The United States has intensified its crackdown on people accused of using fake marriages to obtain immigration benefits, a move that could affect how immigration officials scrutinise marriage-based applications from countries including Kenya.
The latest action follows the arrest of 11 people in connection with an alleged scheme that prosecutors say arranged more than 1,000 sham marriages between U.S. citizens and foreign nationals over a period of more than ten years.
Prosecutors Allege Payments for Fake Marriages
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, some foreign nationals allegedly paid up to $100,000 (about Ksh12.9 million) to secure a marriage arrangement with a U.S. citizen.
Prosecutors also allege that some American citizens received up to $30,000 (about Ksh3.9 million) for participating in the scheme.
Investigators say the network operated mainly in New York but arranged marriages across several U.S. states and in some cases involved people living outside the United States.
Authorities Describe Elaborate Scheme
Investigators allege that organisers staged wedding ceremonies and photographs to make the relationships appear genuine.
The alleged participants also opened joint bank accounts, added each other to utility bills, filed joint tax returns and obtained insurance policies in an effort to convince immigration officials that they lived together as real couples.
Prosecutors further claim that organisers coached participants on how to answer questions during immigration interviews and helped prepare Green Card applications containing false information.
US Warns Against Immigration Fraud
U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said authorities intend to continue pursuing immigration fraud aggressively and warned that the government would not tolerate schemes designed to obtain legal status or citizenship through deception.
The crackdown forms part of a broader immigration enforcement push under the Trump administration.
Genuine Marriages Remain Legal Route
For Kenyans who have genuinely married U.S. citizens, the developments do not mean that marriage-based immigration has been abolished.
Under U.S. immigration law, marriage to a U.S. citizen remains a legitimate path to permanent residency (a Green Card) when the relationship is genuine and the couple meets all legal requirements.
However, immigration officials can require extensive evidence proving that the marriage is authentic, and marriage alone does not automatically grant U.S. citizenship.
Wider Immigration Enforcement Expands
The State Department has also increased enforcement against other forms of alleged immigration abuse, including birth-tourism networks accused of helping foreigners travel to the United States to give birth in order to secure citizenship benefits for their children.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently declared that “American citizenship is not for sale,” and the State Department says its Birth Tourism Prevention Task Force revoked more than 600 visas in a single month.
For Kenyan applicants with genuine marriages, the key message is that U.S. authorities continue to recognise marriage-based immigration, but they are applying closer scrutiny to applications and imposing severe penalties on anyone who submits false information or participates in fraudulent marriage schemes.
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