Jasmin Espinosa BROWNSVILLE – Some couples may be in separate nations but that doesn’t stop them from putting a ring around each other’s fingers; how legal is it to say, “I do” between borders?
“Bridge marriages,” are when two people from separate countries, such as the U.S. and Mexico, get married to each other on the bridge between the two nations.
Immigration lawyer Ricardo Ramirez said while these marriages are “valid” within the eyes of the law, the timing of these ceremonies could raise questions within the government.
“let’s say you get married tomorrow at the bridge, right and then next week you file immigration petition, well, that’s going to raise a bunch of red flags, right not because of they believe that you’re legitimately married to the person that you’re in love with, but because of the timing, right,” he said.
Ramirez said the purpose of these marriages is to begin the family-based immigration process that can take anywhere from six months to a year depending on the complexity or case-by-case situation of the couple.
Robert Garcia, a public notary that specializes in marrying couples from Mexico and the United States, said depending on the port of entry, a marriage between a non-citizen and a citizen can be as simple as going to the middle of the bridge and asking nearby agents for permission.
“But some other bridges, for example, like the one in Progresso, Progresso and Nuevo Progresso, that is a bridge that has no gate in the middle,” Garica said. “So sometimes I would have to pay
my daughter across, like if I’m going to Mexico, go into Mexico, walk around, come in through the other entrance and then we would have to meet there in the middle.”
