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CBS News:

The television world is buzzing over a new reality show, “Who Wants to Marry a U.S. Citizen?”

It’s “The Dating Game” with a twist: A United States citizen interviews three legal immigrants and chooses one of them to date.

The contestants have visas or green cards, but not citizenship.

Adrian Martinez hatched the idea for the program, and shot a pilot. He says he’s speaking with at least one network about picking it up. His cousin, Angelo Gonzales, is host. Both of their families are from Mexico…

These gentlemen appear very close to the line here, but don’t seem to have crossed it – yet.  However, any contestant dippy enough (perhaps) to marry a foreigner as a result of choosing one on this purported “game show” might like to know a few things.

First, any marriage to a non-U.S. citizen must be a real marriage in order for U.S. residency (possibly leading to that person’s choosing later to apply for U.S. citizenship) to be granted legally.

Second — and this is VERY important given the above — there is a huge LEGAL difference between a “visa” and a “green card”.  A holder of the latter has no immediate “need” to marry a U.S. citizen; after five years’ U.S. residency, he is simply entitled to apply on his own.  Marriage to a U.S. citizen merely reduces the “waiting time” to apply for citizenship from five to three years.

However, a visa holder merely has the legal right to be present in the U.S. for a specified period of time. Essentially, that means this: any contestant who “falls in love” and marries a visa holder in order to facilitate that visa holder’s use of a “sham marriage” as the basis to support a “green card” application . . . is committing a serious crime.

…”First of all,” [Martinez] told Early Show co-anchor Hannah Storm Monday, “we’re not the U.S. government. We don’t hand out green cards. We’re not gonna marry anyone on the show. All we wanna do is play matchmaker between two different candidates who are specific demographics of the contestants. No one needs to worry about anything; we’re not gonna change immigration policy with a few contestants…

That comment doesn’t quite make sense.  It has nothing to do with “immigration policy”.  Unless Mr Martinez doesn’t believe the U.S. should have one, of course.

…If dating leads to nuptials, Martinez observed, the show foots the bill for the wedding and honeymoon because, “We figure it’s the least we can do if we can create a happy union between two people. But we’re having fun, playing the role of matchmaker.”

Gonzales reassured a dubious Storm viewers “absolutely” should believe contestants are looking for love, not citizenship, saying, “We’re just trying to set an arena for these people to just get to know each other. We’re not trying to get involved with the immigration process. We’re in the business of love, it’s that simple. We’re just trying to have fun.”…

Ms Storm’s dubiousness was readily understandable.  For while Mr Martinez may well profess to be interested in “fun” and “love, not citizenship“, any contestants had better understand a lot more is at stake outside possible “reality fame”.  Ultimately, it is they themselves who may have to face U.S. immigration officials; and if any marriage is a “sham”, it is a (let’s spell it out slowly, so it is clear) F-E-L-O-N-Y.

[Posted December 3, 9:31 PM NY time]