US Immigration will send you a letter informing you that they have scheduled you for your in-person Green Card interview at your local immigration service center. The interviewing officer is trained to look for fraudulent marriages also there have been recent reports of ICE detaining green card applicants which you should be aware of. If the interviewing officer suspects that your marriage is fraudulent, you and your spouse will be separated, and interviewed with a recorder and video. During this interview both you and your spouse will be asked similar questions and if they are answered incorrectly or do not match one another the officer may presume there is fraud in your marriage, if this is the case you will be denied your green card; based on Fraud/misrepresentation, which can mean a permanent bar.  Therefore, fraud is viewed by US immigration very seriously, there are very severe consequences, namely not obtaining a green card or having delays in obtaining one for years, while you try to correct their presumption of fraud.

Interviewing officers can view any marriage as fraud, however certain things such as large age differences or multiple past marriages, for example, can raise their suspicion that your marriage is fraudulent, it is really up to the officer on the day adjudicating your green card petition to make the determination.

When do fraud interviews take place?

You may be called for a fraud interview after your USCIS (form I-485) green card interview. You may also be called when you apply to remove the conditions on your green card (I-751) to convert from conditional to permanent.

What happens during a Fraud Interview?

You and your spouse will be put in separate rooms and each of you will be asked an identical set of questions. Later, the US Immigration officer will compare your answers to see if they match up. You may be pushed with questions until one of you makes a mistake, confesses to marriage fraud, or finally convinces the officer(s) that the marriage is real.

The interviewer may sometimes apply harsher tactics, such as falsely telling one person that their spouse has already “confessed” that the marriage is fraudulent, in order to push the interviewee into confessing. Sometimes, they may intimidate you, reminding you of the jail time and monetary fines you’ll face if caught committing marriage fraud. An interviewer may also sometimes ask you to sign a document withdrawing the visa application or stating that marriage is a fraud. If your marriage is genuine, do not sign anything of the sort; instead, ask to stop the interview and to reschedule it with Attorney Caro present.

Keep in mind…

Some officers may seem kind and helpful while others may be rude or hostile. Do not get angry under any circumstance. Respectfully answer the questions and answer honestly if you don’t know or remember something. Never guess or lie.

How to prepare:

Use the following as a general guide to help you prepare for the interview. Request a mock interview with Caro, take the time to prepare fully for your interview

• Bring a matching set of house keys if you live together.
• Bring plenty of pictures to your interview (pictures speak 1000 words).
• Read the letter from US Immigration fully, bring original copies of the documents requested.
• Book in your prep session with Caro, take detailed notes during your session with the attorney and review the information in your file several times before your interview so that everything is fresh in your mind.
• Try to get the interviewing officer’s name in the beginning. If he/she does not say their name, look for their name on the desk. It may be useful later on if you need to have Attorney Kinsella file a complaint, discuss the matter with a supervisor, or send additional documents to the officer on your behalf.
• If you and your spouse are living separately because one of you is in school or work, bring school transcripts, letters of employment and plenty of documents showing that you often call or visit one another. During your prep session with Caro, she will go over the specific items for your particular situation.

Sample Marriage based Green Card Interview Questions:

NOTE: This is not an exhaustive list of all the questions you may be asked on the day of your interview.

Development of Your Relationship

 

• Could you please describe the first meeting? (When and where did you meet for the first time?)
• Did you make arrangements to meet again?
• Who made the first move and asked to meet up again?
• Did you exchange phone numbers and/or email addresses?
• When did you meet next?
• Where were you living at the time? Where was your spouse living?
• What did the two of you have in common?
• Where did you go for the dates?
• When did your relationship turn romantic?
• Who proposed to whom?
• Why did you decide to have a long (or short) engagement?
• How long was it before you decided to get married?
• When did you decide to get married?
• Did you live together before marriage?
• Did your parents approve of the match? Why or why not?

