Immigrant Marriage Rights

The rights of illegal immigrants. Wait, do people who cross into a country illegally without proper documentation, do they even have any rights? Surely they are not allowed to share the same kind of privileges and liberties that a legal immigrant or a native citizen are allowed to exercise and celebrate.

The other night I put on my favorite cable news channel and the news story that caught my interest was of a man, who entered the United States illegally, suing the United States government because he felt that his basic rights were being violated. The basic right he was fighting for was the right to marry his U.S. citizen fiancé. Read the article at http://www.timesleader.com/news/20070427_27marry_tmb_ART.html for more details about this case.

This immigrant marriage case is very common in today’s society. It’s nothing new that the issue of marriage has been on the “list of things to do” for lawmakers all over the nation with regards to same sex marriage. You have probably heard tales of people crossing the border so that they are able to become a legal U.S. resident or citizen and soon after their commitments of love are suddenly broken. Can illegal immigrants legally marry in the United States?

To find out about your local area’s procedures of marriage between a U.S. citizen and an alien, the best thing to do is call your county clerks. These procedures vary area to area and different documentation may be required to acquire a legal marriage certificate.

According to the United States Immigration Support website (www.usimmigrationsupport.org/), a spouse of a U.S. citizen is able to apply for a green card. “Every year over 450,000 thousand United States citizens marry foreign-born individuals and petition for them to obtain a permanent residency (Green Card) in the United States. Spouses of U.S. citizens are considered "immediate relatives" under immigration laws, therefore they are excluded from all numerical quota limitations. This means that there is an unlimited number of Green Cards available to foreign nationals who marry U.S. citizens.” Keep in mind, however, these are aliens/foreign nationals who have gone through the proper procedures and are legal immigrants and did not enter the U.S. through illegal means.

On the other hand, what happens to an illegal alien seeking marriage? According to WikiAnswers.com:
“An illegal alien does not automatically become legal through marriage. The US citizen spouse must initiate the process, which could take anywhere from a few months to a few years. If the illegal alien entered the US without inspection (snuck in) s/he will not be able to become legal without leaving and once s/he leaves, s/he will have the 10 year bar to deal with. The spouse will have to file for a waiver of that bar.”

In 2005 the House of Representative debated the Immigration Reform Bill. In this bill there was a section about immigrants and marriage that was discussed by Congressman Gary Miller.

“Penalties for Marriage: Sets penalties — including fines, up to 10 years imprisonment, or both— for knowingly misrepresenting a marriage in an immigration document or during an immigration proceeding, and provides fines and sentences of between two and 20 years for individuals who enter into two or more marriages to evade immigration laws, as well as those who facilitate or arrange such marriages.”

There are efforts in Congress to modify marriage laws that many believe are necessary and a way to help solve the negative effects of illegal immigration inside the United States. Marriage should be protected for all U.S. citizens and immigrants, but this is a right that should not be granted to those who illegally immigrant into the United States and expect to then be recognized as legal residents.