U.S. approved thousands of petitions to bring in child brides

• It is unknown how many of the petitions were ultimately granted by the State Department, but only 2.6% of spousal or fiancé claims are rejected.
• The majority of the minors involved in the petitions were 17 years old, and most of the petitioning adults were 20 years old. But in one case, a 49-year-old man petitioned for a 15-year-old girl and in another a 71-year-old petitioned for a 17 year-old, according to AP.

The bottom line: “People die to come to America,” said Naila Amin, a dual citizen from Pakistan who was forcibly married at 13 years old and applied for her husband's visa. “I was a passport to him. They all wanted him here, and that was the way to do it.”