The United States has stepped up its crackdown on people accused of using fake marriages to secure immigration status, raising questions for Kenyans who have legitimately married a U.S. citizen as part of their journey to permanent residency and, eventually, citizenship.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

The warning follows the arrest of 11 people in the U.S. over an alleged scheme that prosecutors say arranged more than 1,000 sham marriages between US citizens and foreign nationals over more than a decade.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, some foreigners allegedly paid up to Ksh12.94 million ($100,000) to be paired with U.S. citizens, while those who agreed to participate could receive up to Ksh3.88 million ($30,000).

The alleged network operated mainly in New York but arranged marriages across several U.S. states and overseas, with prosecutors saying it recruited hundreds of Americans to enter into marriages that were not genuine.

📌 What You Need to Know

The defendants allegedly went as far as staging wedding ceremonies and photographs, opening joint bank and utility accounts, filing joint tax returns, and taking out insurance policies to create the impression that the couples were genuinely married.

Investigators further alleged that participants were coached on how to answer questions from U.S. immigration officials and were helped to submit Green Card applications containing false information.

US Attorney General Todd Blanche said the administration was determined to tackle fraud within the country's immigration system, warning that schemes designed to obtain citizenship or immigration status illegally would not be tolerated.

The crackdown could attract attention in Kenya, where marriage to a U.S. citizen is a legitimate immigration route when the relationship is genuine, and applicants meet the requirements set by U.S. immigration authorities. Marriage, however, does not automatically give a foreign spouse U.S. citizenship.

The latest action is also part of a wider push by the Trump administration to tighten immigration enforcement.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently said, “American citizenship is not for sale," as the State Department moved against alleged birth-tourism networks.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke