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Fraud Indicators to Avoid in the Immigration Process
Attorney Gail Seeram,
Gail Seeram
There are millions of immigration petitions processed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of State. Unfortunately, not all the petitions are good faith filings.
In other words, many of these petitions are based on fraudulent representations. Various reports indicate an increase in fraud among immigration filings processed in the United States and at the U.S. Embassies.
What types of fraud are we talking about? (1) Marriages that are not based on love but rather a business arrangement to help the beneficiary get legal status in the U.S.; (2) parental and sibling relationships established using fraudulent documents such as birth certificates; (3) applications for non-immigrant visas (such as tourist visas, work visas, etc.) using fraudulent business documents to establish strong ties to native country; and (4) misrepresentations to an Officer during questioning to gain an immigration benefit.
Fraud can be detected in various stages of the immigration process – submission of petitions, pre-interview, post-interview, admission at the U.S. port of entry, deferred inspection, and removal/deportation proceedings.
Beware of the following behavioral fraud indicators during the interview process: (1) extreme nervousness; (2) over interaction; (3) lack of knowledge about basic questions; (4) late for interview; (5) answers prompted by attorney or other; (6) lack of interest/interaction; (7) eye contact; (8) evasive or general answers; (9) answers interrupted by attorney; and (10) attorney attempt to distract/mislead.
In processing petitions, Immigration looks for the following general fraud indicators: (1) documents issued immediately before interview; (2) documents issued immediately after interview; (3) over-submissions; (4) staged photographs; (5) suspect tax filings; (6) multiple applications by petitioner: (7) preparer known or suspected of fraudulent filing (such as service providers/non-attorneys); (8) preparer and notary are the same person: (9) tip letter or phone call; and (10) previous filing denied by abandonment or withdrawal.
The following are common I-130 family based petition fraud indicators: (1) short time between entry and marriage: (2) unusual marriage history; (3) children born during marriage to other parent; (4) unusual number of children and large discrepancy in age; (5) unusual dates on submitted documents; (6) divorce/new marriage dates close; (7) large age discrepancy between spouses; (8) unusual cultural differences; (9) same employer of petitioner/beneficiary; and (10) unusual associations between family members.Petitioners and beneficiaries are urged not to engage in fraud or misrepresentations, as they will be subject to jail, fines, and visa denial.
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