Overview
- The Department of Homeland Security disclosed on July 8, 2026 that roughly 300,000 marriage-based green-card applicants are under intensified review to detect sham marriages.
- USCIS and DHS Fraud Detection Division are using expanded tools such as joint and separate interviews, detailed document audits of leases and bank records, employer queries, phone checks and possible home or neighborhood visits.
- The enforcement shift does not change statutory eligibility for residency by marriage but places greater weight on verifying the authenticity of relationships during adjudication.
- Applicants with prior overstays or irregular immigration histories face especially strict scrutiny, which can trigger longer investigations, extra interviews and a higher risk of denial or removal proceedings.
- Immigration lawyers urge couples to assemble organized proof—joint bank statements, tax returns, insurance policies, leases, photos, messages and witness statements—to reduce delays and show a bona fide marriage, and advocates warn the policy is already straining binational families.