INS interview for family (spouse) based green card?

[TonyD]

I just figured I throw this question out to the masses...

I was wondering if anyone has gone through the INS interview process with their spouse for obtaining a green card. If so, I was hoping to get some insight on how the interview process works, specifically the kind of questions that they ask to determine if you are in a legit marriage, etc... What you brought that they had the most interest in, etc...

Thanks
Tony

 

[THE4TH]

A friend of mine is in the process of doing just that right now. I will ask him for some advice on the situation and how best to approach it. Good luck.

 

[D'Ecosse]

Been a while since I did my own interview (~16 years) but the best advice I can give is just be honest; they are looking for anything that might appear to be a staged scenario for unlawful entry, so if your request is legitimate, tell it like it is!

 

[Mac Attack]

I just figured I throw this question out to the masses...

I was wondering if anyone has gone through the INS interview process with their spouse for obtaining a green card. If so, I was hoping to get some insight on how the interview process works, specifically the kind of questions that they ask to determine if you are in a legit marriage, etc... What you brought that they had the most interest in, etc...

Thanks
Tony

My wife is Brazilian and we've been through the whole green card process within the last few years. Unfortunately, our experiences have been far from pleasant (the local immigration officers here are all idiots with no respect to the people trying to enter our country).

My best advice is DO NOT TRY TO RESCHEDULE YOUR INTERVIEW DATE when they send you your notice. When my wife got her notice about 2.5 years ago, we rescheduled because we were going out of town, and I had reassurance from the federal immigration hotline number that you can reschedule within a month. NOT TRUE for the Hartford, CT area. We waited OVER 1 YEAR to be rescheduled. I should have consulted with the lawyer first on that

Anyways, the interview went great, except for the part when we got into the interviewers office and they couldn't find my wife's folder with all of her documents . I was almost having an anxiety attack because, of course, nothing is computerized and they rely on actual paper. We could have been set back about 3.5 years. Unbelievable, and they are completely ambivalent to your problems, even though they screw up.

We had copies of bank accounts, credit cards, insurance documents (cars, home, life, etc.). I put her name as the contact on utilities, had references all lined up and so on. She was also pregnant at the time, which might have helped. The officer was pretty nice, and we were only questioned for a few minutes. No detailed questions (have you seen the movie "Green Card?"). It all depends on who you get I guess. We didn't know anyone else that had been through the same process.

4 years after applying for permanent residency, she finally has her green card! Applying for her American citizenship is kinda iffy - I would personally rather move down to Brazil some day!

 

[TonyD]

We filed the paperwork in Sept '03. We requested rescheduling of the first interview request for Jun '05 which caused a nightmare of problems with INS claiming we never responded. Finally after that mess was taken care of, we now have the interview at the end of this month.

Because we filed everything ourselves lawyers I've contacted that handle these cases won't provide any helpful interview information without charging us their *FULL* fee, as if they were doing the filing from the beginning. (~$2000+) $2000 for probably 15 minutes of their time! I am in the wrong field, but that is besides the point:smile:

We have piles of documentation to bring with us, but it would be useful to know which types of documentation should be presented first that makes the biggest positive impact...

Thanks

 

[DrVolkl]

My wife is Japanese...so we had to go thru the interview. Its pretty basic...you just sit in a room with an interviewer and they ask some questions. Just bring some photos of the two of your together...helps if you have wedding shots, etc...
Then bring any proof of joint accounts, such as bank accounts, phone bills, etc etc.

They really didn't grill us at all...in fact, I don't even remember the interview being very long at all. Probably depends more on who you get (a hard ass or not).

We had a huge file of crap too, and I think I was a little miffed that I didn't get to show it all off.
:smile:

 

[TonyD]

We waited OVER 1 YEAR to be rescheduled. I should have consulted with the lawyer first on that !

We requested rescheduling in May '05. Their response came in early July which was two letters stating that our I-130 and I-485 applications have been denied because of non-response to the interview and furthur stated that "There is no appeal from this decision". Needless this caused much stress until I was able to contact someone at the local office and wait almost a month for resolution. Some of the wait time was because they had sent our paperwork away for archiving...

They really didn't grill us at all...in fact, I don't even remember the interview being very long at all. Probably depends more on who you get (a hard ass or not).

