Bad Interview Experience :-( - Fairfax VA

[ashleyphilly 70]

so, the two things I wrote about, for receiving more scrutiny because of,

how do you feel about it now?

I agree with Darnell. You adjusted from B2. If it was an IR1/CR1 case, that interview wouldn't go so bad.

[ashleyphilly 70]

Lets look at this from the perspective of USCIS for a moment:

- Someone is visiting the US on a B2 visa from a country that has recently suffered from a lot of civil unrest, they would have been admitted by CBP for a max of 6 months but they could have extended that through ELIS while in the country but they likely don't have that long left on their period of authorized stay

- They meet a USC citizen

- Date for a "short time"

- Get married at what appears to be a civil ceremony with just the required one witness

- File for AOS

To prove their marriage is bona fide they provide a long list of accounts, insurance and other paper work that people can generally be quickly added to (and usually just as quickly removed from) along with the marriage certificate, a small number of photos and some "cards from family". The OP's family apparently lives in the US but her husband is yet to meet them due to financial reasons yet here they are in the middle of AOS and with a lawyer.

Don't get me wrong I'm not questioning whether the marriage is bona fide or not but if you look at it from the point of view of USCIS then I'm not surprised they were given a hard time at the interview.

I totally agree with you

[AnotherLostSoul 167]

Hey,

Don't worry you'll be fine. Regarding taking the I-94 and how that's a good sign I have no idea of. They never took ours, so I really don't know. Indeed, we still have it today even though this whole AOS was a while back. I guess it's a souvenir now.

All the best, pal!

Thanks for your support. It was definitely a power trip. He snapped at our lawyer a couple of times. When he came tothe door to let us so we could walk to his office. Our lawyer kept walking slowly back while the IO held the door open. He said in a stern tone to our lawyer "you know where you're going?" Our lawyer stopped walking. I knew at that moment it was going to be a bad day. Once he took us in his office and swore us in, our lawyer was holding our supporting evidence and politely laid it on his desk. The IO quickly snapped at him again in a rude stern tone" Dont lay anything on my desk until I ask for it" and gave his snarky laugh again. Our lawyer simply apologized.

[RiverDeep 7]

Lets look at this from the perspective of USCIS for a moment:

- Someone is visiting the US on a B2 visa from a country that has recently suffered from a lot of civil unrest, they would have been admitted by CBP for a max of 6 months but they could have extended that through ELIS while in the country but they likely don't have that long left on their period of authorized stay

- They meet a USC citizen

- Date for a "short time"

- Get married at what appears to be a civil ceremony with just the required one witness

- File for AOS

To prove their marriage is bona fide they provide a long list of accounts, insurance and other paper work that people can generally be quickly added to (and usually just as quickly removed from) along with the marriage certificate, a small number of photos and some "cards from family". The OP's family apparently lives in the US but her husband is yet to meet them due to financial reasons yet here they are in the middle of AOS and with a lawyer.

Don't get me wrong I'm not questioning whether the marriage is bona fide or not but if you look at it from the point of view of USCIS then I'm not surprised they were given a hard time at the interview.

It was a religious ceremony. Read my prior posts.

We also had photos of us together with friends. Cards from my mom and co-workers.

A joint apartment lease is not something you can be quickly removed from.

The IO told us we could mail more information to him to support our case if we want to, so the amount accounts we had was not an issue.

Some people only have a few accounts while someone else has plenty. I happen to be someone who "already had" many established accounts to add my husband to and gladly did so.

Having known the person a while is NO GUARNATEE the marriage isn't fraudalent. Having had a long-term long distance relationship is NO GUARANTEE the person didn't intend to immigrate when he/she came into the country....fact about it is more likely they did.

Bottom Line: As I've stated in the prior posts, it was the rude "off the wall comments" that was the problem. If he wanted to scrutinize us as far as our case was concerned, fine, we were ready for that. Our story is real and we had no problems with having a serious interview in which the IO would probe deeply into our relationship. If he had recommended a second interview, fine, we were ready for that also. If they want to send IOs to our home to investigate, we're ready for that also! He didn't have anything negative on us and I think he realized that and simply resulted to making rude, snarky, nonsensical comments to try to upset us. THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SCRUTINY AND JUST BEING PLAIN RUDE.

