The US attorneys are in a fix and they fear that, under their nose plenty of weddings are being staged for the purpose of immigration. The authorities constantly encounter staged marriage photos, forged honeymoon trips, phony bank statements. Chinese nationals are known to obtain US citizenship by marriages, in this alleged scam, and this is a source of great worry for US.
Reports of the scam have raised shackles in the US and the U.S attorneys are concerned that the Chinese Nationals are obtaining U.S. citizenship through marriage to permanent residents of US. The U.S attorney in Los Angeles states that this is done by producing falsified wedding papers, dramatic pictures, counterfeit bank statements, fake honeymoon visits to the Courts.
Eileen M. Decker, United States Attorney has confirmed Marriage fraud presents a serious threat to the integrity of our immigration system by undermining programs designed to allow foreign nationals to come to the United States in a fair and orderly fashion.
Jason Shiao, 65 year old, and his 43 year old daughter, Lynn Leung, have been indicted by the prosecutors for immigration fraud and if they
are proved guilty the father and daughter will have to serve a prison term of 5 years.
The father and daughter team from Pasadena were placing ads in Chinese news papers, acting as immigration lawyers and were charging $ 50,000, assuring Chinese Nationals a valid visa and legalized status. A search warrant affidavit has stated that the two were promising the Chinese nationals residency through marriage, in the States, say reports. The search warrant case has been filed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
ICE investigations, were handed out to Claude Arnold, a special agent. He has claimed that Hollywood may portray marriage fraud as a romantic farce, but its a serious crime with serious implications. Schemes like this not only undermine the integrity of our nations legal immigration system, they pose security vulnerability and potentially rob deserving immigrants of benefits they rightfully deserve.
The newly married couples planned honeymoon trips to New Zealand and Las Vegas and went through an elaborate marriage to get authentic pictures. Visits to the churches, bridal shops, and parks, were shown in the photographs.
Utility bills, fake bank statements, rental agreements and pictures, were shown to the immigration interview officials. Almost 70 weddings had been planned by the father daughter team who possessed China and US passports, in the last ten years, and they had earned a whopping approximate of $ 3.5 million, stated the authorities.
In exchange for marriage to the Chinese Nationals, about 23 U.S citizens were engaged in the crime over the period and they were assured a sum of $ 10,000 each. The investigators stated that they got to know of this fraudulent scam about 3 years back, and according to the deal, the U.S. citizens mostly were not given the promised amount, and the couples did not consummate the nuptial vows.