Given the mostly negative experiences with the INS we are trying to prepare for the continuation of that trend and will probably get "a hard ass":frown: BUT are hoping that will not be the case and everything simply goes smoothly...

 

[Mac Attack]

Because we filed everything ourselves lawyers I've contacted that handle these cases won't provide any helpful interview information without charging us their *FULL* fee, as if they were doing the filing from the beginning. (~$2000+) $2000 for probably 15 minutes of their time! I am in the wrong field, but that is besides the point:smile:

I'm the same as you. I filed myself instead of the $2k to a lawyer. If I were an immigrant and didn't know much English, then I would have gotten the lawyer as some of my friends from overseas have (that, and I'm also pretty cheap).

Sometimes though, I wish I had gotten a lawyer and saved ~ 1 year of waiting. It really sucked because my wife doesn't work, and we saw no reason to apply for the work permit (which would have given her a SS #) a LONG time ago when we filed the I-485. Because she didn't have a SS #, she then couldn't get her drivers license and was stuck at home :redface:


Oh, I brought copies of all the documentation we took to the interview so that they could keep it if needed. Turns out I don't think they took anything. Also, if I recall, when we got the interview notice, they provided a list of things we should take to the interview. As DrVolkl said, I was also a little disappointed they didn't take anything and only looked at a select few papers!

 

[NSXDreamer2]

I have been there and general rule of thumb: Don't give yourself any pressure for that, you are an American and if you got nothing to hide. They must grant your wife the residency.

My advise, just like Drvolkl suggested, bring pictures you guys have taken together, with freinds and relatives (different faces), proper joint name account, insurance... abundance is the key work... blah blah blah... Just act natural with your wife.

My interview was going fine too and we were worried a bit since my wife wasn't speaking very well of English... (nor me, either :redface What we ended up is that I was telling the Lady I wished I had more money to buy a bigger ring for my wife but then the big diamond will look hideous on her skinny fingers , and then most of the time they were chatting the difference of her college during she's fillig out our paperworks, as the lady graduated from the same university as her, only 20 yrs ago...etc etc.

As long as it's not a fake marriage, you should have no worries.

 

[TonyD]

With the past problems of INS losing our paperwork, including the poor attitudes of the INS officers, we just worry about this last step. Hopefully evrything goes as smoothly as your experiences suggest.

Thanks again for sharing your experiences!

 

[TonyD]

We had our interview yesterday morning at 8am in Atlanta, The guards at the door were unusually rude given that the day had just started. Usually they get this way near the end of the day after dealing with everyone.

We were interviewed together without being separated. We provided just what was asked for at the beginning - ID, birth certificates, marriage certificate, tax forms, check stubs. Later the officer asked what else we had to help substantiate the marriage - one joint bank acct statement, job interview letters, phone bills, airline receipts was all else we needed to satisfy them. Interviewer didn't seem interested in photos nor letters from friends and family)
What we did not have that would have been helpful was bills that had both our names listed - this is something that I believe most people don't have since many couples just individually pay bills... Most married couples I know don't even have joint Credit Cards:smile:

What I didn't mention earlier was that our biggest challenge was that we have different addresses in different states - PA and GA. That is where the phone bills and her interview letters for jobs in PA area helped.

After a little less than 1 hour her green card was approved.

The most stressful part of the day was leaving Columbus GA at 5:40am to get to the 8am interview and hitting all the (expected) stop and go traffic about two miles before the exit we needed to get off.

 

[W]

Congrats!!!

 

[Dtrigg]

Congratulations. It took my wife over a year to get her card. We applied in London and thought it would be faster. No deal. Paperwork and everything was simple. It just took the INS ages to process everything.

 

[PushHands]

Congrats on a relatively smooth sounding interview!

 

[Meeyatch1]

I just figured I throw this question out to the masses...

I was wondering if anyone has gone through the INS interview process with their spouse for obtaining a green card. If so, I was hoping to get some insight on how the interview process works, specifically the kind of questions that they ask to determine if you are in a legit marriage, etc... What you brought that they had the most interest in, etc...

Thanks
Tony

If this is for you I can help you out a bit, as I just did this. Just PM me your phone number and I can give you a call. Best advice....be honest, be honest, be honest. Oh....and be honest.

Plus, always be where they want you to be when they want you there. Trust me.