If you are applying for a marriage based green card then you and your spouse in most cases will be required to attend a marriage green card interview. The purpose of the interview is so the USCIS Immigration Officer can meet you and your spouse and ask a series of questions to confirm that your marriage is real and genuine.
To ensure that you have a successful interview, you and your spouse will want to prepare ahead of time. Be sure to come on time and bring copies of your applications and original copies of all supporting evidence that was submitted to USCIS. You should also bring evidence of new supporting documents showing your ongoing and bona fide marriage. For example, if you and your spouse have bought a house together since applying, bring evidence of the new purchase. Or if you and your spouse have since had children. You may want to provide pictures and copies of their birth certificate. Maybe you went on family vacations, you can provide additional evidence of that as well.
Review Your Paperwork
Prior to your interview, you and your spouse should review all the questions and answers on every document that you submitted to USCIS, including all supporting evidence.
This is important because USCIS will use this information as the basis of your interview. Any inconsistencies on your application with how you answer at the interview can raise a red flag in the eyes of the Immigration Officer.
In addition to reviewing your paper work, spend time with your spouse reviewing facts around your relationship, such as how you met, how your relationship developed and why you decided to get married. The Immigration Officer will ask you a series of questions to determine whether you are genuinely married and intend to build a future together or whether you are committing immigration fraud in order to obtain a green card.
If you do not remember an answer, don't lie. It is not the end of the world if you do not remember something, we are all human and sometimes we forget. However, be sure not to forget important details about your marriage, like your wedding date or how you went. This could raise a red flag to the immigration officer.
Also, lying at your interview may lead to your green card application being denied. The purpose of reviewing and preparing ahead, is so you and your spouse can work together to remember important facts and be consistent with the details of your marriage and your relationship.
How to dress?
For your interview you want to dress neatly and professionally. Be sure that you and your spouse are both dressed this way. You do not want to show up wearing completely opposite styles of clothes. For example, if one spouse shows up in athleisure wear and the other shows up business casual; It could appear to an Immigration Officer that you and your spouse did not get dressed together in the same home before coming to the interview.
"So be sure that you coordinate.!"
What will they ask on the interview?
The Immigration Officer will ask a series of questions to both you and your spouse. These questions will range from questions about the development of your relationship, the wedding, your regular routine, questions about your home and other family members, or children (if any), they can ask questions about celebrations and holidays, and questions about past marriages if any.
The officer will also ask additional questions based on how you and your spouse answer previous questions. For example, if the Immigration Officer ask whether you live in a house or apartment, he or she could follow up with a question asking who pays the mortgage. If the interview is not going as planned, and there are inconsistencies in your answers, the Immigration officer may have doubts about the marriage being 'bona fide' and you and your spouse could be asked to do a second interview, known as the Stokes Interview. The second interview is a fraud interview (although not all couples asked to do a second interview are in a fraudulent marriage), this interview will be much more probing than the first one.
If this happens, consider hiring an Immigration Attorney to attend the interview with you. In some cases, couples can be separated at the initial interview if there is doubt from the Immigration Officer. When separated you and your spouse will be asked identical questions, to determine whether your marriage is real or not.
It is very important, no matter how well couples' feel they know each other, to prepare for the marriage based green card interview. It is better to be prepared than to risk being denied based on a poorly coordinated interview.
I hope that you found this information helpful, if you know anyone who may benefit from this information, please share this article. If you want to set up a consultation to discuss your particular immigration matter, you can visit www.anuforolaw.com/book-online.