Proving authenticity of marriage  

The other day, I had a woman come in for consultation regarding a denial of her petition filed at USCIS. By way of background, she came to the US through a spousal petition filed by her husband. She was given a conditional permanent residency which expired two years later. It was then that she and her husband jointly filed a petition to remove condition of permanent residency.

In this submission, the couple would have to show proof that the marriage is still subsisting and that they are performing their duties and obligations as husband and wife. USCIS would want to know if the marriage, which was the basis of the first approval for permanent residency, is still in good faith and that such marriage is not used to obtain an immigration benefit. In order to obtain a favorable decision, the petitioner must provide all documentary and testimonial evidence available such as joint ownership of properties, joint bank accounts, children born during the marriage, lease or joint ownership of the house they are living in, joint tax returns, wills, life insurance naming the other as a beneficiary, vacation photos, affidavits of witnesses who know the existence of the marriage and other pertinent evidence.

In this case, they had everything mentioned but it still was not enough. When they thought they had every conceivable evidence submitted, there are still reasons for USCIS not to believe that their marriage is in good faith. How so?

As part of this process, USCIS conducts an interview requiring both spouses (if filed jointly) to appear and answer questions. If USCIS feels that the marriage could be a potential fraud, the husband and the wife are interviewed separately. I have attended these kinds of interviews before and I must say that the questions are very specific.

The USCIS Officer could ask anything such as the color of the paint on the bedroom wall, the type of flooring, the color of the shower curtain, the size and the layout of the room, etc. Since the couple is interviewed separately and with no chance of conferring what the answers are, this type of questioning is a very good way to check for inconsistencies.

If one answers differently from the other, such as giving different colors of their bedroom wall, then USCIS has a reasonable ground for suspicion that this marriage does not truly exist. In this instance, there are a few questions where the couple had varying and entirely opposite answers. This heightened the officer’s suspicion such that after a few weeks, USCIS officers showed up at the couple’s house to ask a few more questions. Even their neighbors were interviewed!

USCIS must have found more reasons to doubt the authenticity of this marriage in as much it sent a denial notice to the petitioners. The couple is left to decide whether to file an appeal or motion to reconsider the decision but at any rate, they still have a long and treacherous way in their immigration journey.

Thus, let this serve as a lesson to others in a similar situation. Make sure that you marry not for obtaining a greencard but the marital union is born out of love. Document your marital relationship especially in the first two years or when you anticipate that you’d be filing a petition to remove condition. Do what every married couple is expected to do. Have witnesses sign a notarized affidavit affirming their personal knowledge of your marriage and relationship. Lastly, make sure that before the interview you are very well prepared and may expect that you be intervened separately. You may or may not but it is in your best interest if you come well prepared.