 

You and your spouse

• What is your name, address, and date of birth?
• What is the name, address, and date of birth of your spouse?
• What did you do for your spouse’s last birthday?
• What did you give each other for your last birthdays?
• How often and what time do you call each other by phone?
• Which holidays do you celebrate together?
• What activities did you do together the last time you visited each other?
• Which of your financial matters are shared, or who supports the other financially?
• Do you and/or your spouse have any scars or tattoos? If yes, where on the body?
• Where do you work?
• What time do you or your spouse arrive home (whoever is working)?
• What are your working hours?
• What is your annual salary?
• Where does your spouse work?
• What are your spouse’s working hours?
• What days of the week does your spouse work?
• What is your phone number at work?
• What is your spouse’s phone number at work?
• Do you know your spouse’s salary? If yes, how much is it?
• Do you and/or your spouse attend regular religious services? Where?
• Do you have any joint bank accounts? Where? What kind of accounts (checking, savings, money market etc.)?
• Are both of you listed on the account? As proof, do you have a bank letter or canceled checks?
• Who takes care of paying the bills?
• What religious holidays do you celebrate together?
• What is the most important holiday of the year in your household? Where do you typically celebrate it?
• What did the two of you do last New Year’s Eve? Fourth of July? Thanksgiving? Christmas?
• How did you celebrate your most recent wedding anniversary?
• Have you and your spouse gone to see a movie (or any other form of entertainment) lately? When and what did you see?
• When was your last vacation? Did you and your spouse go anywhere together at that time?
• When did your spouse take a vacation last time from work?
• When was the last vacation you and your spouse took together?
• Where did you go? How did you get there? Could you please describe in detail?
• Do you have the photos from your last vacation together?
• Did you file a joint tax return this year? Can I see the copy of it?
• Do you jointly own any property? If yes, can I see the copies of the documents?
• Do you have an insurance policy listing your spouse as the beneficiary? If yes, can I see a copy of the same?
• Do you have any utility bills where both of you are listed together?
• Do you have receipts from items you have purchased together?
• What other documentation do you have to prove that you are living together as a married couple?
• What did you do for Christmas, New Year, your anniversary? Did you exchange gifts? If so, what kind of gift?

 

Wedding

• Where was the wedding held?
• How did you and your spouse get to the church, temple, mosque, gurdwara, courthouse etc.?
• How many people attended your wedding?
• Who were the witnesses to the ceremony?
• Did each of your parents attend the wedding?
• What kind of cake or other food was served?
• Did you serve the liquor? What kind?
• Did anyone get drunk or otherwise embarrass themselves at the reception? Who? Describe.
• How late did the guests stay at the wedding?
• Did you exchange wedding rings? Did you and your spouse purchase them together or separately?
• Was there music or other entertainment?
• Who were the bridesmaids/groomsmen?
• Did you have a reception after the ceremony?
• If you didn’t have a reception, what did you do after the wedding ceremony?
• Where was the reception held?
• Could you please describe the reception?
• Could you please show me any photos of the wedding ceremony and/or reception?
• Did the bride change clothes for the reception?
• What time did you and the [bride or groom] leave the reception?
• Did you go on a honeymoon? When did you leave? How did you get there? Where did you go? For how long? What airlines?
• Where did you live after the wedding?

 

Relatives

• Do you know your spouse’s family members? Which ones?
• Have you met each other’s parents?
• When did you see them last time? For how long? Where?
• Do you buy gifts for your in-laws on important holidays? Do they buy gifts for you?
• Which other members of your spouse’s family do you see frequently? When was the last time you saw them? What did you do together?
• How often do you see each other’s parents?
• How do each of you get along with your parents-in-law?

 

Children (if applicable)

• How many children do you have?
• What are the names, birth dates and birth place (hospital name, city) of each child?
• Which children were normal delivery and which ones were C-section?
• What is the name of your child’s best friend?
• Who prepares and packs the lunch for your children?
• What is your usual babysitter’s name? What are the daycare timings?
• What is the name of your child’s teacher?
• Who picks up the children at school?
• What are their least favorite foods?
• Which children (if any) still use a car seat?
• What are the favorite toys/activities of your children?
• If your spouse has children from a previous marriage, what are their names, ages, where they live, and where they go to school, if applicable?

