Ok, the premise of this thread could be totally, totally wrong and based on nothing factual, but here’s the question.
In movies/shows (e.g. Green Card) there’s inevitably a scene where the fake spouses are being asked questions about the habits of their partner, I assume to ascertain if they’re actually living together as a couple.
Now, I’ve never seen an actual list of questions, and have no actual knowledge of what sorts of things are asked, but in the movies it seems to be things like colour of spouse’s tooth brush, type of lotion they use, shaving preferences, coffee or tea, etc.
So - I often watch these scenes and wonder if I could answer that type of question about my husband and if he could answer them about me. For instance, I just went and checked and his toothbrush is blue but I had no idea before I looked. Ditto on what brand of shave cream he uses - there are a few types he switches between and I have no idea what’s in the bathroom right now.
Now, we’re both Canadian citizens so we’ll never be in this situation, but based on my crap knowledge of his personal habits it’s probably a good thing 'cus I would get the boot!
So - how do you think you would do on this type of thing? Do you know exactly what brands of cream and toothpaste etc that your spouse uses?
I’ve actually sat in on some INS interviews and the questions weren’t that specific. It was more like “When you’re sitting on the toilet, what side is the toilet paper holder on?” and “What kind of birth control do you and your wife use, if any?” You’d be surprised how these easy questions trip people up.
My husband and I went through an INS interview (a couple weeks after 9/11, actually) and they didn’t ask anything even as specific as Surly Chick mentions. They asked us our address, our birthdays, telephone number and stuff like that. We were both sitting there with the interviewer. When they asked our telephone number, my husband couldn’t remember what it was (he was nervous ). I told him and the interviewer laughed. We had brought pictures of our wedding (they suggest to bring stuff like that) and we weren’t asked for them. As we were leaving, we said, “Do you want to see our pictures?” and the interviewer looked at them and made some nice comments, but I think she was just being polite.
[nitpick]There’s no such thing as the INS anymore; it’s responsibilities are now split between “U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services”(USCIS) and “U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement”(ICE), both divisions of Homeland Security.[/nitpick]
When my friend and her husband (she’s American, he’s British) went through this, they were completely overprepared and were also kind of disappointed that their interviewer didn’t care about their pictures and things.
If it were a “what color is your toothbrush” type interview, I’d do well because I do a lot of my husband’s shopping. Being the one who picked out his blue electric toothbrush makes it a lot easier to remember later. I don’t know how he’d do; we talk about things like my face products, but he’s not great at remembering things like brand names.
The birth control question is perfect. Who thinks of that unless they’re using it?
Ha! SpouseO would totally fail at the phone number question - he’s just lousy at remembering them. I think he’s mostly got his cell phone number memorized, but there’s a chance he’d forget that too. He’d definitely look to me to answer the question, then he’d be stuck.
I’ve been married for 25 years and I know none of answers to questions in the OP. She works for the state doing something she don’t talk about. She is gone somewhere three days a week. I’ve no idea where her work address officially is. I’ve no idea of her phone number(s). If we need to communicate we use email. I expect to see her Thursday evening.
white toothbrush, crest, scope, toilet paper is on the left side, no shaving products [alopecia] no birth control [hysterectomy] and I have his various major scars memorized, and I know most of his service record details. Ah, his side of the bed is whichever is furthest from the bathroom wherever we are =) and he plays a caldari drake pilot =)
We’ve been through the process and they didn’t ask any of the kind of questions mentioned. But we had our 2 kid with us who seemed to be proof enough to them that we were really married.
We did pass the INS interview. I can’t even remember what questions they asked. Certainly no questions that were tricky or difficult. We showed pictures from the two weddings we had, including pictures of us with many relatives. And lots of documents showing shared bank accounts and IRS returns. I don’t think they had any doubt about the validity of the marriage.
It was a very long time ago, but I went through an INS interview with my first husband. They were specific just like in the movies. I can’t remember all the questions but they did ask about the most recent gift recieved and what kind of toothpaste we used.
As did Palo Verde, Pleonast and Anna Nimity, my wife and I had the interview about 8 years ago, after I won the Green Card Lottery. I don’t remember the questions, but I think that it helped that:
(1) we had then been married for 25 years;
(2) we had (and still have) 4 children;
(3) my wife was already in the U.S. on a visa derivative of my temporary employment visa.
So our marriage had already been recognised by the US 2 years earlier, presumably after my wife and 2 of our children had been interviewed at the Sydney Consulate-General before getting their derivative visas. (I had already moved to the US at that time). It really was just a formality for us – though we did bring along some wedding photos
I think we’d pass no problem. If the agent asked either of us “is there anything about your spouse that annoys you?” there’d be no shutting us up. And it would be a host of picky little details, not big ticket items.
I think I’d do well and he’d be lost. I do most of the shopping, so he’d be hit there; I’m not entirely sure he knows what type of shaving cream, toothpaste or soap he’s using, just whatever I provided for him.
Just the other day I picked up take-out at a new restaurant and felt confident about choosing what to get for him. He enjoyed it and then commented that he would have no idea what to get for me in a similar situation, since he’s just clueless about the little things. Good thing no one is questioning us, I’d miss his unobservant ass.
). I told him and the interviewer laughed. We had brought pictures of our wedding (they suggest to bring stuff like that) and we weren’t asked for them. As we were leaving, we said, “Do you want to see our pictures?” and the interviewer looked at them and made some nice comments, but I think she was just being polite.