A group of foreign nationals and American citizens used a provision in the newly-reauthorized Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) as part of a fake profit-making marriage scheme in which American citizens were paid to marry foreigners to establish US residency. According to a multiple-count federal indictment handed down on Thursday against the 11 charged in the operation, foreign nationals paid as much as $30,000 for the sham marriages, which included a fake ceremony with wedding dress, tuxedos and photo albums. The scheme exploited a provision under federal immigration laws that permits an American citizen to file a petition for an alien relative with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to expedite and automate the process of their foreign spouse obtaining a permanent resident card. In some of the fake marriages, temporary restraining orders were obtained under made-up allegations of domestic abuse against the American spouse by the foreign nationals …