marrying for citizenship

[Rob_Hugo@PortNW]

I just thought of an interesting topic that was never discussed about Asia. My brother and my guy cousins had numerous times been offered a good amount of money to go back to my native land, Vietnam, to marry young girls so they can earn citizenship into the U.S. The relatives or even the family of the girls would put out the money to buy her opportunity into citizenship. Of course all these offers were declined. For a long time now, i think this trend has become quite popular for foreign youth to live in the U.S. and start their life here. Since they would be married to the U.S. citizen only on paper, once they have settled in, they can file for divorce, yet still live here in the U.S. Besides Vietnam, i heard this is also common in China and other Asian countries.

Have any of you guys heard of this?

[Anonymous]

i've definitely heard of this! like your brother and guy cousins, my brothers have also been offered money to go back to Vietnam to marry a girl and bring her back to the U.S in order for her to attain citizenship here. of course, my mother heavily opposed to this. i know that this kind of business is pretty common nowadays in vietnam, as for elsewhere, i'm not so sure.

[Anonymous]

My brothers have been offered money to do the same thing. In fact, he even talked about it and considered it, but then of course, my family disprove of it. I think an interesting thing about this is that those who are able to find such a large sum of money (considering the value of the US dollar in less developed countries like VN) must have a certain background. To put it in another way, this whole system of exchange is somewhat tilted towards those economically well off in such countries. I think it is another strategy in which the wealthy or abled try to find a way for better living conditions, even though compared to their fellow people, they are already in good positions.

[Anonymous]

hah.. this is a funny topic. i know my divorced aunt in her early forties was offered $50k to marry a guy from cambodia so that he could get citizenship. she refused because she didnt want to do the whole marriage thing again but even though most of us know people that have refused this proposal, there must be people that have not refused it. As for the family disapproving... i don t know my grandmother on my mother's side is kind of odd.. told her daughter, my aunt about it. Although it is wrong to use marriage as a way to get into the united states i guess to some people it is worth it because living in east asia is difficult..or even other places. i do think however that at least by taking the chance to marry for citizenship is at least better than hopping on a plane over here and just deciding to live here as an illegal immigrant. Most people in california choose to do the latter and look what effects it has on our economy.

[Anonymous]

Yup, this practice is not limited to Asia either. I remember a Will & Grace episode in which Grace's obnoxious friend has a Hispanic/Mexican maid who "marries" Jack in order for the maid to get a green card and stay in America as a maid for Grace's friend. As comical as the episode was, this practice as evidenced by everyone else's experiences posted in this thread is a serious matter by which many Asians find is the only way to make better lives for themselves in America.

[Anonymous]

It seems like many of the previous posts have been about marrying foreigners as a type of business agreement, but I found it very interesting when my grandma was pushing my uncle to go to China to find a wife. When I think about this now, I connect it to the fact that there is a shortage of girls in China because of the one child policy and female infanticide (etc). The fact that the economy is not that good in China makes money even more scarce. As a result, the foreigners who show interest in women in China make life even more difficult for poor men living in rural China. Okay, sorry this post was a bit confusing and rambly.

[Anonymous]

Yeah, I'm sure this practice of marrying for citizenship is not limited to Asian countries. I know many family friends who can't find a partner in US consider finding a partner from China, etc. But I think the main drawback is that you'll always be wondering if the other person married you for you or for the citizenship. And even though you can always file for divorce, I still think it will be painful for anybody to think marriage purely as a business exchange.

[Anonymous]

Funny how today I was reading Chinese newspaper and it said that some baseball players from the Dominican Republic the minor leagues married for citizenship, were caught, and now are permanantly not allowed to play in the U.S. This is also kind of sad and upsetting because if these baseball players stayed in the Dominican Republic, they'll probably not make enough to support their family. Yet they have no other ways to arrive here other than using marriage as an excuse.

As you can see, this marrying for citizenship is common but also highly dangerous because if the U.S government catches you, you'll probably be deported and never allowed to come back again.

[Anonymous]

I've definetly heard of this. I also knew a girl that married an English professor in Taiwan just so she could go to the United States to start a new life with a relatively rich man. This doesn't seem very moral...but I guess it happens. Then she divorced him, and basically just used him for the citizenship.

[Anonymous]

yah i've definitely heard of this practice as well... i actually think that it is rather common... people in many parts of asia are so desperate to find a better life and greater opportunities that they would do almost anything to get citizenship to nations such as the US. There are always stories in the news of people escaping through hiding in containers or spending monthes on a boat...so I think that considering all the other extremes which people go through to attain citizenship and to start a new life, marrying for citizenship is not so shocking...

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