Most people are not aware that “marriage cases” are won or lost when the case is filed, not at that interview which takes place later. In fact, if enough supporting evidence is not provided when the case is filed, the interview will more than likely be a nightmare resulting in not only the denial of the green card, but the beginning of deportation cases.
Immigration officers rarely review a marriage case until a few minutes before the interview. In some cases they do not review it all until the couple (and their attorney if there is one) are already sitting in the Officer’s office. For this simple reason, first impressions are extremely important. If the Officer looks at the file and there is very little supporting evidence of the marital relationship, or put another way, very little evidence was included in the initial filing, the Officer will automatically assume marriage fraud (the couple only married to get the green card for the foreign national) and interview will turn into an interrogation.
The most important way we can avoid an interrogation and have a very short and smooth interview is to provide plenty of documentation as evidence of the marital relationship. This means every type of financial account must be in the name of the husband and wife, with the same address. Many people think a simple bank account and maybe one credit card is enough. But that is not even close to the level of evidence required.
A proper filing will include all types of bills: utility bills (gas, phone, electric, cable, etc.); the lease to the apartment; bank accounts and credit cards; and insurance such as cars, health and life. If one party has health insurance through work there should be a death payment on which the spouse can be listed as the beneficiary. If there are no credit cards, the couple can go to the local Mall and fill out credit applications at 5 or 6, or more, stores and save copies. It does not matter if a card is issued or used; what is important is that the joint account was applied for. People in fraudulent marriages do not do any of these things and CIS is generally aware of this.
There are other types of evidence such as affidavits from relatives but the main point is that all of this evidence must be filed with the case. If it is not, it is likely the couple will be separated at the interview, and questioned individually with the questions videotaped. It is very difficult for even couples married for several years to make it through this process so you must plan ahead and win your case when it is filed, not at the interview when it is too late.