"I've had engineers, doctors, lawyers, dentists you name it," said John Sampson, a retired ICE agent, who now runs a consulting firm assisting American victims of marriage fraud. The I-Team has spoken with roughly half a dozen families who claim to have similar stories of an American thinking they were in love, only to be duped by a foreigner looking for a fast-track into our country. "I was really, really disappointed in our immigration laws." "They would not look at it," he said, referring to his efforts to contact U.S. Tony said when he tried to tell investigators that he was, in fact, the victim of marriage fraud, it didn't matter. He's referring to a provision of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), by which an immigrant is entitled to legal assistance, benefits, even a fast-track to permanent residence in the United States, after claiming abuse by their spouse. "If there is just a mere allegation they're going to grant them status to stay." "She gets a visa based off of perceived domestic abuse," said Tony. All of a sudden, this romantic, sexy, loving young lady turned into the most evil, nasty person you could meet," said Tony. "It was like somebody flipped a light switch. He said she once called the police to report that Tony’s video game was too violent and scaring her. He said Natalia was not successful in getting a police report against him, but not for a lack of trying. "She tried everything she could to get me to lose control, to lose my temper," said Tony, adding that his military training and experience helped him keep his cool. Tony said things got even stranger, for example, when Natalia intentionally dumped a bowl of cereal on his carpet right in front of him. "Out of the goodness of my heart," he added. Tony said he allowed her to stay with him temporarily. Tony said a couple of months after she vanished, Natalia was back, begging to stay with him and claiming that old boyfriend was abusing her. To me, this was worse than being left at the altar," said Tony.īut his story doesn't end there. He said in the few days it took to get them an apartment they could share, Natalia disappeared, instead moving back in with the boyfriend who'd first brought her to the U.S. "Only to turn around and find out that I had completely been taken advantage of and lied to." "It was deeply from the heart," said Tony. Tony said he and Natalia immediately started spending as much time together as they could, and married after about a month and a half of dating. Tony said he met Natalia in Maryland after the young woman was brought to the United States by another man, who then refused to marry her. "I hit the lottery I'd found the woman of my dreams," said Tony of their brief courtship. And they say the scheme doesn't stop with marriage fraud.Īmerican citizens say some immigrant spouses use a legal loophole to keep from being investigated and instead end up with legal status to remain in the United States.Ī military officer, who asked to be identified only as "Tony," told the News4 I-Team he realized he'd been duped just a week after his marriage to a Russian woman named Natalia. When most Americans walk down the aisle and say I do, they think that love will last forever.īut a News4 I-Team investigation found countless Americans have ended up duped by foreigners looking for a fast-track into our country.
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