After representing several clients in marriage-based green card cases, we have learned more and more about the various interviewing techniques and questions from officers all over the country as well as the common evidence documents they request. They are varied, and NOTHING is certain. Interviews could be for over 2 hours, some could last just 10 minutes. They can separate you, or interview you together.
In this post I would like to explain some important aspects about THREE of the common requested documents as it relates to marriage-based I-130 petitions, mostly misconceptions on some of the common evidence.
- ID (address)
Some may think an ID is shown simply for identification. But it’s not just for that.
Right of the bat, what most officers ask for are the IDs of the parties, typically the passport of the beneficiary and the driver’s license or state ID of the petitioner.
What do they look for in the driver’s license?
Other than obviously the identity of the petitioner, they look at the address written on the DL. When was the DL issued? Was it issued after the marriage? Is the address then consistent with the address you purport to be living together?
If it was issued before you lived together, is the address consistent with what you have on the G-325A during those months?
- Bank Statements (activity)
Some people say once you open a joint bank statement, you should be good in terms of showing bona fide evidence.
That’s wrong.
What is important is MONTHLY ACTIVITY.
What is important also are the dates.
A bank statement opened a week before the interview with $100 on it and no activity at all (no debits no credits) is actually an indication of potential fraud. That may even hurt the case. They want to see not just proof of a joint bank account, they often want to see joint bank statements for as many months as possible, WITH ACTIVITY.
If there is suspicion about the bank statement, the officers usually also ask if each have their own individual bank statements.
Again, there is never an automatic approval or denial with each evidence. Some get approved without a joint bank statement (let’s say one could not be opened due to a lack of social security by the beneficiary… or because the petitioner simply does not have a bank account for some valid reason). But they often ask about this.
Again, some cases get approved even without a joint bank statement if there are other evidence of commingling of finances etc. But a joint bank account with no activity on it is actually worse.
Joint bank statements for multiple months with activity on it – good evidence.
- Pictures (variety / people)
What officers look for in pictures are friends, family, and variety. What they often ask the applicants are questions about the event in which the particular picture was taken, and they would ask the petitioner and or the beneficiary the names of the other people in the pictures.
So pictures of only you and your spouse with the same clothing on one event with nobody else in it, even if you have ten pictures, is also a no no. Let’s say you have 15 pictures of you and your spouse at the same park with the same clothes with different poses with nobody else. Not good.
Again, these are just some pointers on certain misconceptions about three of the common requested documents for marriage-based green card interviews. In the end the interview is very subjective. Some officers are more thorough than others, but as to the above common documents, it is important to note these pointers.
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