A US attorney has been sentenced to six months in a federal prison for helping an Indian-origin naturalised American citizen marry his Pakistani assistant so she could obtain a Green Card.
According to news agency Press Trust of India, immigration attorney Bilal Ahmed Khaleeq, who is of Pakistani descent, helped 38-year-old Amna Cheema evade immigration laws by facilitating a marriage between her and the Indian-origin man, identified only as 'Person A'.
Cheema had previously pleaded guilty.
The marriage between Cheema and the US citizen took place in June 2015 and she subsequently filed permanent residence application with US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in July 2015.
In exchange for the marriage, the US citizen was paid $745. He was promised more money after the immigration process was completed.
Cheema and the US citizen reportedly met Khaleeq multiple times to prepare for the USCIS interview and the attorney also represented the couple at the USCIS interview in April 2016 to give them instructions on how to make the marriage appear legitimate.
He also instructed Person A to tell the USCIS adjudications officer that he cohabited with Cheema, and they discussed filing joint tax returns to provide additional evidence of being “married.”
"Immigration attorneys risk severe consequences when they choose to illegally profit by breaking U.S. immigration laws rather than building a profession on following those laws," Katrina W. Berger, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations Dallas, said in a statement last year, reported Dallas News. "HSI and our law enforcement partners will not tolerate immigration fraud - especially by immigration attorneys."
