The Associated Press is reporting that the owner of the Seattle restaurant chain Thai Ginger has been indicted. She's accused of paying her workers to enter "sham marriages" with relatives, which allowed them to stay in the United States. Varee Bradford is scheduled to appear in court today.
Unfortunately this is all too common, I'm more suprised that this issue surfaced now as to years ago. Being an Asian-American who grew up knowing these things were common in my culture, I'm not shocked at all when this news broke. It happens all the time- people from other countries wanting to live/come to America for a better life. Sad.
A few months ago I talked a male friend out of entering a sham marriage with the adult daughter of some so called good friends from New Zealand...The daughter has lived in the US for 5 years she has had plenty of time to meet a real love interest to marry, or to apply for citizenship...He thought that the risk to him was nothing, I had to email him tons of articles, laws and links to the HSA that has news and info on sham marriages of non citizens to citizens...This is no longer a hand slapping crime if caught, they prosecute the people who enter into to the fraud too...And the US investigates and targets any US citizen marriage to non citizens...This is a long term commitment fraud, five years at least..And I do not know how much money people are getting for this fraud, but with jail, court costs, five years of commitment to cover the sham marriage, it better be worth the bother...This friend was getting talked into this as a good friend, helping this poor woman from being deported back to horrible New Zealand...Hey I wish I could live in New Zealand, maybe we could have a citizen exchange program....Regardless, there is risk for all parties..It's sad yes, and I think the HSA is being used to take away all US citizens civil liberties and rights, but the US is not the land of opportunity it was. People are just as likely to end up on the streets living in poverty here as they are anywhere else...It's getting worse, maybe we should all go to countries that have taken our previous jobs and industries and were outsourced...In India, a telephone rep, service sales, customer services make enough money to live very very well in India....Of course since the US has tanked, the consumer market has tightened greatly, citizens don't have the money to buy the toys and extras so the world is tanking...Oh Well...It would be best if we all tried to live sustainably in the regions we were born...The party is over, capitalism is tanking, not much opportunity here anymore, for people citizens or not...
This a common practice for immigrants in every develloped country in the world. We shouldn't blame these people, they are only trying to live a better life...