What Should I Bring to My Marriage-based Immigration Interview?

Previously, we wrote about how to prepare for your marriage-based green card beginning from the moment you decide to marry your partner.  The question of what should be brought to your marriage-based immigration interview for I-130 Petition for Alien Relative, I-485 Application for Adjustment of Status, and I-751 Application to Remove Conditions of Permanent Residence is one of the most common questions we encounter with existing clients, new clients, and clients who come to us specifically for this matter.  While the specific documents can depend on your individual situation, as may be the need for interview preparation with an experienced immigration attorney, we have gathered a general list of items you may want to prepare to bring to your immigration interview below.

Romantic Love Story

America loves a good romance, and your interviewer will appreciate a clear love story supported by evidence.  If we prepared your immigration application, we will have painted a convincing love story for immigration, arrange your photos for you, attach all relevant evidence, and describe all the little details that make up your story. However, this does not mean that it is sufficient to bring our application package with you to the interview. In the end, even though we were hired to represent you, we are still a law firm.  We present evidence to the gatekeepers at immigration, highlighting points that will meet regulations and qualifications based on law.  The immigration officer interviewing you is not meeting you to hear our version of your story; they want to hear yours.

How you want to present your story depends on you. You could be tech savvy and create a slideshow presentation (but do bring your laptop so you can show it to the immigration officer). We’re not sure how tech friendly the immigration officer is, so we recommend “safe” options, such as a scrapbook, “love board”, or collection of love letters.

In the collection, include a variety of photos and present them in a chronological timeline to show the progression of your relationship.  Do not focus on staged photos from a pre-wedding shoot, wedding shoot, or other specific event.  Candid photos are important, as are photos with other people, family members, and pets or children.

If you have gone on trips together, visited distant relatives, or met personal milestones together, do remember to showcase those life events in the presentation of your love story.

Household Matters

Where many of our love-inspired couples fail is in the preparation of the practical, household matters.  This is especially true of younger couples who are not accustomed to keeping good records of their own personal transactions, let alone combined transactions.  Since we’ve already listed all the ways you can meet immigration’s expectations on a couple’s co-mingling of finances, our focus will be on how to present this information at the interview.

If it’s your first interview, bring a binder with all the original bills and account notices for your joint accounts.  Place them in order of newest to oldest, have dividers in place or separate binders for each type of account, and be sure you’re able to describe each type of account.  Do not rely on what your attorney organized for you, especially since by the time you go to the interview you should have new bills and notices.

Note: You must have joint accounts.

We know that these days most of us go paperless and we do not necessarily keep paper records in old-school filing systems, but for the purposes of your immigration interview, it will be easier if you have it all in black and white.

Community Involvement

Relationships do not happen in a vacuum, and as such immigration expects you to interact with your community as a couple.  This means you should have photos, witness statements, certifications, or other means to prove that you have been active in your community and proven that you are a couple.  This can be difficult for individuals who are less involved in their communities, for those whom are new to their communities, and for people who simply work or study a lot.  Regardless, it will be in your advantage to prepare photos of you and your partner in a community or other setting, whether work, church, family, friends, or organization, where it is obvious you are a couple.

Note: Do not place too much emphasis on group events and photos, especially if it is not clear from the photos that you are a couple.  This can be a red flag.

You can also have mutual friends, community members, pastors, roommates, or coworkers write witness statements declaring under oath that they are witnesses to your relationship and vouch for your sincerity.

Note: Witness statements must include the witness’ name and contact information in the event immigration attempts to verify their statements.

Conclusion

If you have prepared to present your romantic love story, your financial situation, and your community involvement for you interview, you are halfway there.  Lastly, know that the immigration officer will be asking you questions. If the officer wants, he can separate you and ask you questions individually.

What questions should you be prepared for? It depends on your individual situation, but know the basics for your love story, know what care you each drive, and if you’re brave, try answering the dreaded, “Why do you love him/her?”

If you have additional questions or are simply worried about your upcoming interview, please feel free to contact our office for help!