FROM RUSSIA WITH $$ BRAZEN NUPTIAL FRAUDS

Mr S · Post by **Mr S** » July 19th, 2009, 11:27 pm

If you need some bills to be paid off...

http://www.nypost.com/seven/07192009/ne ... 180112.htm

They're Russian to the altar.

A slew of Russian immigrants are entering sham marriages in the States to obtain green cards -- and they're doing it in plain sight.

I WAS TAKEN FOR A BRIDE

The Russian Advertiser, a Russian-language weekly, has an entire classified-ad section devoted to "delovoy brak," or "business marriages." Last week's issue had 34 ads from women and men hoping to come together in unholy matrimony.

"I am 41, nice looking woman, long time in the country, citizen. Offering delavoy brok to a serious man, age 38-52," one says.

One Sheepshead Bay man said he gets offers all the time from marriage brokers.

"I get calls asking me to marry one of these girls every other week," said the Ukrainian immigrant, who came to Brooklyn in 1975 and is a US citizen.

"It's easy money," he said. "And the girls are really hot."

He said he knows half a dozen men who married young Russian and Polish women for cash.

A federal law-enforcement source agreed that it's a common practice in certain Eastern European and Russian immigrant neighborhoods.

"It's a big business," he said. "It's really prevalent among that community."

A marriage broker contacted by a Post reporter posing as a green-card seeker walked him through the process.

The broker said the marriage would run the reporter $31,500 in cash.

Of that total, $25,000 would go to the fiancÃ©e -- with $10,000 given up front and $15,000 paid after the green-card interview with Citizenship and Immigration Services. The remaining $6,500 would go to the agency for paperwork.

The broker picks a "suitable" match from their database of eligible US citizens. Then the couple goes to City Hall for a marriage license.

He said the so-called Stokes interview with Citizenship and Immigration Services -- a part of the Department of Homeland Security -- "goes really easy" and is usually scheduled several months after the marriage.

A conditional green card arrives shortly thereafter if the agency finds the marriage is a real one, he said.

The couple must apply to have the conditions lifted just before their second anniversary in order to maintain permanent residency in the country.

With a permanent green card, immigrants can stay even if they divorce.

During the Stokes interview, according to Manhattan immigration attorney Mariana Vazquez-Garcia, customs agents will separate the couple and ask personal questions designed to trip up fakers.

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman said the agency is cracking down.

"We target the organizations that help people in sham marriages," said spokesman Michael Gilhooly, noting his agency recently formed a task force to target such fraud.

A CIS spokesman, Bill Wright, said his agency was tackling the scams -- pointing to the busts of 80 brokers in Florida in May -- but he admitted it was a tough problem.

"Marriage fraud can be difficult to prove given the audacity and sheer patience of the individuals involved," he said.

ladislav · Post by **ladislav** » July 20th, 2009, 5:13 am

Why are these people trying so hard to get into the US and are paying this kind of money? What is the attraction? Plus if they have 30K, why not start a small business in Russia and just live there? And what is really going on? Men marrying women to get green cards? Or women marrying men?

Mr S · Post by **Mr S** » July 20th, 2009, 9:41 am

I believe the article is talking about Russian men and women who are already in the states and are looking for a permanent green card. the Russian newspaper they are talking about are local ones that circulate in the bigger American cities.

I suppose they already have their life established in America and don't want to go back to Russia or Eastern Europe. Or perhaps they still feel the grass is greener over in the USA?

ladislav · Post by **ladislav** » July 20th, 2009, 1:22 pm

Mr S wrote:I believe the article is talking about Russian men and women who are already in the states and are looking for a permanent green card. the Russian newspaper they are talking about are local ones that circulate in the bigger American cities.

I suppose they already have their life established in America and don't want to go back to Russia or Eastern Europe. Or perhaps they still feel the grass is greener over in the USA?

Oh, I see. They should not have advertised. Word of mouth would do just as well. But heck, I would marry a cat for 31K. How come no one ever offered me anything like that? Perhaps I did not read those newspapers. But again, I woudl be tied down to living in the USA for two years with only one girl. Yawn!

Post by **Winston** » July 21st, 2009, 1:18 pm

Damn, 30K? Is that offer only for Russian men? Why not foreigners as well? Tons of lonely desperate guys would take up that offer, especially if they need the money. Plus the article interviewee said that the girls were "really hot" too. A hot girl and 30k? Who could turn that down?

tjh14 · Post by **tjh14** » August 15th, 2009, 5:33 pm

I should have done this and collected money instead of spending my money on a Russian woman who was up to no good. What a naive dumbass I was! Live and learn.
I probably would get caught. I am unable to do bad things because God apparently has me on a short leash. In the past, Karmic retribution has been swift and severe for any of my misdeeds, so I have abandoned any unethical practices. (Unless chasing women is unethical)

Some people seem to be able to get away with almost anything, but not me. Sigh