APNewsBreak: New guidance on handling child bride petitions

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

By COLLEEN LONG
23 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration announced new rules Friday to scrutinize petitions to bring in underage spouses to the U.S., after data showed thousands of requests by men to bring in child and adolescent brides had been approved.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said it was updating guidance to adjudicators that stresses marriages involving minors warrant special attention. They must ensure the marriage was lawful where it was celebrated, and is legal in the state where they will live, and that it is bona fide and the minor consented freely to it.

The Associated Press last month obtained data showing there were more than 5,000 cases of adults petitioning on behalf of minors and nearly 3,000 examples of minors seeking to bring in older spouses or fiancées.

The approval of the petitions is the first of a two-step visa process, and USCIS had already said it has taken steps to better flag and vet the petitions.

-snip-


Read more: https://apnews.com/7eef47389cad4b0b9de079ee9b588c08

[mahatmakanejeeves]

1. Here's that Associated Press report from a month ago.

{Edited for clarity}

APNewsBreak: US approved thousands of child bride requests

APNewsBreak: US approved thousands of child bride requests

By COLLEEN LONG
47 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Thousands of requests by men to bring in child and adolescent brides to live in the United States were approved over the past decade, according to government data obtained by The Associated Press. In one case, a 49-year-old man applied for admission for a 15-year-old girl.

The approvals are legal: The Immigration and Nationality Act does not set minimum age requirements. And in weighing petitions for spouses or fiancees, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services goes by whether the marriage is legal in the home country and then whether the marriage would be legal in the state where the petitioner lives.

But the data raises questions about whether the immigration system may be enabling forced marriage and about how U.S. laws may be compounding the problem despite efforts to limit child and forced marriage. Marriage between adults and minors is not uncommon in the United States, and most states allow children to marry with some restrictions.

There were more than 5,000 cases of adults petitioning on behalf of minors and nearly 3,000 examples of minors seeking to bring in older spouses or fiances, according to the data requested by the Senate Homeland Security Committee in 2017 and compiled into a report.

Some victims of forced marriage say the lure of a U.S. passport combined with lax U.S. marriage laws are partly fueling the petitions.
....

[LiberalFighter]

2. Minimum age should be 18 regardless of what state it might be

the man claims to live.

[CousinIT]

3. "Thousands of requests by men to bring in child and adolescent brides to live in the United States"

I can't get past even THAT.

NOBODY under the age of 18 should be able to marry in the US.

P E R I O D.

And that should include children brought in from elsewhere.

WHAT is the problem with making this FEDERAL law?

We think it's OK for old men to commit statutory RAPE and indulge themselves in child pornography at the expense of young girls (and boys?).

WHAT?

WHAT???!!