In an interoffice memorandum of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Associate Director Michael Aytes responded to problems of marriage being used to circumvent immigration laws.  A cross-national married couple can apply for a “petition to remove conditions on residence” from the USCIS through an I-751.  If the petition is seen as legitimate, then the couple can legally immigrate to the United States.  However, if the couple is seeking to use marriage to avoid immigration laws, then any I-751 petition is denied.

In the past, it has been the job of a District Director of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services to  deny an I-751 petition under the belief that it was being used to evade standard immigration procedures.  However, Aytes’ memorandum gives USCIS Service Center Directors the power to “deny I-751 petitions and waive applicable interviews.”  When an application is under question, it is forwarded to the Office of Fraud Detection and National Security where a detailed report is returned to the Service Center Director.  The Director must then inform the couple of the intent to deny the petition in order to allow for an appropriate defense.  If the Service Center Director is still convinced the petition is being used as a way around immigration laws after a defense has been given, then the director has the power to deny the petition without sending the case forward to District Directors.