Marriage-Based Green Card Interview Preparation

In this article, our U.S. Immigration Lawyers offer guidance on preparing for a marriage-based Green Card Stokes interview.

If you need US immigration legal advice on a marriage-based Green Card, our US Visa Lawyers in London can help.

US Immigration and Green Card Lawyers UK  

For US immigration and Green Card advice call OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online. Appointments are available for phone, Zoom, or online consultations, as well as at our London office.

Marriage-based Green Card interviews

You may be asked to attend a Stokes interview, regardless of whether you apply for your Green Card from within the United States or abroad.

The National Visa Centre conducts overseas interviews, and US-based interviews are carried out by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

A preliminary interview may raise red flags for U.S. officials, and they may invite you to attend a Stokes interview, also known as a secondary interview, which involves being interviewed separately from your spouse.

A notice of a Stokes interview can put Green Card applicants into a state of panic. Whether you have been married for three years or thirty years, you are bound to fear that you will get the answers to the questions wrong or that you won't be able to cope with the questions.

As specialist Green Card Lawyers, we understand that interviews make all Green Card applicants and their spouses anxious. That’s natural, and we would worry if you weren’t worried.

The basics of marriage-based Green Card interviews

When the thought of an interview throws an applicant, they can lose sight of basic interview planning, such as:

1. Checking the location of the interview and planning your transportation.
2. Keeping your diary free of childcare or work commitments in case the appointment overruns.
3. Not acting differently than normal towards your spouse. Interviewers will spot forced, affectionate gestures if they are not a natural part of your relationship.
4. Taking evidence of your marriage and relationship with you. You should ensure that you can easily locate the specific document you want to show the interviewer. You don’t want to be fumbling through piles of loose paperwork.
5. Prepare, but don’t learn like an automaton, as your relationship won't come across as genuine.

Getting to the interview is basic, but it's surprising how many interviewees have been caught off guard by tube strikes on the day of the interview or by the struggle to find parking within a mile of the building. It's not a good look to arrive flushed from running – try to arrange to arrive 30 minutes early.

Equally, you do not want to squirm during the late-running interview as you need to rush off for childcare or a work meeting. Your body language may be misinterpreted.

The same applies to preparation. You must be prepared, but there is a fine dividing line between being ready for a Green Card interview and appearing as if you have rehearsed and learnt lines. Most couples can't remember certain aspects of their relationship, or their recollections differ slightly from those of their partner. Presenting as someone who has focused on learning answers to routine interview questions won't help your case.

Marriage-based Green Card interview questions

An interviewer will ask personal questions. You need to be ready for that. That can be easier said than done, as while you may have practised answering personal questions about your relationship, it somehow seems more intrusive and can even feel demeaning when you are sitting in consular offices.

The interview questions aren’t designed to embarrass you but to establish if your relationship is genuine. The interview questions will focus on your spouse and their background, the marriage, family relationships and your household. The interviewer may also ask about your plans. Future plans can catch some applicants off guard, as they may know their spouse prefers to use an electric toothbrush, but not that their spouse’s dream is to climb Everest, or that their spouse hopes to have three children and retire at age 50.

If you don’t know the answer to a question, then tell the interviewer rather than make a wild guess or get defensive about the question or the interviewer’s attitude.

Sample marriage-based Green Card interview questions

You can prepare for a marriage-based Green Card Stokes interview by reading up on sample questions, but be aware that officials change their sample questions and don’t just rely on the questions and the responses. They also assess body language and the documents taken to the interview.

Sample questions include:

Background to your relationship

1. Where and when did you first meet?
2. Where was your first date?
3. What are your spouse’s parents, siblings and nieces and nephews called?
4. When did you meet your spouse’s parents and/or siblings?
5. When did your spouse meet your parents and/or siblings?
6. When did you or your spouse last meet the other's family?

Information on your spouse

1. What is their favourite colour?
2. What is their parents’ nickname for your spouse or their school nickname?
3. Where did they go to school?
4. What was their first pet?
5. What was their first job?
6. Have they been married previously?
7. Have they had any surgeries?

Information on the household and daily life with your spouse

1. What colour are the walls in the kitchen, bedroom, etc or floor coverings?
2. What colour are the household appliances?
3. What side of the bed do you sleep on?
4. What is your spouse’s preferred brand of toothbrush, soft drink, alcoholic drink, etc?
5. What is your spouse’s favourite meal or restaurant?
6. When was the last time you ate out with your spouse?
7. How did you celebrate your spouse’s last birthday?

Information on your marriage

1. Where did you get married, and who attended the ceremony?
2. Did any close family members not attend the ceremony?
3. What was the first song played at the wedding reception?
4. Where did you go on your honeymoon and for how long?

This is just a small sample of the questions that you may be asked. The questions can be tweaked, so you need to know about your spouse. You may be able to answer the questions easily if you have been married for ten years and are living in the UK with a US citizen. The questions may not be so easy to answer if your marriage is relatively new and your spouse has never disclosed that they are allergic to cats or some other personal information about themselves.

Documents to take to the marriage-based Green Card interview

A Green Card Lawyer will advise you on the paperwork you need to take to your interview as best evidence of the genuineness of your relationship, but as a minimum, you will need to take:

1. Your marriage certificate.
2. Affidavit of Support for an Immigrant Spouse.
4. Joint bank statements or utility bills.
5. Other evidence that you live at the same property, such as a tenancy agreement in your joint names or hospital or HMRC correspondence.

Green Card Lawyer UK

Whatever the reasons behind a Stokes-type Green Card interview, you need to be prepared to answer a whole series of questions about your relationship and marriage. Our US Immigration Lawyers can help you with your Green Card application and assist you with your interview preparation.

US Immigration Lawyers for Green Cards in London

For legal assistance for US immigration, call OTS Solicitors on 0203 959 9123 or contact us online. Appointments are available for phone, Zoom, or online consultations, as well as at our offices in London. Related Posts

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