Plenty of people don’t happen to be U.S. citizens but fall in love with Americans nonetheless. In the event that such a situation happens to lead to marriage, the non-citizen can apply for a marriage-based green card under perfectly legitimate circumstances. After all, U.S. immigration law is such that a person can apply for permanent resident status on the basis of marriage to a U.S. citizen. The fact that so many people happen to take advantage of this law and abuse the system by entering into fraudulent green card marriages doesn’t negate its validity under the proper circumstances. However, due to the fact that far too many people have tried to take advantage of the green card marriage system, the government has gotten a lot stricter when it comes to green card marriages on a whole. As a result, plenty of legitimate applicants have run into trouble with the process despite their earnest and pure intentions, and in some cases, people in perfectly legitimate marriages have even found themselves falsely accused of fraud.
One of the most stressful components of the marriage-based green card application process is the ever-famous immigration interview. As part of the procedure, the U.S. government likes to do its homework when it comes to granting or denying applications based on marriage alone. In order to achieve this goal, the application process generally includes an interview with both the U.S. citizen and the applicant, the purpose of which is to determine whether or not they are telling the truth about their marital status and the reasons behind it.
Of course, some people have heard stories about immigration interviews, specifically the fact that the questions involved tend to range from the detailed to the embarrassingly personal. As an immigration attorney who has helped numerous clients with the immigration process, Daniel Fisher of the firm Fisher & Frommer, NYC will be the first to warn people that immigration interviews can get pretty intense. However, this isn’t always the case. In fact, when most people imagine an immigration interview, they picture one member of a couple getting grilled in one room with the other member getting questioned separately in the next. However, in reality, the members of a couple aren’t always separated during the interview process.
As for the general tone of the process, in Fisher’s experience, an immigration interview can range from rather pleasant to extremely interrogatory, depending on the extent to which fraud is expected. An interview might start out on an agreeable note, but that could change quickly depending on how things play out. Also, anyone scheduled for an immigration interview should not be surprised if the discussion takes multiple hours; after all, when the government does its homework, it does it well.
As far as the line of questioning during the interview process goes, those scheduled for interviews should prepare themselves to expect some personal questions. Remember, the goal of the interview is to determine whether or not two people are actually cohabitating legitimately as husband and wife. Therefore, the line of questioning needs to reflect those items that only a true husband and wife would know about one another.
So what kinds of questions might get asked? While every interview is different, those going through the process should expect inquiries along these lines:
- What type of birth control does your wife use?
- What does the inside of your bedroom look like?
- What color are your bedroom walls?
- When was the last time that you were intimate?
- How and where did you both meet?
- Where was your first date?
- Have you met each other’s families?
Alarmingly enough, under the necessary circumstances, the questions can get even more intrusive. In other words, those approaching an immigration interview would be wise to come fully prepared.
Of course, one way to make the immigration interview process a bit more comfortable is to hire an attorney. An immigration attorney can not only prepare you for the interview, he can also provide the appropriate government representatives with the information necessary to confirm the legitimacy of your marriage. This way, the individual conducting the interview might not have to take such a personal or intimidating approach. An immigration attorney can also attend an interview with you to protect your interests throughout the entire procedure; for many, this can translate into an added dose of comfort during a rather stressful process.
While the idea of an immigration interview might be stressful, remember that if you’re applying for a green card under legitimate circumstances, then you really don’t have anything to hide. By working with your attorney to prepare for your interview, you can turn an otherwise daunting process into a relative piece of cake.
