North Carolina Man Indicted for Allegedly Staying in Green Card Marriage After Separation
A Peruvian national in North Carolina has been indicted on charges that he falsely claimed to still live with his U.S. citizen spouse years after the couple had separated.
What Happened
A 38-year-old Peruvian national living in Raleigh, North Carolina, has been indicted on marriage-related immigration fraud charges. Prosecutors allege that after obtaining lawful permanent resident status through marriage to a U.S. citizen, he continued to claim he was living with and married to his spouse in good faith, even though the couple had allegedly separated in 2020 and never resumed their marital relationship. USCIS says its investigation contributed key evidence to the case, working alongside Homeland Security Investigations. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 20 years in prison. Prosecutors emphasize that an indictment is only an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Why It Matters
Fact: Green cards obtained through marriage to a U.S. citizen require the marriage to be genuine — entered into for a life together, not solely to obtain immigration benefits — both at the time of filing and, in many cases, when conditional residency is later confirmed as permanent.
Analysis: This case is a reminder that marriage-based immigration benefits carry an ongoing, not just a one-time, good-faith requirement. USCIS and its investigative partners have shown they will revisit marriage-based cases years after approval if evidence suggests the relationship ended and applicants continued to represent it as intact. The 20-year maximum penalty here — far higher than typical immigration paperwork violations — reflects how seriously fraud statutes treat sustained false statements to the government, particularly when they involve continuing to benefit from a status obtained on false pretenses.
For people navigating marriage-based green cards, the broader lesson is procedural, not accusatory: if a marriage ends, that change generally needs to be reflected accurately in any ongoing immigration filings, rather than concealed to preserve status. Couples with legitimate marriages that later run into difficulty should understand that their options differ significantly from a case like this one, and are best discussed with a qualified immigration attorney rather than assumed from a single enforcement story.
Source
This is original commentary based on the source below, not legal advice. Confirm details with the official source.