My wife and I have an interview with the INS tomorrow. This is the one for her application for conditional permament residency. We aren’t sure exactly what the INS wants from us, but we’re pretty sure that they are going to determine that we are indeed married and intend to stay that way.
Has anyone else on the board been through this before? Any stories to share or suggestions to offer?
If anything interesting (or even mundane/pointless!) happens, I’ll be certain to make sure it shows up here.
I work for an immigration law firm (although IANAL), and they’re basically looking for any and all evidence that you two have a bonafide spousal relationship. The best evidence would be an obviously pregnant wife, and/or your children. Barring that, bring any documentary evidence of your relationship (shared bank/credit card accounts, lease or mortgage listing both your names, paperwork listing her as beneficiary on your insurance, you get the picture), correspondence addressed to you as a couple…
Also, it helps if you look like you belong together. I wouldn’t necessarily start French kissing her in the waiting room, but if you obviously look like you aren’t complete strangers or a total mismatch, you’ll probably be just fine.
BTW, I see you’re in Indiana. If your interview is in Chicago, get to 10 W. Jackson very, very early, as by the time I walk by there on my way to work at 8 a.m. there’s already a line around the block. Just remember, be calm, and remember that the INS officers a) have waaaay too much work to do, and b) sometimes aren’t very nice or very bright. Smooch your honey, and all will be well! Good luck, and let us know how it goes.
We have a 3 month old son, so that ought to count for something!
They gave us an appointment time, but we aren’t going to hold our breath hoping that it’s going to be on time. Thus far in our dealings, I think we would have to agree with both a) and b)
My husband (Australian) and I went to our interview last fall (right after 9/11, in fact). It was really straightforward. We had heard all sorts of horror stories about our interviewer; for instance, that she yelled at people if they sat down before she directed them to.
Our names were called (after waiting 3 hours past our interview time), we walked in, waited before she asked us to be seated , and pulled out all our docs that they asked us to bring (mortgage, copies of utility bills, evidence of employment, etc.). She looked at them all, stapled them in the order she wanted them, stuffed them in a folder, and told us he’d probably receive his “greencard” within about 12 months. Actually, she did ask us a few questions. She asked my husband what our phone number was and he couldn’t remember. Totally froze. It was pretty funny, and she laughed. The whole thing took maybe 15 minutes and mostly consisted of us sitting there watching her organize our documents. When it was done, we sort of looked at each other like, “that’s all??” and I told her we’d brought our wedding pictures if they needed some sort of photographic proof. She very nicely looked at our album and complimented me on my dress.
After that, we went and had lunch.
Don’t stress too much…just bring what they’ve asked you to bring and have your wife practice saying your phone number.
IANAL either, but I also used to work for an immigration law firm (green cards were my specialty) and I have many friends and relatives who’ve gone through this. Having a three month old son should probably clinch it for you. The only other things (not already mentioned) I usually suggest people bring to these interviews are - if you have them, of course - copies of emails and phone bills from when the two of you lived apart, and airplane ticket receipts from any holidays you took together.
But, you really shouldn’t have much to worry about. As I’ve said before, basically the only people who really have to worry about the INS considering their marriage fraudulent are the people whose marriage is fraudulent, and that’s true regardless of the nationality of the noncitizen spouse IME.
