Hi my name is Jacob Sapochnick and I'm immigration attorney based in San Diego California.
I wanted to explain in this video about what happens at the second marriage green card
interview or also known as a Stokes interview.
Why do people get it and what happens in those interviews?
Typically when a couple files a green card petition, US citizen spouse and a foreign
national, the government is trying to determine whether the marriage do they entered into
is a bonafide, it's a real marriage.
If it's not a bonafide marriage they cannot get the benefit of the green card and the
case will be denied.
Typically when the couple arrives to the interview, the immigration agent will be asking questions
looking at documents and trying to determine whether the marriage is bonafide or not.
In many cases it's not always easy to determine that the first time either because the marriage
is of short duration or pick up because the couple arrive to the interview with not too
many documents they only have a few bills or just one lease with no other supporting
document so the officer needs more time, he needs more time to determine whether this
is a bonafide marriage.
In many cases the couple will be scheduled for a second interview to come back at that
point and the second interview in most jurisdictions the applicants will be separated.
So first, they'll get in the U.S citizen spouse or the foreign national and they'll be questioning
them with a list of questions.
How did you meet?
What have you done last weekend?
What do you like to do together?
Many questions, What does your spouse work?
What is the name of the supervisor of your spouse?
Very detailed questions that will make the officer believe that the couple is actually
together.
Now general questions, things that they would expect most couples to know they will also
bring back the other party and ask the same questions and based on the comparing the questions
if the questions are different or if there are many questions that are not same, the
suspicion will rise and the officer will be more determined to deny the case.
It is very important in second interviews to understand that it's a very stressful event
and so for couples that spend time together and they're in fact together it's important
to know that even if you don't remember an answer, even if you don't understand the question
it's very important to tell the officer either to repeat the question or to let them know
that you don't remember, I don't know.
It's better than inventing an answer what happens is that because the interviews are
videotaped, the officer will watch the interview thereafter with the supervisor and they're
going to look at the body language of the applicant they're going to look at the answers
and they're going to make it a determination based on the interview.
So even if the couples are in fact together if they are nervous or peer nervous or try
to invent an answer, it will lead to a denial and a negative result.
My best advice is always to try to answer as best as you can and if you don't know something
just say you don't know.
Many cases the officers will look at the totality of the of the answers.
It's not just one answer to one bad or two minutes or even three they don't look at what
the couple is doing what they have together and even if the end of their interview if
they're not happy with the answers they may send somebody to the house.
It's very common for some many jurisdictions to send an officer to the home to verify in
fact after the interview whether this couple are actually a couple, whether they're in
fact living in the same household just like they said in the interview.
So don't worry even if the second interview you leave that interview you don't feel very
comfortable or you don't feel that you answer well don't worry about it because the immigration
officers are not just looking at one interview.
They'll do their research they may come to the house and at the end of the day if you're
prepared you're going to pass.
Thank you for watching our video and if you have any questions email us, visit our facebook
page or website.
I wish you all success in the United States.
Thank you!