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In Brief

• Underage marriage is a violation of human rights.
• State laws are slowly changing related to underage marriages.
• Current immigration policies are not adequate to combat underage marriages.

Child marriage is a global issue with a disproportionate impact on girls. According to UNICEF (2019), there are an estimated 650 million girls married before their 18th birthday globally, with another 150 million girls younger than age 18 projected to be married by 2030. Child marriages also have an impact on intercontinental migration. In the United States, more than 8,600 spousal and fiancé(e) immigration visas approved between 2007 and 2017 involved a child. Immigration can involve a U.S. child marrying an immigrant as a pathway to citizenship or a child immigrating into the United States through a spousal or fiancé(e) visa. Child marriage has been identified as a violation of human rights given the number of social and psychological impairments related to this type of relationship on children. To reduce or eliminate child marriages, there are several legal and policy changes that can be implemented. In 2018, two U.S. states, Delaware and New Jersey, became the first states to prevent underage marriages by requiring both spouses to be 18 years of age or older. This article focuses on U.S. laws and governmental immigration policies that can work in concert to reduce or eliminate underage marriages.

Underage Marriage Contributing Factors

There are several factors contributing to the global issue of underage marriage, including gender bias and discrimination, educational inequity, customary or religious practices and laws, and poverty (UNICEF, 2019). The majority of underage spouses are girls. The lack of global response to underage marriage can be connected to the bias and discrimination faced by women and girls around the world in many areas of life. A study of 82 countries found that one in 21 men (4.5%) between the ages of 20 and 24 years were first married before age 18 years (Murray Gastón, Misunas, & Cappa, 2019). The number of married girls is significantly higher than married boys. Estimates are not directly comparable, but research indicates that approximately one in five females (21.1%) between the ages of 20 and 24 years were married before age 18 years.

Religious convictions sometimes lead to underage marriage with families or communities choosing to force a child into marriage rather than explain underage sexual activity or an underage pregnancy possibly occurring as a result of rape (Bunting, 2005; Tahirih Justice Center, 2017). Reportedly, restrictive child marriage laws in a country do little to affect customary or religious practices (Pew Research Center, 2016). In Turkey, the minimum age for marriage is 18 years, but children as young as 12 years are married in unofficial religious ceremonies. Additionally, child marriages may continually occur in rural communities of a country unaware or unsupportive of the country’s child marriage laws.

U.S. Marriage Laws

Delaware and New Jersey in 2018 became the first, and currently the only, states legally requiring a person to be of legal age, 18 years, to enter into a legal contract of marriage. There are no exceptions to 18-year-old minimum age requirement in these two states. In 2016, Virginia became the first state to set the marriage minimum at 18 years, with exceptions for court-emancipated youth. As recently as May 2019, Georgia joined sixteen other states that require marriage to be between adults age 18 years and older while allowing for exceptions to the age requirement. For example, Georgia’s exception is for 17-year-old minors emancipated through a juvenile court proceeding (Tahirih Justice Center, 2019).

Advocates for women and children have asked for all states to adopt the minimum marriage requirement of 18 years with no exceptions (Tahirih Justice Center, 2020). These advocates cite drastic reductions in underage marriages in states implementing age-restrictive legal changes. Both Virginia and Florida saw significant reductions in the number of minors married. In 2015, one year before Virginia passed its 2016 law establishing an 18-year-old minimum with an emancipation exception, there were 182 marriages involving children; in 2017 that number was only 13 (Tahirih Justice Center, 2020). Similarly, in 2017, Florida had 125 marriages involving a child spouse, whereas in 2018 that number was reduced to 48 (Tahirih Justice Center, 2019)

International Marriage Laws

According to the Pew Research Center (2016), many countries have a legal marriage age of 18 years for both males and females, and many of these countries permit marriages between the ages of 14 and 18 years with parental consent. When there is a distinction between gender and age, the male marital age tends to be 2 to 3 years older than the female age. China has one of the oldest marital age requirements, with males needing to be 22 years and females 20 years to legally marry. Sudan has one of the youngest marriageable ages, with the legal age of marriage being 10 years for girls and 15 years or puberty for boys.

Immigration and Minor Spouses

Currently the Immigration and Nationality Act does not include a minimum age for either the person petitioner for or beneficiary of a spousal petition. In April 2019, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, issued a policy alert updating the Adjudicator’s Field Manual to establish guidelines for Form I-130 Spousal Petitions Involving a Minor. There are two areas addressed by the policy alert. Parties involved with an I-130 application will be referred for an interview if the petitioner or beneficiary are younger than 16 years old and if either petitioner or beneficiary is at least 16 or 17 years of age and there are 10 years or more in difference between the ages of the spouses.

The validity of marriages in the United States and abroad for immigration and naturalization purposes requires that several important criteria be met (USCIS, 2019). The burden is on the applicant to establish that the marriage is valid. Second, the marriage’s legal validity is based on the setting or place of the marriage and the law of the jurisdiction where the marriage was performed. Last, the marriage certificate serves as prima facie evidence that the marriage was legally performed. These criteria focus on the legality of the marriage process and not on the age of the marrying partners.

