Saturday, February 14, 2015

I Take What's Her Name To Be My Wife

If you're going to scam the immigration authorities with a faux marriage, the least you could do is ask the bride-to-be what her name is. You know, in case someone were to ask? Just to be sure it wasn't a wedding scam?

Zubair Khan of Pakistan did not want to be deported from England, so he thought he could just marry someone for convenience and then go on his merry way. They could divorce when the time was right, for example, after Mr. Khan had gotten the papers he needed to remain in the UK. Wasn't there a very romantic movie about such a thing in America? Gerard Depardieu and Andie MacDowell were the couple involved in some sort of harmless obfuscation of immigration status or getting a green card in a less than honest way.


Could Mr. Khan not have taken the time to rent GREEN CARD and do a little studying to see what he was going to be up against when he showed up at the registry office with his wife-of-convenience?

He arrived for his appointment prior to the wedding ceremony, and the registrar asked him to name his bride. A simple question, to be sure, but one that the groom could not answer. He rang up the man who had arranged the marriage to find out, and the registrar promptly called the Home Office. Mr. Khan and the marriage arranger were arrested, along with Beata Szilagyi of Hungary.

In a way, Mr. Khan got his wish. He will remain in England for the next twenty months as a guest of Her Majesty's prisons. After that, he will most certainly be deported back to Pakistan.

Due to security concerns, the British government is cracking down on the sham marriage industry, and registrars are now interrogating couples they suspect of fraud. And it is security concerns that would see a Pakistani male under a bit of scrutiny, in case he is a Taliban operative.

Apparently, Mr. Khan never thought about any such possibility or potential pitfall to his little scheme to avoid deportation.

All he had to do was conduct a little research and be prepared to answer the sort of questions that any couple would be able to answer if they have indeed been in any sort of relationship.

Like her name, for example. It's the first thing you learn about a lady you're smitten with, isn't it? 

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