Immigration lawyers are warning that federal agencies are increasingly skeptical when migrants claim to have legitimate marriages with U.S. citizens as a path to legal residency.
Under the Trump administration’s tougher immigration stance, officials have begun cracking down on rising cases of marriage‑related visa fraud, where migrants pay Americans for temporary or sham marriages intended solely to secure green cards. Attorneys say U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is now scrutinizing such marriages far more closely than in past years.
Marriage to a U.S. citizen has long been a key pathway to legal status, but immigration attorney Brad Bernstein of Spar & Bernstein says migrants and their spouses should no longer assume an almost automatic green card approval. One area attracting heightened attention is whether the couple genuinely shares a residence.
Bernstein told clients that USCIS now places significant weight on whether a migrant and a U.S. spouse actually live together. “Immigration officers do not care why you live apart,” he explained. “So, if you’re not living in the same house every day, immigration is going to start questioning the marriage. And once they question it, they’re investigating… and they’re looking to deny you.”
USCIS has made it clear that marriages must be bona fide — entered into in good faith with the intent to live together as spouses, not merely to circumvent immigration laws. Cases lacking credible evidence of cohabitation or genuine marital relationship risk denial.
The tougher stance aligns with the broader hardline immigration policies pursued by the Trump administration. In November, USCIS Director Joseph Edlow announced a “full scale, rigorous reexamination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern,” saying that protection of the American people remains “paramount” and warning that previous resettlement policies were “reckless.”
The administration has also moved to eliminate the diversity visa lottery, which previously admitted roughly 500,000 migrants annually. The decision followed the arrest of Portuguese national Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, who was arrested and charged in connection with fatal shootings at Brown University and MIT. Valente had gained U.S. entry in the 2017 lottery.
Attorneys say migrants hoping to adjust status through marriage should prepare for more stringent interviews, documentary requirements, and possible site visits from immigration officers. The message from USCIS is clear: marriages of convenience will not be tolerated, and failure to demonstrate a genuine marital relationship may doom a green card application.
