Marriage-Based Immigration Cases: Will the Authorities Visit Your House?

Marriage fraud by would-be immigrants is an ongoing concern for U.S. immigration authorities, namely U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the Department of State (DOS). At one point in time, these agencies approached these cases with the presumption that many marriage-based green card applications were fake, just scams to get a green card. That belief eventually got debunked, but ongoing concern is fueled by the incontestable fact that green cards based on a spousal relationship are one of the few avenues to getting a green card (U.S. lawful permanent residence) that do not require job skills or a preexisting biological family relationship.

If you're planning to apply for a marriage-based green card, how worried should you be about the U.S. government invading your private spaces in order to investigate whether it's the real thing? This article will explain the normal (and sometimes not so normal) procedures.

Usual Government Methods of Ferreting Out Green-Card Marriage Fraud

For the most part, the type of investigation that U.S. immigration authorities conduct in order to expose fraudulent green-card marriage cases is fairly superficial. Because of time and resource restraints, they primarily rely on applicants to do a convincing job of providing documents proving a shared life and passing an interview (and potentially a follow-up fraud or "Stokes interviews," in doubtful cases). Most approvals and denials are made based on these factors alone, without follow-up. The burden is on the applicants to prove that their relationship is real, by submitting evidence such as proof of cohabitation, shared financial accounts, joint tax returns, and photos taken over the course of their relationship. Often times, if a couple does not have sufficient evidence, USCIS will just deny the petition and no further action is taken.

Nevertheless, in cases where U.S. immigration officials believe that there might be petitioners filing applications for financial gain, or that an application is part of a larger fraud scheme, U.S. immigration officials' powers go far beyond reviewing documents and talking to applicants within the confines of their office. If an application actually appears to be fraudulent, they can delay cases almost indefinitely, conduct separate forms of investigation, and refer the case to the law enforcement branches of their agency.

How U.S. Immigration Authorities Typically Investigate Potential Marriage Fraud Cases Further

In doubtful cases, U.S. immigration authorities can conduct background checks by various means.

They are likely to start their searching online, including the petitioner and immigrant's social media accounts, particularly if their privacy settings are weak. For more on this, see Will USCIS Look at My Online Social Networking Postings?.

USCIS can also check on the applicant's credit record and conduct comprehensive searches of public records and law enforcement databases using the information provided in the application documents and biometrics (fingerprinting) results. If it chooses to, the agency can interview the applicants' employers, parents, ex-spouses, and other family, and friends, visit or schedule interviews at their homes, and so forth. It would usually take such steps only in cases where fraud is suspected.

Note, however, that suspicions of fraud can be raised relatively swiftly. Some marriage cases, while valid, simply have not been well-documented by the couple. Also, one or both of them might be forgetful or bad at answering questions about their life and marriage.

In Rare Cases, Immigration Authorities Might Do a "Bed Check"

U.S. immigration enforcement authorities have been known to use a tactic referred to as "bed checks" in some regions of the United States. This involves immigration officers showing up at the home where the applicants claim to live together, typically early in the morning. For starters, they observe who answers the door. Soon after, they'll hope to establish whether the other half of the couple is actually there.

They will ask to take a look around inside, and will look for signs that both members of the couple sleep and keep their clothes, toothbrushes, towels, and other items of daily living in shared space within that residence.

Bed checks have actually been reported both before and after approval of the immigrant's green card (lawful permanent residence). We know of a 2025 case in which the foreign half of the couple entered on a K-1 visa and then they got married, but they were slow to file for adjustment of status. ICE showed up at their house, suspicious about whether the delay meant the marriage wasn't real.

People can legally refuse to admit immigration officials conducting a bed check. Such refusal is, however, likely to lead to further types of investigation.

Getting Legal Help

These types of home visits to investigate marriage fraud are rare, so if this happens to you, or you have other concerns regarding applying for lawful permanent residence based on marriage to a U.S. citizen or green card holder, consult an experienced attorney.