Speaker. H.R. 3737. which was unanimously approved by the Judiciary Committee. addresses the problem of marriage fraud. Because spouses of U.S. citizens and permanent resident aliens areand I think quite rightlygiven special consideration under our immigration laws. many aliens who would not otherwise be allowed to live in the United States find it expedient to enter into a fraudulent marriage. The bill addresses this problem in five ways. First. it creates a 2year "conditional" permanent resident status for aliens who are allowed to immigrate to the United States as a result of their marriage. or their parents marriage. to a U.S. citizen or permanent resident alien. Second. it requires aliens admitted as fiances to have personally met their future U.S. citizen spouse. Third. it makes any attempt to gain immigration benefits on the basis of a fraudulent marriage. grounds for permanent exclusion from the United States. Fourth. it limits the ability of aliens undergoing exclusion. deportation. or similar proceedings to receive immediate immigration benefits on the basis of marriage contracted during the pendency of those proceedings. And fifth. it increases the criminal penalties for marriage fraud to 5 years imprisonment and/or a $250.000 fine. The Immigration Service estimates that up to onethird of the marriage based petitions that they see involve some type of marriage fraud. In some cases. a U.S. citizen is party to the sham marriage. In many others. a U.S. citizen or permanent resident enters the marriage in good faith only to find out later that he or she has been cruelly duped by a person who wanted no marriage. but permanent residence in the United States. Mr. Speaker. although present law imposes civil and criminal penalties against those who commit immigrationrelated marriage fraud. clearly those measures have not proved equal to the task. Recognizing that fact. the administration is strongly supporting this measure. and over in the other body. introduced a companion measure. I urge my colleagues to support H.R.
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Immigration immigration immigrate deportation immigrationrelated