[DC85 113]

I did my interview in Fairfax like 2 years ago. It was 10 mints interview. I think you just had an insecure officer who likes to give people hard time. Before we went to the interview I was expecting a really tough one, Thank god we had a professional officer, she was to the point. I think, you will get the approval soon.

It was a religious ceremony. Read my prior posts.

We also had photos of us together with friends. Cards from my mom and co-workers.

A joint apartment lease is not something you can be quickly removed from.

The IO told us we could mail more information to him to support our case if we want to, so the amount accounts we had was not an issue.

Some people only have a few accounts while someone else has plenty. I happen to be someone who "already had" many established accounts to add my husband to and gladly did so.

Having known the person a while is NO GUARNATEE the marriage isn't fraudalent. Having had a long-term long distance relationship is NO GUARANTEE the person didn't intend to immigrate when he/she came into the country....fact about it is more likely they did.

Bottom Line: As I've stated in the prior posts, it was the rude "off the wall comments" that was the problem. If he wanted to scrutinize us as far as our case was concerned, fine, we were ready for that. Our story is real and we had no problems with having a serious interview in which the IO would probe deeply into our relationship. If he had recommended a second interview, fine, we were ready for that also. If they want to send IOs to our home to investigate, we're ready for that also! He didn't have anything negative on us and I think he realized that and simply resulted to making rude, snarky, nonsensical comments to try to upset us. THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SCRUTINY AND JUST BEING PLAIN RUDE.

Totally Agree

[DC85 113]

if you feel your were humilated or disrespected. I suggest you write a letter to the Director of the field office, and I would quote from USCIS manual on how the IO should act professionaly with USCIS customers !!

[aussie_jason 195]

Sounds like the IO was just trying to catch you off guard, if you get all flustered then chances are any coaching that had been done prior would escape your mind so he was likely purposefully pushing buttons, if you got through that without revealing anything that would be detrimental to your case then I would think of it as a successful interview.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

It was a religious ceremony. Read my prior posts.

We also had photos of us together with friends. Cards from my mom and co-workers.

A joint apartment lease is not something you can be quickly removed from.

The IO told us we could mail more information to him to support our case if we want to, so the amount accounts we had was not an issue.

Some people only have a few accounts while someone else has plenty. I happen to be someone who "already had" many established accounts to add my husband to and gladly did so.

Having known the person a while is NO GUARNATEE the marriage isn't fraudalent. Having had a long-term long distance relationship is NO GUARANTEE the person didn't intend to immigrate when he/she came into the country....fact about it is more likely they did.

Bottom Line: As I've stated in the prior posts, it was the rude "off the wall comments" that was the problem. If he wanted to scrutinize us as far as our case was concerned, fine, we were ready for that. Our story is real and we had no problems with having a serious interview in which the IO would probe deeply into our relationship. If he had recommended a second interview, fine, we were ready for that also. If they want to send IOs to our home to investigate, we're ready for that also! He didn't have anything negative on us and I think he realized that and simply resulted to making rude, snarky, nonsensical comments to try to upset us. THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SCRUTINY AND JUST BEING PLAIN RUDE.

River, Aussie_jason makes a lot of good points.

I am sorry that your interview went poorly, but your case has a number of red flags.

No one here is trying to attack you, but they are trying to get you to understand USCIS better, because your understanding of them is rather poor. And this lack of understanding is harming your case and making life more difficult for you.

It is rather bizarre to me that you think that a lot of joint accounts makes it obvious your case is bona fide. In fact, the opposite may be true. There is such a thing as too much evidence, if the evidence doesn't make sense or seems hasty.

How you were treated, that was because they suspected your marriage of fraud. That is exactly why they treated you like that. You think the nature of your relationship was not in question, and I assure you it was. That was exactly what it was about, and only about that.