 

House

• Could you please describe the place where you lived right after the marriage? No. of bedrooms and bathrooms; furnishings; the color of walls, floor coverings, appliances, etc; type of air conditioning (window or central), heating (gas or electrical), etc; the number of telephones, TV sets etc.
• Do you live in a home (single family, condominium, townhouse) or apartment? How much is the mortgage or rent? Who pays it?
• Who cleans the house?
• What are the garbage pick up days?
• Do you write checks for paying the bills or online billing?
• What color are the curtains in your house?
• What types of curtains or window coverings are in your living room? What color?
• Who gets up first? At what time?
• Do you set up the alarm clock to get up in the morning?
• What do each of you eat for breakfast?
• How many staircases are in your house?
• Is there a carpet in your front hallway? What color?
• Do you have any pets? Which ones (such as dog, cat, fish etc.)? Who feeds it? Who walks it or cleans its cage, kitty litter box etc?
• How many sinks, toilets, and showers are there in your house/apartment in total?
• Is your sofa a regular one or does it have a pullout bed? If later, have you ever had guests sleep there?
• Where did you get the furniture? Was the furniture already there, did you buy it, was it a gift, or did it come from you, or your spouse’s previous residence?
• How was the furniture transported to the house?

 

Technology

• Who keeps the garage door opener in the car?
• How many remote controls are there in your house?
• How many cars do you have?
• Do you have a garage? How many cars fit into it? Who parks in it? Do you use a garage door opener?
• How many telephones are in your house? Where are they?
• Do both of you have cell phones? Do you have a family plan on the phones?
• Does your phone have an answering machine? Who checks the messages?
• Do you have a VCR? What brand? Do you use it only to watch videos, or do you record any TV shows?
• Do you have a DVD player? What brand?
• Where do you rent movies from?

• Does your spouse listen to the radio? What station?
• Do you have cable TV or satellite dish?
• Who is the cable/dish provider in your house?
• Does your spouse listen to music? What kind of equipment does he/she have such as iPod, DJ equipment, etc.?
• How many TV sets are in your house? In which rooms?
• Do you watch TV shows together, or separately?
• Name one TV show that you always watch together.
• Do you have a still camera? Is that a digital camera or the one with the roll?
• Who uses the camera most often?
• Who takes pictures at important family occasions or during sightseeing?
• Do you have a camcorder? What brand is it?

 

Kitchen

• Who goes grocery shopping? Where? How often? How do you get there?
• What color are the kitchen curtains?
• Who makes breakfast?
• What does your spouse drink in the morning? (Such as coffee, tea, milk etc.) If so, does he/she use cream and/or sugar?
• What is your spouse’s most (or least) favorite food?
• Is there a particular food that you eat every week? What is it?
• What are your favorite foods and who cooks what?
• Do you have a barbecue grill? Do you use it? Is it gas or charcoal?
• Who does most of the cooking?
• How many times a week on average do you eat out?
• What is your special restaurant?
• Where is the garbage kept in the kitchen?

 

Bedroom

• What size is your bed (twin, queen, king)?
• Do you have a regular mattress, futon, or waterbed?
• Who sleeps on each side of the bed?
• Do either of you read or watch television before going to sleep?
• Do you have lamps next to your bed?
• Have you ever had an argument that resulted in one of you sleeping in another room? Who, and which room?
• What kind of birth control do you use? What brand do you use?
• When was your wife’s last menstrual period?
• Do you leave any lights on when you go to sleep at night?
• How many windows are there in your bedroom?
• Where do you keep your toothbrushes?
• Does your spouse use a regular toothbrush or an electrical one?
• What kind of toothpaste, soap, and shampoo do each of you use?
• Where do you keep your clothes? Where does your spouse keep his/her clothes?
• What color are your spouse’s pajamas?
• What is your favorite position (missionary, doggy, cowgirl etc.)?
• Where are the bathroom towels kept?
• Where do you keep the dirty clothes?

 

Just before the interview

• Did you or your spouse go to work yesterday?
• If so, at what time did you and/or spouse leave the house and return?
• Did you eat dinner together last night? What did you have?
• Did anyone else have dinner with you last night?
• Who cooked the dinner last night? What time was dinner served?
• Did you watch TV after dinner? What shows did you watch?
• Who went to bed first?
• At what time did you go to bed?
• Did you have the AC, fan or heater on?
• Who woke up first this morning? Did an alarm clock go off?
• Did you or your spouse take a shower this morning?
• Did you have breakfast? Where and what did you eat?
• Did you come to the interview together? Who drove?