'Nearly 2 of every 10 NRI marriages are fake'

They provided themes for Bollywood hits but in real life, weddings among non-resident Indians may not be the proverbial bed of roses.

Nearly two in every 10 NRI marriages are fake or end up in divorce, cautions a legal counsellor from Fermont, USA, who is in India to lobby for a law to protect the victims of NRI marriages and financial frauds.

Anu Peshawaria, who runs a legal NGO, Seva, in California, has already approached Union Law Minister H R Bharadwaj who, she says has promised to support her efforts.

"We have approached the Law Minister and informed him about the situation in USA, where the cases of frauds in NRI marriages, which result in domestic violence, are increasing and he has promised us full support," Peshawaria told PTI.

Citing some recent cases, she says, "A man married his daughter-in-law to bring her to US but later started misbehaving with her. The woman then approached them for redressal. But all her papers were fake."

In another case, she says the husband divorced the wife, who was on an H-4 visa. She had to immediately leave the country but did not want to leave behind her child who was only six weeks old.

"Walk-in marriages and walk-out divorces are very common and acceptable in American society. But for Indian girls, facing such a situation is very difficult," says Peshawaria. "Cases of Indian girls stranded at airports because the husband does not turn up are very common."

In many cases, girls marry Indian Americans just to get a green card and later divorce them, she says.

"A number of NRI marriages last only for two years, the time needed to get a green card. Many times, people even have kids to make it seem like a real marriage. This is also creating a population of 'abandoned' children," she adds.

The problem of fake marriages for getting green cards in America is very common among illegal immigrants. Out of a total of 11 million illegal immigrants in the US, nearly one million are Indian, she says - "These people are very vulnerable, especially after 9/11 when security laws have become very strict and the identity of each and every person living there is being probed. Anyone found faking an identity is detained."

Peshawaria, who will be conducting seminars on these issues, says, "The immigration agents in India do not know much about the laws. Marriage is not the only passport to America. There are lot of other ways of going there - a work visa is easily available these days." And for those who plan to get married to a guy in US, there is the fiancee visa, she can go there and visit him."

Peshawaria adds, "When a girl is left alone there, she has the right to file a petition in the court, called VAWA. There is need to create awareness in Indians who wish to immigrate about all these issues. The Indian government till now has not been very proactive. But since the relations between the two countries are improving, some treaty could be signed or understanding reached on these issues as well."

NRIs being the Indian citizen diaspora are subject to Indian marriage and divorce laws. Thus there is a need to address the flaws in the law and make punishment more stringent, Peshawaria emphasises.

"The importance of antecedent verification, awareness of women's matrimonial rights, maintenance rights, dowry laws and information about passport and visa procedures should be made available and regular awareness campaigns conducted to make people aware of these frauds," she says.

Peshawaria suggests free legal aid to parents wishing to marry their daughters to NRIs or PIOs. Wherever necessary, efforts should be made to get the guilty extradited back to India, she feels.