“Business marriage” is a type of sham marriage involving spouses with different immigration status. Typically it is a marriage between a US citizen and an undocumented immigrant. However, it is not this aspect of the marriage that makes it illegal. This form of marriage is illegal because it is entered with the intent to deceive- usually to deceive the US government and to get a benefit from the government from that deception.
The business marriage typically involves a bargain between the undocumented spouse in the marriage and the United States citizen spouse. The undocumented spouse typically pays money to her US citizen spouse as a form of compensation for entering into the marriage with her.
Consider the following scenario (which is purely fictitious). Mary entered the United States from Antigua in the year January 2010 as a visitor. She was authorized to remain in the United States until June 30, 2010. Mary has been living in the United States without lawful status from June 30, 2010 to the present. Since 2013 however she has been feeling increasing pressure to return to Antigua because her sister died in 2013 and her mother was diagnosed with cancer since March of 2016. She desperately wants to visit Antigua to see her mother, but is terrified that if she leaves the US she will not be admitted back into the United States for ten years. She also doesn’t want to leave the US because she has an infant daughter who was born in the US. She is in a long -term relationship but the guy she is dating has no lawful status in the United States either. Mary becomes so desperate that she decides to enter into a business marriage with John who is a US citizen. John agrees that he would marry Mary if she pays him $10,000. He told her that she needs to pay $5000 upfront, i.e. before the marriage takes place and that the other $5000 would be due once she gets the green card. Mary pays John $5,000 upfront and they get married at a municipal building.
Mary and John had been married for only one month, but since the marriage John has threatened Mary that if she doesn’t pay him an additional $3,000 he is going to withdraw the green card application he filed for her. Because Mary is terrified that she might lose all the money that she has already paid to John, she agrees to pay him another $3000. After three months into the marriage Mary and John still have not lived together, but that has not stopped John from asking Mary for sex. Mary gets angry with John and wants back all of the money that she previously gave to him. John refused to give Mary back her money and has decided that he will not attend the green card interview with Mary.
I present this scenario to you because oftentimes this is not fictional but a reality for many people, who are literally so desperate to get their green card that they loose not only their life savings but also their integrity. Sham marriages are not only unlawful but there are far reaching adverse consequences that may arise from then- not the least of which is imprisonment for up to five years. A business marriage has no legitimacy. Because no Court can enforce an illegal contract. Mary therefore cannot go into a Civil Court and say that she is going to sue John to get back her money because the agreement that she entered into with John is an illegal one. She therefore has no means of holding John accountable. It is important to emphasize that marriage fraud is a felony offense that is punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. The punishment can be imposed on both the foreign national and the US citizen who perpetrated the fraud. While the US citizen is not deportable for the offense, the undocumented spouse is likely to be removed from the US. In addition the fraud will destroy the person’s future eligibility for a US visa or a green card.