The United States Justice Department has charged 11 people over an alleged decade-long immigration fraud operation that authorities say arranged more than 1,000 sham marriages, primarily between Chinese nationals and American citizens, to obtain lawful permanent residency in the United States.
A two-count federal indictment unsealed on Wednesday alleged that the network operated from at least 2016 through July 2026, charging some foreign nationals as much as $100,000 to be matched with U.S. citizens willing to enter marriages solely for immigration purposes. American citizens participating in the arrangements were allegedly paid as much as $30,000.
Although principally based in New York City, prosecutors said the operation extended across the United States and overseas, with alleged sham marriages arranged in states including Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida, as well as in China and Vanuatu.
Authorities said the defendants marketed the service through social media, word of mouth, and other channels before pairing foreign nationals with U.S. citizens. The network allegedly helped couples stage wedding ceremonies and photographs designed to make the relationships appear genuine to immigration officials.
Participants were then assisted in preparing and submitting immigration documents to the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services as part of applications for permanent residency. Prosecutors allege that the operation became a multimillion-dollar business built around exploiting the marriage-based immigration system.
The 11 defendants have been charged with conspiracy to commit marriage fraud and immigration document fraud, as well as conspiracy to encourage the unlawful residence of foreign nationals in the United States. The allegations remain charges, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
The Justice Department described the operation as one of the largest marriage-fraud prosecutions in U.S. history, saying the case involved more than 1,000 alleged fraudulent marriage arrangements over more than a decade.
The arrests come amid a broader immigration enforcement push by the Trump administration. Reuters reported that the prosecution followed recent administration action targeting so-called “birth tourism,” while the State Department has also begun reviewing visa-holder activity as part of efforts to identify people suspected of entering the United States primarily to secure citizenship for children born there.
However, the marriage-fraud prosecution is separate from the birth-tourism initiative. The alleged marriage network had been operating for years before the recent executive action.
