's relatives are fighting to stay as many soldiers are now Hispanic and they are also marrying illegals. The problem arises when the military people who are married to them get killed. The person they married can't get their greencard as the sponsor is no longer alive. I don't know if anyone has posted that article or not but it was in alst weeks paper.
An illegal can be here under 6 months to be able to marry someone for a greencard.

Although I think employer enforcement is a total sham, I would at least like the rhetoric to stay on that. If nothing else, it keeps the fact employers are the magnets here and when people begin to realie, 'hey, they are all still here' - they will know the government is doing nothing.

Originally Posted by ecgalup

I know a case like this, but dont know where to go and share the information, maybe some of you know better. The guy name is Jose Luis Alvares Pena he lives in 814 Peachtree St Clinton, NC 28328-2640 DOB 11/20/83, he was born in El Salvador, enter ilegaly in usa some years ago, now have TPS and make a fake marriage with an american citizen, but they did not consummate the marriage, nor have a romantic or sexual relationship, ...I am not sure but it seems the guy is gay. They dont even lived together.
I even send a letter to immigration once, but it look like they don't take it seriusly. His cel is (910) 9900636.

He is also known as Jose Alvarez or Jose Alvarez Pena. He purchased the house where he lives since October 2004. Here is the link to the deed

http://www.sampsonrod.org/BookViewVWin. ... t=15600514