Forensics Journal - Stevenson University 2014 | Page 23

STEVENSON UNIVERSITY

INS official would review the petition and conduct the interview
of the petitioner and the alien spouse. The official would decide to
grant or deny the petition based on the review of the petition and the
interview. If the official felt the marriage was not bona fide, but a
“sham marriage,” after reviewing the findings, the petition was denied
(Moyce 2).

submit any other petitions on behalf of immediate relatives to receive
immigration benefits (McHugh-Martinez).
4. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE FRAUD DETECTION AND
NATIONAL SECURITY DIRECTORATE
In 2004, USCIS created the Fraud Detection and National Security
Directorate (FDNS) to, “strengthen efforts to ensure immigration
benefits are not granted to individuals who pose a threat to national
security or public safety, or who seek to defraud our immigration
system” (“Instructions for Form-130, Petition”). The goal of FDNS is
to assist USCIS officers in detecting fraud in the application process.
By assisting in early detection, FDNS helped streamline the processing of legitimate petitions. FDNS made the application process more
efficient by investigating any responses to questions regarding background information that raise concerns. FDNS uses law enforcement
and intelligence agencies such as U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement to conduct any additional research of a petitioner or
beneficiary (“Instructions for Form-130, Petition”). The objectives of
FDNS are to ensure immigration benefits are not given to fraudulent
beneficiaries, as well as guarantee that those who deserve and have
properly applied for immigration benefits do receive them (“Instructions for Form-130, Petition”).

In 1986, Congress became concerned with the reported increasing
rates of marriage fraud and decided to revise the immigration petition
procedure (Moyce 3). Congress passed the Immigration Marriage
Fraud Amendments (IMFA) as a way to detect fraudulent marriages
by testing the longevity of the relationship (Poole 1). The IMFA
amended the Immigration and Nationality Act by creating the conditional green card. The conditional green card was a significant change
to the past petitioning system. Instead of granting an immediate
legal permanent residency status to an alien spouse whose marriage is
less than two years old at the time the petition is approved, the alien
spouse becomes a legal conditional resident for a two year time period.
The conditional green card is not applicable to an alien spouse who has
been married to their U.S. citizen spouse for over two years (Poole 2).
In order to have the conditional status lifted from the green card,
the immigrant spouse must file with their spouse 90 days prior to
the expiration date of the conditional green card. The couple must
prove that they are still in a bona fide relationship by submitting
documentary evidence as they had in the initial interview (McHughMartinez). Officers select various couples at random to interview as
a form of auditing. Not all couples are interviewed when they file for
the removal of conditions from the green card (Poole 2). If a couple
chooses to not file or forgets to file to have the conditions removed,
the green card will expire at the end of the two year period and the
immigrant spouse can face deportation proceedings (Poole 2).

FDNS is responsible for conducting site visits for immigration applicants. The program uses unannounced site visits as a way to verify
information submitted in I-130 petit