CODIAS LAW
Law & Policy
Select laws, regulations, and policies governing immigration fraud prevention, detection, and response.
Marriage Fraud
One-Sided Marriage Fraud
One-sided marriage fraud occurs when a foreign national attempts, conspires, or enters into a marriage to evade the immigration laws, deceiving their U.S. citizen spouse while exploiting marriage-based immigration benefits and exposing victims to lasting legal and financial harm.
VAWA Self-Petitions
VAWA self-petitions let foreign nationals seek immigration benefits based on abuse allegations, bypassing marriage-based safeguards. Though intended as relief, the system can be exploited through false claims, eroding antifraud protections and leaving U.S. spouses exposed.
I-751 Waivers
I-751 waivers allow conditional residents to remove conditions without joint filing by a U.S. citizen spouse. Created as narrow relief, waivers are used routinely, weakening antifraud safeguards and enabling unilateral permanent residence without spousal participation.
Humanitarian Fraud
U Visas
U visas allow illegal aliens to pursue a path to lawful status based on unproven criminal allegations, often relying on certifications that sanctuary jurisdictions routinely rubber-stamp without meaningful investigation, enabling fraudulent claims and bypassing evidentiary and prosecutorial safeguards.
T Visas
T visas allow illegal aliens to pursue a path to lawful status based on unproven allegations of human trafficking, often relying on self-reported claims and minimal verification, enabling fraudulent applications and bypassing meaningful evidentiary and prosecutorial safeguards.
Miscellaneous
Removal
Removal proceedings are the formal mechanism Congress established to enforce immigration law when an alien is inadmissible or deportable, ensuring that unlawful entry, fraud, or loss of eligibility results in adjudicated consequences rather than continued access to immigration benefits.