The United States is known as the land of freedom and opportunity; it's where entrepreneurs can enjoy free enterprise and where anyone, regardless of their wealth or background can enjoy the "American Dream." That said, it's no wonder why immigrants try to skip ahead of other aliens by committing immigration fraud.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is very interested in people who commit immigration fraud. In fact, ICE is responsible for investigating both benefit fraud and document fraud because they pose a serious threat to our national security, as well as the safety of the American people. Why? Because, they make the U.S. vulnerable to terrorist attacks.
Major types of immigration fraud include benefit fraud, document fraud, and marriage fraud. The first two are frequently connected to other immigration-related crimes, such as human trafficking and smuggling.
What are some major types of immigration fraud?
Document fraud, also known as identity theft or identity fraud occurs when someone illegally counterfeits, alters, sells, or steals someone else's identity documents for the purposes of criminal activity or getting around U.S. immigration laws. Often, identity theft involves taking the identity of an American citizen, whether an adult or child who is living or dead.
Benefit fraud is when someone knowingly and intentionally lies about a material (important) fact on an application for an immigration benefit. According to ICE, benefit fraud "can be an extremely lucrative form of white-collar crime," and it often involves sophistication and multiple conspirators working together to defraud the U.S. government.
Marriage fraud is where an immigrant fraudulently (with no intention of staying married to the U.S. citizen) enters into a marriage with a U.S. citizen for the sole purpose of expediting the citizenship process. While the USCIS conducts extensive interviews and unannounced visits, it's still not enough for the agency to identify all marriage scams.
ICE an Identity and Benefit Fraud Unit that is in charge of investigating document and benefit fraud. To catch fraudsters, ICE collaborates with USCIS, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Department of Labor, and the U.S. Department of State, and it relies on anonymous tips from concerned citizens who contact ICE directly.
Are you being accused of immigration fraud? If so, contact an immigration lawyer at once for the legal advice you need!