Officials announce new guidance on handling child bride petitions

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration announced new rules Friday to scrutinize petitions to bring in underage spouses to the U.S. after data showed thousands of requests by men to bring in child and adolescent brides had been approved.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said it was updating guidance to adjudicators that stresses marriages involving minors warrant special attention. They must ensure the marriage was lawful where it was celebrated, and is legal in the state where they will live, and that it is bona fide and the minor consented freely to it.

The Associated Press last month obtained data showing more than 5,000 cases of adults petitioning on behalf of minors and nearly 3,000 examples of minors seeking to bring in older spouses or fiancees.

The approval of the petitions is the first of a two-step visa process, and USCIS had already said it has taken steps to better flag and vet the petitions.

They are legal. The Immigration and Nationality Act does not set minimum age requirements for the person making the request or for that person's spouse or fiancee.

By contrast, to bring in a parent from overseas, a petitioner has to be at least 21 years old.

And in weighing petitions, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services goes by whether the marriage is legal in the spouse's or fiancee's home country and then whether the marriage would be legal in the state where the petitioner lives.

Marriage between adults and minors is not uncommon in the U.S., and most states allow children to marry with some restrictions.

But the data raise questions about whether the immigration system may be enabling forced marriage and about how U.S. laws may be compounding the problem despite efforts to limit child and forced marriage.

The USCIS changes will not stop child marriage — age limits must be set by Congress and states — but officials hope it will help detect instances in which a spouse is in the marriage against her will.