Marriage of convenience

A marriage of convenience (plural marriages of convenience) is a marriage contracted for reasons other than the reasons of relationship, family, or love. Instead, such a marriage is orchestrated for personal gain or some other sort of strategic purpose, such as political marriage. The phrase is a calque of French: mariage de convenance - a marriage of convention, or marriage of suitability. In the cases when it represents a fraud, it is called sham marriage.

Legal loophole

Marriages of convenience are often contracted to exploit legal loopholes of various sorts.

A couple may wed for reasons of citizenship or right of abode, for example, as many countries around the world will grant such rights to any wedded resident.

U.S. Immigration (USCIS) can punish this with a $250,000 fine and five-year prison sentence.^[1][2][3]

The term "marriage of convenience" has also come into popular use at the University of Adelaide and other Australian Universities as a sort of catch-cry against the Australian Government's Youth Allowance laws. On the 31st of March 2010 two students were publicly and legally married on the University's lawn in a so called "marriage of convenience" so that they could both receive full youth allowance.^[4]

Homosexuality

Another common reason for marriages of convenience is to hide one partner's homosexuality in cases where being openly gay is punishable or potentially detrimental. A sham marriage of this type, known as the lavender marriage, may thus create the appearance of heterosexuality. Such marriages may have one heterosexual and one gay partner, or two gay partners. In the case where a gay man marries a woman, the woman is said to be his "beard".

Metaphorical usage

The phrase "marriage of convenience" has also been generalized to mean any partnership between groups or individuals for their mutual (and sometimes illegitimate) benefit, or between groups or individuals otherwise unsuited to working together. An example would be a "National Unity Government", as existed in Israel during much of the 1980s or in Second World War Great Britain. More specifically, cohabitation refers to a political situation which can occur in countries with a semi-presidential system (especially France), where the president and the prime minister belong to opposed political camps.

Political marriage

Some marriages in medieval times were marriages of convenience, such as that of Agnes of Courtenay.

See also

• Heqin

References

1. ^ US Department of Justice, "1948 Marriage Fraud—8 U.S.C. § 1325(c) and 18 U.S.C. § 1546", US Attorneys Manual, Title 9, Criminal Resource Manual.

   The Immigration Marriage Fraud Amendments Act of 1986 amended § 1325 by adding § 1325(c), which provides a penalty of five years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine for any "individual who knowingly enters into a marriage for the purpose of evading any provision of the immigration laws."

2. ^ USCIS, "11 Arrested, Indicted in Multi-State Operation Targeting Visa and Mail Fraud".

   "The maximum sentences for the above charges are:
   

   • Conspiracy: 5 Years in Prison and a $250,000 fine
   • Mail Fraud: 20 Years in Prison and a $250,000 fine
   • Wire Fraud 20 Years in Prison and a $250,000 fine
   • False Statement in Immigration Matter: 10 Years in Prison and a $250,000 fine"

3. ^ Fraudulent marriage is any marriage that has been entered into with the sole purpose of circumventing the law. According to the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), Act 255 [8 U.S.C 1325], the consequences of entering into a marriage in order to evade the law include incarceration for up to five years, a fine of up to $250,000, or both.
4. ^ Hood, Lucy, "Students marry to highlight youth allowance inconsistancies", The Advertiser, Adelaide, Australia, April 1, 2010

Further reading

• Jones, James A., "The Immigration Marriage Fraud Amendments: Sham Marriages or Sham Legislation?", Florida State University Law Review, 1997
• Seminara, David, "Hello, I Love You, Won’t You Tell Me Your Name: Inside the Green Card Marriage Phenomenon", Center for Immigration Studies, Washington, D.C., November 2008
• Winston, Ali, "Marrying For Love?: You'll Have To Prove It", City Limits News, New York, Monday, Jul 28, 2008
• Winter, Jana, "EXCLUSIVE: Aide to Harry Reid Lied to Feds, Submitted False Documents About Sham Marriage", Fox News, October 25, 2010

External links

Media related to Marriage of convenience at Wikimedia Commons