Marriage Green Card Fraud: Avoiding Common Pitfalls

Last Updated on: 11th October 2025, 11:05 am

Marriage Green Card Fraud: Avoiding Common Pitfalls

Thanks for visiting Spodek Law Group. We’re a second-generation law firm managed by Todd Spodek – with over 40 years of combined experience handling immigration cases. You might know us from representing Anna Delvey in the case that became a Netflix series, or our work on the Ghislaine Maxwell juror matter that made national headlines. You’re here because you’re applying for a marriage-based green card and you’re terrified of being accused of fraud – or you’re already facing questions from USCIS. This article covers what marriage fraud actually is in 2025, the penalties that can destroy your life, and the common mistakes people make that look like fraud even when the marriage is real.

Marriage Fraud Carries Criminal Penalties That Follow You Forever

Marriage fraud means marrying someone solely to get immigration benefits – not because you actually want to be married to that person. USCIS knows this happens, and they’ve stepped up enforcement in 2025 with updated forms and investigation procedures designed to catch fraudulent marriages.

The criminal penalties are brutal. Under 8 U.S.C. § 1325(c), you face up to five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted of marriage fraud. Both the immigrant and the U.S. citizen or permanent resident can be prosecuted – so your spouse isn’t safe either. You get permanently barred from ever entering the United States again, there’s no waiver, no second chance, no “I made a mistake” defense that fixes this.

Beyond criminal charges, USCIS will deny your green card application – revoke any work permits or travel documents you received, and place you in removal proceedings. You’ll be deported, often, within months of the fraud determination.

This isn’t just about fake marriages arranged through payment. USCIS investigates couples who married legitimately but whose relationship deteriorated quickly, because they suspect the marriage was never genuine. If you married for a green card and hoped feelings would develop later – that’s still fraud, even if you’re living together now.

Common Pitfalls That Make Real Marriages Look Fake

Most people accused of marriage fraud aren’t running scams – they’re making mistakes that create suspicion.

Getting married too quickly after meeting raises red flags. When you meet someone in January, get engaged in March, and marry in May – then immediately file for a green card, USCIS will scrutinize every detail of your relationship. That doesn’t mean fast relationships are automatically fraudulent, but you’ll face tougher questioning at your interview. Age gaps over 15-20 years also trigger additional scrutiny, as do marriages where one spouse barely speaks English and the couple struggles to communicate.

Inconsistent information kills applications faster than almost anything else. When your I-130 petition says you met at a friend’s wedding, but your spouse’s affidavit says you met on a dating app – USCIS assumes someone is lying. When you claim you’ve been living together for two years but your lease shows different addresses – they don’t believe you. Every form, every statement, every document must tell the same story, because inconsistencies suggest you’re making things up as you go.

Failing to merge your lives financially creates suspicion. Real married couples typically have at least some joint accounts – shared checking, joint credit cards, shared utility bills, co-signed leases or mortgages. When you’re married 18 months but maintain completely separate finances with no joint documentation – it looks like roommates rather than spouses. You don’t need to merge everything, but having zero joint financial ties suggests the marriage isn’t genuine.

Lack of photographic evidence raises questions. USCIS expects to see photos of you together at family events, holidays, vacations – spread over the course of your relationship. When you submit 50 photos all taken the same day at your wedding with no other pictures from your relationship – it suggests you don’t actually spend time together. They want proof you’ve integrated each other into your daily lives.

The Conditional Green Card Process Sets A Two-Year Test

When you’ve been married less than two years at the time your green card is approved – USCIS issues a conditional green card valid for only two years. This is their fraud prevention mechanism, they’re betting that fake marriages won’t last two years.

Ninety days before your two-year anniversary, you and your spouse must jointly file Form I-751 to remove the conditions and get a permanent green card. You submit new evidence proving your marriage is still legitimate – joint tax returns from the past two years, updated photos, joint bank statements, birth certificates for any children born during the marriage, affidavits from people who know you as a couple.

