The State - News from April 2, 1986

One woman was arrested and three others were being sought after their indictment in Richmond for allegedly arranging sham marriages so that Sikh immigrants could become U. S. citizens for an average fee of $2,000. Shirleen Dhaliwal, 38, was in custody; Serlena Dowell, 42, Sheila Kabir, 23, and Dauphine Wilson, 33, are being sought under a 20-count federal indictment. The women were leaders of a 4-year-old operation that helped at least 19 Sikhs obtain permanent residency visas, the grand jury indictment charged. No criminal charges will be filed against the one-time brides or their grooms, but the men will face possible deportation, Art Shanks, vice deputy district director of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, said.