‘SSW’: Fans Accuse Merrifields Of Immigration Fraud, Guilty?
The Merrifields are back for another season of Seeking Sister Wife. As fans learned in the premiere episode, their ‘sister wife’ Roberta has not quite made it to America. Yet some fans did some investigating and discovered the couple may have committed a form of immigration fraud. How did they do that and are they guilty?
Meeting The Merrifields In Season 3, Challenges Ahead
Dannielle and Garrick had been married for over a decade when he proposed the idea of polygamy to his wife. They had their struggles but he had felt a calling from God to pursue this life. For Dannielle, she needed time and a lot of prayers to decide if she could even go through with such a thing. Eventually, she agreed so they went online to see who they could find and that is when they stumbled upon Roberta from Brazil. They liked her so much that they all met up in Mexico and Garrick proposed on night two. Back in America, the couple decided to get a divorce as they felt it would be easier for Roberta to get a fiancee visa. Their next trip to Mexico allowed Garrick and Bert to be more intimate which was incredibly hard for Dannielle.
Time went by due to the pandemic with Bert and Garrick realizing they had no time to waste. It was time to start babymaking and forget the wedding so back to Mexico everyone went. After the season ended, no one saw the Merrifields together and questioned their status. Viewers wondered if Bert made it to America or if she was still in Brazil. When the new season picked up, it was revealed that they saw her a year ago in Mexico where they had a non-legal commitment ceremony. Then her visa got approved but she was still in Brazil, saying her mom was ill. Yet fans have reason to believe what Dannielle and Garrick did was not necessarily legal.
Breaking The Law?
A few people have asked this and now, one fan has taken it to Reddit. They wanted to know if the Merrifields were committing immigration fraud. Here’s why: “Am I mistaken, or is getting legally divorced in order to get a K1 visa for someone else not fraud?” An actual immigration attorney responded and this is what they had to say:
“The issue with them isn’t that they’re committing fraud (they’re not), it’s that their plan is for Bert to immigrate to the United States with the intention of practicing polygamy within the country. This is not allowed under federal immigration law because polygamy is illegal in the US and they can’t really deny it after going on this show, so I’d say there’s a 0% chance of Bert getting a K1 or really any other type of visa at this point. They won’t even let you in as a tourist if they suspect your intention is to practice polygamy while you’re here.”
So, there you have it. In the end, it appears that it does not really matter as Bert has seemingly chosen to stay in Brazil. Guess it will all play out as the season progresses. What do you make of all of this? Let us know and watch Seeking Sister Wife Mondays on TLC.
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