Some Israeli students living in the United States are paying American women to marry them temporarily so that they can qualify for work permits in order to support themselves while attending college, the Tel Aviv University student weekly “Yatoosh” (Mosquito) reported. The subterfuge is necessary because high tuition fees and high living costs in the U.S. make it imperative for the students to seek jobs for which they need the coveted “green card,” the work permit issued to aliens married to American citizens, “Yatoosh” said.
In some cases the newly-wed students get reductions in fees and rent and qualify for American citizenship. When their financial burdens are eased, the students divorce their American wives, by prearrangement and often bring over their Israeli girlfriends to get married. The American women know they are being used but cooperate for a certain sum of money. The U.S. immigration authorities are aware of the practice but can do nothing about it because it is legal, “Yatoosh” said.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
