Rep. Hodges’ HB 836 Works to Prevent Marriage Fraud by Non-Citizens

Press Release from Rep. Valarie Hodges

During this year’s legislative session, State Representative Valarie Hodges, R-Denham Springs, authored House Bill 836 (Act 436), which provides for the legal issuance of a Louisiana marriage license for residents of the states and territories of the United States, and for persons from foreign countries, who are lawfully in the United States. In a recent article published by Fox News, the U.S. Attorney’s office in Los Angeles cited such incidents of marriage fraud stating, “phony bank statements, staged photos, fake honeymoons and fraudulent wedding ceremonies lie at the heart of an alleged scam to help Chinese nationals obtain U.S. citizenship.” The article goes on to quote United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker saying, ‘Marriage fraud presents a serious threat to the integrity of our immigration system by undermining programs designed to allow foreign nationals to come to the United States in a fair and orderly fashion.’ Hodges said, “Marriage fraud is a serious issue here in the United States that we must address. It is time that legislation be proposed across the country to maintain the legitimacy of the immigration process. HB 836 of the 2015 regular session has been put into place to ensure wedding applications and licenses here in Louisiana facilitate proper procedures and protect against marriage fraud.” HB 836 works to prevent instances of marriage fraud by adding certain requirements of the wedding parties such as signing an affidavit verifying that they are in the country legally and swearing or affirming, under the penalty of perjury, that they are not presently married to anyone else. Many of the marriage fraud cases around the country have dealt with a U.S. citizen who marries multiple illegal aliens in "marriage for hire" schemes. Additionally, each party’s social security number is to be provided on the application, or if the party is not a citizen, a valid, unexpired passport number issued from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service. HB 836 goes into effect January 1, 2016.