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- Articles>>Family-Based Immigration
10 Tips to Succeed in the USCIS Marriage Interview
[10/27/2008]

Nothing to memorize:
Remember that there is nothing that you need to learn by heart for the interview. There is no specific test questions prescribed for the immigrant interview that you have to memorize. What we mean by this is if the officer asks what the date when you last entered the U.S. was? And you cannot remember you are allowed to look at your I-485 Form, Page 1, for the Date of Last Arrival. That¡¯s it.

Reflect on the history of your relationship:
During the interview the USCIS officer will ask you questions designed to highlight some of the grounds and history of your relationship; i.e., when did both of you first meet, when was your first date, what did you eat on your first date, etc. You should be able to present the circumstances under which you met your spouse and portray your journey from engagement to marriage. Remember it¡¯s not a police interrogation; it¡¯s only an inspection which everyone has to go through so you are not the exception.

Be prepared for the wedding Game?
If the USCIS officer suspects that the marriage may not be real they may separate you and interview you individually. While not necessarily designed to be tricky the questions will trip up spouses that are not familiar with each other. In this case each spouse will be asked a series of questions about the another and their life together, ranging from "Where was your husband born?" to at times much more simple questions such as "What is your husband¡¯s favorite pass time?" Your answers to these questions will be compared against those provided by your spouse to determine your level of familiarity. The USCIS official¡¯s goal is to verify whether or not you and your spouse are indeed living together in an intimate relationship. Remember to pay attention to the details of your living arrangements before the interview period. You may also want to quiz each other on your respective personal information.

Be what you are:
The USCIS officials are trained to, and have experience at, analyzing body language and interactions between couples. They are constantly looking for signs that suggest the two of you are not comfortable together, as it happens in most of the sham or green card marriages" where the two people are in no way involved in an intimate relationship. In an attempt to show that they are married some couples show too much affection, which may appear forced and unnatural, and at the opposite end of the scale some have no interaction at all. You should neither show disparity nor do you need to show too much of affection, just behave as you both always do be calm and relaxed. A simple sense of togetherness and mutual concern is what wins in the end.

Be prepared with the proper documents:
Carry a set of original documents and a complete set of duplicate copies that you can give to the USCIS officer. You are expected to provide certain documentation to prove the validity of your marriage. The documents requested include, but are not limited to, wedding invitations, wedding photographs, birth certificates of any children you may have together, property leases with both names featured, photographs of special occasions spent together, joint bank account statements, and other joint financial documents.

Seek the assistance of an expert:
If you are worried, have special circumstances, or just want peace of mind, it is worth spending few dollars to seek help from an expert immigration attorney to steer you through the whole process. There is a lot riding on the approval of your petition and it is not unheard of for those with genuine marriages to have their case denied as a result of being unprepared. The old proverb if you fail to prepare, and then be prepared to fail applies in this situation. The USCIS authorities do not take these inspections lightly and neither should you. They will conduct in depth background checks on the US citizen as well as the foreign national and will be ready for the interview. The guidance of an expert immigration attorney backing you at every step of the proceeding can certainly make the difference between residence granted and residence denied.

Conclusion:
It is estimated that each year 450,000 US citizens marry foreign nationals, out of which it is assumed that a certain percentage is for immigration purposes only. The authorities at the USCIS, however, are prepared for this often-abused strategy and do not make it an effortless process.

Source: Visapro

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