For immigration purposes, the United States does focus on the individuals and types of marriages and currently bans certain marriages including civil unions and incestuous marriages (USCIS, 2019). Given the existing ban on certain marriages, the United States has the ability to establish a ban on underage marriage partners. U.S. policies can restrict the age of fiancé(e) or spousal visa requests. The United States has very clear restrictions on polygamous unions. U.S. immigration policies do not permit the immigration of more than one recognized spouse or fiancé(e) regardless of the country of origin. Polygamy is not legal in the United States, and the immigration process serves as a barrier for immigrants in polygamous unions. Similarly, the United States can establish similar policies to ban underage fiancé(e)s and spouses from entering the country.

State and Federal Laws

Currently, only two U.S. states set a minimum age of 18 years for marriages. An increasing number of states are setting 18 years as the minimum, with a minor’s emancipation as an exception. Currently, the federal government has set the minimum at 16 years of age for marriage for immigration purposes, with younger individuals being referred for an immigration agency interview.

The USCIS may need clear guidance on minors and marriages. To truly monitor underage engagements and marriages, there need to be diligent efforts to verify the ages of both marrying partners. Policies could be clearer as to the minimum age of fiancé(e) and spouses with consideration of the age gap between the spouses or intended spouses. A recent U.S. Senate investigation identified a case of a 71-year-old U.S. citizen successfully applying to USCIS to have a 17-year-old Guatemalan spouse immigrate to the United States (S. Rep. No. 116, 2019). Similarly, the USCIS approved a 14-year-old U.S. citizen to have a 48-year-old Jamaican spouse immigrate to the United States. Stricter policies are needed to prevent children from immigrating or petitioning for immigration (S. Rep. No. 116, 2019).

Legal Age Barriers

Child spouses are at the mercy of their often much older spouse. Children married before the age of 18 possess few legal recourses to end the marriage. These child spouses often cannot petition a court for a divorce, annulment, or legal separation due to their young age (UNICEF, 2019). In the United States, most state laws require a petitioner to be of legal age to file for legal reprieve or address a grievance. Additionally, child spouses may not be eligible for some services, such as residing in a domestic violence shelter, obtaining a housing lease, or even acquiring a driver’s license. There are legal barriers that exist for underage spouses such as being able to petition legally to stay in the United States separate from an older spouse who may possess legal citizenship.

Implications for Practice

Child marriages are deemed a human rights violation because they force children to enter into marital contracts that are nonconsensual because of the child’s age (Girls Not Brides, n.d.). The commitment to eliminate underage marriages will go a long way toward protecting children, especially girls. Practitioners can assist with educating children and their families about the implications of underage marriages. To significantly reduce or eradicate underage marriages related to migration, Family Scientists could work in concert with state laws, immigration policies, and other counties. A unified and concerted effort is needed to protect children from the negative impact of underage marriages. Research shows underage marriage is harmful to children with increased risk of domestic violence, depression, adolescent childbirth, and limited educational and economic opportunities (International Center for Research on Women, 2007). As such, practitioners can assist with intervention by providing or connecting child spouses to local support services to prevent these risks and promote their well-being. Last, both prevention and intervention efforts can be supported by practitioners advocating for policy and legal changes. Child advocates in the United States have demanded a consistent minimum age standard of 18 years for all marriages throughout the country. Global partnerships and strict age minimum standards will be needed to reduce or eliminate child marriages around the world.

Complete References

Bunting, A. (2005). Stages of development: Marriage of girls and teens as an international human rights issue. Social & Legal Studies, 14(1), 17–38. https://doi.org/10.1177/0964663905049524

Girls Not Brides. (n.d.). Child marriage and the law. Retrieved from www.girlsnotbrides.org/child-marriage-law/

International Center for Research on Women. (2007). Too young to wed: Education and action toward ending child marriage. Retrieved from https://n2r4h9b5.stackpathcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Child-Marriage-Toolkit.pdf

Murray Gastón, C., Misunas, C., & Cappa, C. (2019). Child marriage among boys: A global overview of available data. Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies, 14(3), 219–228. https://doi.org/10.1080/17450128.2019.1566584

Pew Research Center. (2016). Marriage laws around the world. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2016/09/FT_M…

S. Rep. 116 (2019). Retrieved from www.hsgac.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Child%20Marriage%20staff%20report%201%209%202019%20EMBARGOED.pdf

Tahirih Justice Center. (2017). Falling through the cracks: How laws allow child marriage to happen in today’s America. Retrieved from www.tahirih.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/TahirihChildMarriageReport-1…

Tahirih Justice Center. (2019). Prevent forced marriage. Retrieved from https://preventforcedmarriage.org/2019-2/

Tahirih Justice Center. (2020). Making progress, but still falling short: A report on the movement to end child marriage in America. Retrieved from www.tahirih.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Reflection-Paper_Making-Progress-But-Still-Falling-Short_FINAL_January-22-2020.pdf

UNICEF. (2019). Child marriages in South Asia: An evidence review. Retrieved from www.unicef.org/rosa/media/4251/file/Child%20Marriage%20Evidence%20Review_Web.pdf

U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. (2019). Policy alert: Marriage involving minor(s) (Publication No. AFM PA-2019-02). Retrieved from www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/20190412-Marriage_Involving_Minors.pdf