• Immediate Relatives • Spouse of United States Citizen
Spouse, Child or Parent of United States Citizen The present, statute excludes from numerical restrictions the “immediate relatives” of American citizens.’ This term is defined to include the spouses, children and parents of American citizens.
The Act of 1952 grants immediate relative status to the alien spouse of a United States citizen.3 This dispensation is more generous than prior law, since it gives equal benefits to the husbands and wives of American citizens.
(1) Valid and subsisting marriage as prerequisite. In order to obtain exempt status, or to obtain other immigration benefits available to a “spouse,” here must, of course, he a valid and subsisting marriage between the parties. The validity of a marriage ordinarily will he judged by the law of the place where it is celebrated.4 Moreover, the distinction between void and voidable marriages should be borne in mind. If the marriage is merely voidable, it will be recognized for immigration purposes, so long as the marriage subsists.
(2) Marnier of inception of marriage. The manner of inception of the marriage may be defective. At one time a common law marriage (one depending only on mutual consent to marry) was recognized in large areas of the United States, although most States no longer sanction such mar-riages. However, such unions are unknown to the jurispru dence of many countries. Religious ceremonies alone maynot create a binding marriage in some countries.
(3) Legal impediments. Another factor which may impair the legality of a marriage is the existence of legal impediments. The most obvious example is when one of the parties has a living spouse and thus is not free to marry. The situation is complicated, of course, when one of the parties has obtained a divorce of questionable soundness, such as a Mexican mail order divorce prior to his remarriage. The essential inquiry is whether the second marriage was regarded as lawful at the place of its celebration.
(4) Polygamous or incestuous marriages. Even if the marriage is valid at its place of origin it may in some exceptional situations be inadequate to support preferred status. This recognition may be refused when the marriage is repugnant to public health or morals, such as polygam ous (plural) or incestuous (close relatives) marriages.
(5) Proxy marriages. Marriages by proxy and similar tenuous unions also may not be recognized for immigration purposes, since the 1952 Act defines “spouse,” “wife,” or “husband” as excluding the participants in any marriage ceremony where the parties are not physically present in the presence of each other, unless the marriage has been consummated.
(6) Sham marriages. Finally, a marriage which on its face seems valid may be disregarded if it is found to be a sham, entered into by the parties only for the purpose of obtaining immigration benefits and without any inten tion to live together as husband and wife. This is so even though the marriage is regarded as valid at the place of celebration.