If you’re still married and file I-751 jointly with strong evidence – removal of conditions typically gets approved, though processing times in 2025 run 18 to 36 months due to USCIS backlogs. Your green card remains valid while you wait.

When you divorce before the two-year mark, the conditional green card stays valid until its expiration date – but you cannot file a joint I-751. You must file a waiver requesting removal of conditions without your spouse’s cooperation, proving the marriage was genuine when you entered it even though it ended. These waivers are harder to win because USCIS questions whether you married for a green card and planned to divorce afterward.

Some people panic and stay in bad marriages – or even abusive marriages, because they’re terrified of losing their green card if they divorce too soon. That’s dangerous. If your spouse is abusive, you can file an I-751 waiver based on domestic violence with police reports, restraining orders, and medical records as evidence. Your safety matters more than your immigration status, though obviously we want you to keep both.

What Actually Happens At The USCIS Marriage Interview

Every marriage-based green card application requires an in-person interview at a USCIS office – where an officer questions you and your spouse, usually together but sometimes separately, to determine if your marriage is legitimate.

They ask about everything. How you met, where you went on your first date, who proposed and how, where you got married, who attended your wedding. They ask about your daily routine – who wakes up first, what you eat for breakfast, whose side of the bed you sleep on, what time your spouse leaves for work. They ask about your home, what color are the kitchen walls, how many rooms, who does the laundry, where do you keep the towels. They ask about finances – who pays which bills, do you file taxes jointly, whose name is on the lease.

When they separate you and your spouse, they’re comparing answers. If you say you sleep on the left side of the bed and your spouse says you sleep on the right – that’s a problem. If you say you have a two-bedroom apartment and your spouse says one bedroom – that’s a bigger problem. Inconsistencies on major facts like where you live or whether you have children will get your application denied.

Officers look for hesitation, nervousness, or rehearsed answers that sound too perfect. Real couples sometimes disagree on minor details or need to think before answering – but they generally know basic facts about each other’s lives. When you can’t answer what your spouse does for work, or you don’t know their birthday – it suggests you don’t actually know each other well enough for the marriage to be genuine.

Preparation matters, but don’t over-rehearse to the point where you sound robotic. Review your relationship timeline together, make sure you’re both clear on dates and facts, and talk through what your daily life actually looks like. Bring organized documentation – photos in chronological order with dates and locations labeled, joint financial documents from throughout your marriage, affidavits from family and friends.

Why You Need An Immigration Attorney For Marriage-Based Cases

Marriage fraud accusations destroy lives – criminal records, deportation, permanent bars. When USCIS suspects fraud, they’ll issue a Notice of Intent to Deny giving you limited time to respond with evidence proving your marriage is legitimate.

Our immigration attorneys have represented clients accused of marriage fraud – where the marriage was real but circumstances made it look suspicious. Couples who married quickly, couples with large age gaps, couples who separated before removing conditions on the green card. Sometimes our immigration attorneys have helped clients file I-751 waivers after divorcing during the conditional period, proving the marriage was genuine even though it ended. Other times our immigration attorneys have responded to USCIS fraud allegations with documentation that salvaged cases that looked hopeless.

Todd Spodek grew up in Brooklyn working for his father’s law firm – a second-generation lawyer who learned early that immigration cases require understanding both the law and the human stories behind them. His education at Northeastern University and Pace Law School, combined with years handling high-profile cases, gives him the background to handle complex immigration matters. Our law firm has handled thousands of cases since 1976 – including cases featured in major media outlets, like the New York Post, Newsweek, and Bloomberg.

If you’re applying for a marriage-based green card and you’re worried about how your relationship will look to USCIS – or if you’ve already received questions or a denial, contact an immigration attorney who handles marriage fraud cases regularly. Our immigration attorneys are available 24/7 at our offices throughout NYC and Long Island.