Immigration Lawyers Toolbox® Magazine
Spousal-Based Green Card Applicants Forced to Conform Marriages to Imposed Standards Author: Sonya Peterkin, Esq.
M
Sonya Peterkin, Esq.
SAPeterkinLaw.com, SAPeterkin@HelpNowLaw.com
arriage to an American citizen or U.S. permanent resident remains the most common path to U.S. residency for foreign nationals. To obtain U.S. residence through marriage, the U.S. immigration system requires the parties to prove their marriage is both legally valid and bona fide at its inception.1 A bona fide marriage is defined by U.S. immigration law as one the couple entered into with the intent to build a life together, and not solely for immigration purposes.2
The decision-making authority for green card applications lies with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and consular officers who rely almost exclusively on documents, records, and photographs provided by the couple, their testimonies
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during interviews, and independent investigations. While case law establishes that immigration officers cannot dictate the lifestyle of a married couple or impose his or her ideals, in reality, marriages involving foreign nationals are held to romanticized and outdated American standards creating significant obstacles for binational spouses.3 These obstacles are even more prominent in nontraditional binational marriages since nontraditional marriages tend to contradict many of the outdated principles and traditions the government agencies have come to rely on. For this reason, immigration practitioners must be prepared to handle cases involving nontraditional binational marriages with a heightened level of skill and consideration.