Editing Marriage of convenience (section)

==Legal loophole==
{{Cleanup section|reason=The section seems to confuse convenience with circumvention|date=September 2024}}
[[File:Oxford sham marriage - Groom is led away in handcuffs.jpg|thumb|Operation by officers from the UK Border Agency at Oxford Registry Office on 8 June 2010 to stop a suspected sham marriage]]
Marriages of convenience are often contracted to exploit legal [[loophole]]s of various sorts. A couple may wed for one of them to gain [[citizenship]] or [[right of abode]], for example, as many countries around the world will grant such rights to anyone married to a resident citizen. In the United States, this practice is known as a [[green card marriage]]. In Australia, there have been marriages of convenience to bring attention to the government's [[Social security in Australia|Youth Allowance]] laws. On 31 March 2010 two students were publicly and legally married on the University of Adelaide's lawn so that they could both receive full Youth Allowance.<ref>Hood, Lucy, "[https://www.news.com.au/finance/money/students-tie-knot-to-boost-youth-allowance/news-story/6e0ca1e979395d8d4461654328bbcd0f Students marry to highlight youth allowance inconsistencies]", ''[[The Advertiser (Adelaide)|The Advertiser]]'', Adelaide, Australia, April 1, 2010</ref> In the United States during the era of the Vietnam War, some couples were wed during the man's time of exposure to the military draft; the couple agreed to no contact, followed by an annulment at the end of the (typically one year) marriage. Advertisements were commonly placed in student newspapers to this effect. Because they exploit legal loopholes, sham marriages of convenience often have legal consequences. For example, U.S. Immigration ([[United States Citizenship and Immigration Services|USCIS]]) can punish this with a [[US$]]250,000 fine and five-year prison sentence.<ref>US Department of Justice, [https://www.justice.gov/usao/eousa/foia_reading_room/usam/title9/crm01948.htm "1948 Marriage Fraud—8 U.S.C. § 1325(c) and 18 U.S.C. § 1546"], US Attorneys Manual,  Title 9, Criminal Resource Manual.<blockquote>The Immigration Marriage Fraud Amendments Act of 1986 amended § 1325 by adding § 1325(c), which provides a penalty of five years' imprisonment and a $250,000 fine for any "individual who knowingly enters into a marriage for the purpose of evading any provision of the immigration laws."</blockquote></ref><ref>USCIS, [http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=da75d676b6b6f110VgnVCM1000004718190aRCRD&vgnextchannel=a2dd6d26d17df110VgnVCM1000004718190aRCRD "11 Arrested, Indicted in Multi-State Operation Targeting Visa and Mail Fraud"].<blockquote>"The maximum sentences for the above charges are:<br>
* Conspiracy: 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine
* Mail fraud: 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine
* Wire fraud: 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine
* False statement in immigration matter: 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine"
</blockquote></ref><ref>Fraudulent marriage is any marriage that has been entered into with the sole purpose of circumventing the law. According to the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), Act 255 [8 U.S.C 1325], the consequences of entering into a marriage in order to evade the law include incarceration for up to five years, a fine of up to $250,000, or both.</ref>

The term "contract marriage" is used by U.S. military personnel to describe marrying mainly in order to receive extra pay and housing benefits that the couple would not otherwise be entitled to.