Immigration Blog

Proxy Wedding Creates Immigration Challenge for Marine's Widow, Baby

The Immigration & Nationality Act says that, for the purposes of immigration law, the definition of spouse does not include a "wife or husband by reason of any marriage ceremony where the contracting parties thereto are not physically present in the presence of each other, unless the marriage shall have been consummated."  Now Hotaru Ferschke, the widow of Sgt. Michael Ferschke, a war hero killed in Iraq in 2008, and their infant son, Mikey, struggle to remain in the United States as a result of a 1950s legal standard meant to curb marriage fraud.  Ironically,  U.S. immigration authorities do not recognize Hotaru's marriage, even though the military does.  Read more in Kristin M. Hall's article appearing today in the Associated Press.