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AGO to tighten rules in issuance of IR permits
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Posted on Feb 26 2006
Revisions will be made on the proposed regulations on “sham marriage” following a public hearing last week, Attorney General Matthew T. Gregory said Friday.
According to Gregory, the sizeable crowd that attended Wednesday evening’s public hearing was supportive of the draft regulations, which would tighten rules governing sponsorships and the issuance of Immediate Relative permits.
“The participants in the public hearing agreed that we need to be tougher on marriages and scrutinize marriages (between U.S. citizens and aliens). A lot of the individuals there talked about how they knew of individuals that were engaged in sham marriage. They want to some action,” he said.
But he added that the issue was sensitive in relation to the degree the CNMI government should inquire into people’s private lives.
“We are discussing a balanced way to do that,” he said.
Currently, the proposed regulations provide four conditions, three of which a couple must meet in order to obtain an IR permit. The conditions are:
• The couple swears in an affidavit that they will live together, in the same residences, for at least the first year of marriage.
• The U.S. citizen owns or rents a residence in the CNMI.
• The couple agrees to be interviewed by Immigration each year for the first three years (discretionary thereafter) to show that they intend to establish a life together.
• The couple provides other evidence to show that they intend to establish a life together, such as joint bank accounts, shared property, or having children together.
Gregory said the AGO may add requirements and fine-tune the regulations.
“Essentially, we are trying to give enough flexibility. For example, in the case of a married couple where the husband is on active duty, they don’t have to cohabitate as long as they can show proof of marriage. We can’t be too tough because not every marriage involves living together.
But we need to have enough requirements to deter people from engaging in sham marriages,” he said.
