Overview

Understanding Green Card Marriage Fraud explores personal accounts of participation in Green Card marriage fraud (GCMF), also known as ‘cash-for-vows’, by legal and illegal immigrants, U.S. citizens, and marriage fraud brokers. This book reveals the various roles played by the marriage fraud brokers and others who aid, abet, or otherwise act as accessories to GCMF. Additional details provide the reasons why people commit GCMF and the methods they use in order to deceive immigration officials. Today, Green Card marriage fraud has acquired new importance due to world upheavals and the plight of refugees. The division in American public opinion has become political football and has led to various changes in immigration policy, often depending on the occupant of the White House. The study of Green Card marriage fraud can serve as a microcosm of the federal government’s involvement in crime control. The author puts Green Card marriage fraud in the context of current immigration policies, suggesting necessary policy reforms since current rules and procedures are ineffective in detecting such fraudulent marriages. In unraveling the mystique surrounding GCMF, the methods of crime control and migration control converge revealing the ‘crimmigration phenomenon’ with GCMF falling in the middle of this nexus.

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9781793626394

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Reviews

This book examines the experiences and motivations of green card marriage fraud (GCMF) participants, focusing on a type of fraud known as cash-for-vows -immigrants paying US citizens for marriage to get resident status. Drawing on interviews with a group of non-US and US citizens and marriage-fraud brokers, Zuber provides a detailed analysis of participants' demographics and motivations, illegal transactions, and the documentary evidence needed to get a green card. This research presents an overview of the historical evolution of American immigration policy and discusses the macro and micro view of the nexus of crime and immigration and the law enforcement and criminological aspects of GCMF that immigrants and US citizens commit for financial gain and other benefits. Zuber depicts the role of marriage-fraud brokers in wedding arrangements, marriage-price negotiations, methods of deceiving immigration officials, and so forth. She employs naturalization and rational choice theories to explain the dynamics involved in GCMF and makes a few recommendations for changing US immigration policy and developing a new pathway toward legal permanent residency. This enlightening book makes a valuable contribution to immigration studies and criminal law. Recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty. * Choice Reviews * Zuber's book is a major contribution to this neglected conversation. She has skillfully managed to get several dozen players in this dirty field to talk about the reasons for, and the maneuvers within, this highly specialized sort of crime; this includes the citizens who marry for money, the aliens who pay the money and get legal status, and the most prized gets of all, three of the illicit marriage brokers who package these deals for profit. -- David North, Senior Fellow, Center for Immigration Studies This is an important work. Zuber has provided a unique opportunity to learn about Green Card marriage fraud by focusing on three of the essential stakeholders in the illegal transaction: immigrants, U.S. citizen spouses, and their marriage fraud brokers. Today's highly charged debates over immigration policy as well as concerns about possible additional contagions emanating from overseas makes the subject matter of this book extremely relevant and timely. -- Martin Greenberg, New York State Association of Auxiliary Police, Inc. Zuber does an incredible job of providing insight into an area that is under studied in the field of criminal justice. He utilizes in-depth interviews to generate a fantastic scholarly novel that captivates readers in the underground world of green card marriage fraud. Zuber also presents the topic in an incredibly thought-provoking man ner that provides insight into the circumstances that lead to these individuals engaging in this crime. * Crime, Law and Social Change *

"This book examines the experiences and motivations of green card marriage fraud (GCMF) participants, focusing on a type of fraud known as ""cash-for-vows""—immigrants paying US citizens for marriage to get resident status. Drawing on interviews with a group of non-US and US citizens and marriage-fraud brokers, Zuber provides a detailed analysis of participants' demographics and motivations, illegal transactions, and the documentary evidence needed to get a green card. This research presents an overview of the historical evolution of American immigration policy and discusses the macro and micro view of the nexus of crime and immigration and the law enforcement and criminological aspects of GCMF that immigrants and US citizens commit for financial gain and other benefits. Zuber depicts the role of marriage-fraud brokers in wedding arrangements, marriage-price negotiations, methods of deceiving immigration officials, and so forth. She employs naturalization and rational choice theories to explain the dynamics involved in GCMF and makes a few recommendations for changing US immigration policy and developing a new pathway toward legal permanent residency. This enlightening book makes a valuable contribution to immigration studies and criminal law. Recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty. * Choice Reviews * Zuber’s book is a major contribution to this neglected conversation. She has skillfully managed to get several dozen players in this dirty field to talk about the reasons for, and the maneuvers within, this highly specialized sort of crime; this includes the citizens who marry for money, the aliens who pay the money and get legal status, and the most prized “gets” of all, three of the illicit marriage brokers who package these deals for profit. -- David North, Senior Fellow, Center for Immigration Studies This is an important work. Zuber has provided a unique opportunity to learn about Green Card marriage fraud by focusing on three of the essential stakeholders in the illegal transaction: immigrants, U.S. citizen spouses, and their marriage fraud brokers. Today’s highly charged debates over immigration policy as well as concerns about possible additional contagions emanating from overseas makes the subject matter of this book extremely relevant and timely. -- Martin Greenberg, New York State Association of Auxiliary Police, Inc. Zuber does an incredible job of providing insight into an area that is under­studied in the field of criminal justice. He utilizes in-depth interviews to generate a fantastic scholarly novel that captivates readers in the underground world of green card marriage fraud. Zuber also presents the topic in an incredibly thought-provoking man­ner that provides insight into the circumstances that lead to these individuals engaging in this crime. * Crime, Law and Social Change *"

Author Information

Malgorzata Zuber is assistant professor at Alvernia University.

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