I use to work with an immigrant from Russia, I did know that his situation was so complicated. He was married to an American, but she turned on him and he was jailed then deported for Marriage Fraud. If the marriage was deemed a fraud, will it be automatically divorced or is their something more that my friend must do. The thing is we are in love and he was too scared to tell me about his situation. Now he is back in Russia. In the future we would love to spend the rest of our lives together, but he was given a sentence of ten years, is there any way that he could come back sooner? We are trying to protect all of his information and his accounts from his wife (who really should be his ex-wife, since the marriage was listed as fraud) Why should further action on his part be necessary if according to the United States, the marriage never legally existed? I heard something about he has to pay to get a divorce, why when he was sent away for marriage fraud? I don't understand? I love him and I want to marry him, but nothing can happen between us until all of this is straightened out.

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Originally Posted by FreeFall85

I use to work with an immigrant from Russia, I did know that his situation was so complicated. He was married to an American, but she turned on him and he was jailed then deported for Marriage Fraud. If the marriage was deemed a fraud, will it be automatically divorced or is their something more that my friend must do. The thing is we are in love and he was too scared to tell me about his situation. Now he is back in Russia. In the future we would love to spend the rest of our lives together, but he was given a sentence of ten years, is there any way that he could come back sooner? We are trying to protect all of his information and his accounts from his wife (who really should be his ex-wife, since the marriage was listed as fraud) Why should further action on his part be necessary if according to the United States, the marriage never legally existed? I heard something about he has to pay to get a divorce, why when he was sent away for marriage fraud? I dont understand? I love him and I want to marry him, but nothing can happen between us until all of this is straightened out.

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The fact that the marriage was considered marriage fraud by Immigration (which usually means money was paid to the US citizen for the "privilege" of marrying that person and/or arranged for the sole purpose of allowing someone to enter or stay in the US) does NOT mean it was NOT a legal marriage in the eyes of the State. Marriage fraud is usually - and it appears so in this case - in the eyes of Immigration only and pertains only to Immigration. So, yes, the marriage existed, was legal and continues unless there is something I am missing here.

Assuming it was a legal marriage (and it appears it was) someone has to get a divorce or annulment. I would think his wife would want to do something to end the marriage legally but - who knows?

I don't understand the 10 year sentence. Is he in jail in Russia? Is he banned from the US for 10 years?

How did the wife turn against him? Usually she is in as much trouble as he's in - marriage fraud is "usually" a crime you can't commit by yourself.