Depends on what marriage is.

For most cases, there are 2 types of marriage. Religious marriage, and legal marriage.

In the U.S., legal marriage can do a lot of things to non-American citizens.

1 time, a woman who didn't have a green card wanted to become a citizen of the U.S. She asked my Dad for marriage. They were married for only a few days or weeks. They didn't live together, see other, or anything. Once they were married she became a U.S. citizen. Then, she divorced. (And yes, she still is U.S. citizen after divorce.)

This legal marriage is a way around the legal system.

This was before I was born.

Remember, a legal marriage is also a piece of paper with ink on it. And recorded in the computer systems.. You're granted over a hundred legal rights to your spouse, such as the right to see them when they're in the emergency room of a hospital.

Religious marriage, though, is something else..

But if you're an atheist, religious marriage doesn't mean shit.

Neal C.