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Marrying U.S. Citizens for a Green Card is a Growing Trend!
Some South Asians marry US citizens, hoping for a shortcut to the American dream
Love or opportunity
Once, when I was 12 and visiting relatives in India, a luxury brand car pulled up at my uncle, a lawyer’s house. Since we were playing outside, we couldn’t help but notice the heavy-set Caucasian woman who emerged from it followed by two other men.
The person holding her hand was a handsome and much younger Indian male. Together they made their way to meet my uncle.
Later, I heard around the dinner table that the woman had come to Kerala to sightsee from the US and fell in love with her tour guide — a one-week version of a 90-day fiance. They had come to see my uncle about how they could go about a quick marriage so the woman could apply for his green card.
At the time, I wondered why my aunt asked in dismay at the turn of events, it is only now, as an adult, that I understand what may have been at play here — an example of how love, marriage, and immigration can intertwine in complicated ways.
Perhaps one of them was genuinely in love, eager to get married and start a family swept away by the allure of a tall, dark, handsome stranger who seemed to have…