Why did you have a christian wedding if your fiance is Muslim? DId he convert? He didn't seem to have a good answer for why he did that.

How did you go to Egypt if your husband was on a tourist visa? You must have gone before he came here. When was that and were you dating then? I don't remember all the details of your case, sorry. I just remember you put his name wrong on the form.

If you don't want to understand them better and just want to complain, okay. Best of luck to you.

[AmyWrites 593]

IO was doing his job. High fraud country, quick marriage, etc. The truth is your interview probably wouldn't have been so "bad" if your SO was from Australia or the like.

Don't take it personally. He was trying to get a rise out of you, showing any coaching or BS.

And I went through the same thing in a DCF interview in Russia.

[RiverDeep 7]

River, Aussie_jason makes a lot of good points.

I am sorry that your interview went poorly, but your case has a number of red flags.

No one here is trying to attack you, but they are trying to get you to understand USCIS better, because your understanding of them is rather poor. And this lack of understanding is harming your case and making life more difficult for you.

It is rather bizarre to me that you think that a lot of joint accounts makes it obvious your case is bona fide. In fact, the opposite may be true. There is such a thing as too much evidence, if the evidence doesn't make sense or seems hasty.

How you were treated, that was because they suspected your marriage of fraud. That is exactly why they treated you like that. You think the nature of your relationship was not in question, and I assure you it was. That was exactly what it was about, and only about that.

Why did you have a christian wedding if your fiance is Muslim? DId he convert? He didn't seem to have a good answer for why he did that.

How did you go to Egypt if your husband was on a tourist visa? You must have gone before he came here. When was that and were you dating then? I don't remember all the details of your case, sorry. I just remember you put his name wrong on the form.

If you don't want to understand them better and just want to complain, okay. Best of luck to you.

"It is rather bizarre to me that you think that a lot of joint accounts makes it obvious your case is bona fide. In fact, the opposite may be true. There is such a thing as too much evidence, if the evidence doesn't make sense or seems hasty."

I've already made statements about this and don't care to elaborate on it again.

"Why did you have a christian wedding if your fiance is Muslim? DId he convert? He didn't seem to have a good answer for why he did that."

Really?? My husband is open to other people's religion and non-religion. He was willing to have a Islamic or Christian wedding. He was open to having a big wedding or small intimate ceremony. He left the details to me because he wanted to make me happy. Everybody isn't a religious fanatic including those who come from countries that are predominately Muslim.

"If you don't want to understand them better and just want to complain, okay. Best of luck to you."

You apparently didn't read or comprehend most of the posts I've written. Good day :-)

[AmyWrites 593]

You really don't know what you're dealing with very well.

Immigration is very much about "guilty until proven innocent".

[Boiler 45,486]

River, Aussie_jason makes a lot of good points.

I am sorry that your interview went poorly, but your case has a number of red flags.

No one here is trying to attack you, but they are trying to get you to understand USCIS better, because your understanding of them is rather poor. And this lack of understanding is harming your case and making life more difficult for you.

It is rather bizarre to me that you think that a lot of joint accounts makes it obvious your case is bona fide. In fact, the opposite may be true. There is such a thing as too much evidence, if the evidence doesn't make sense or seems hasty.

How you were treated, that was because they suspected your marriage of fraud. That is exactly why they treated you like that. You think the nature of your relationship was not in question, and I assure you it was. That was exactly what it was about, and only about that.

Why did you have a christian wedding if your fiance is Muslim? DId he convert? He didn't seem to have a good answer for why he did that.

How did you go to Egypt if your husband was on a tourist visa? You must have gone before he came here. When was that and were you dating then? I don't remember all the details of your case, sorry. I just remember you put his name wrong on the form.

If you don't want to understand them better and just want to complain, okay. Best of luck to you.

It would be interesting to see what happens next, Stokes?

[kiky 11]

"It is rather bizarre to me that you think that a lot of joint accounts makes it obvious your case is bona fide. In fact, the opposite may be true. There is such a thing as too much evidence, if the evidence doesn't make sense or seems hasty."

I've already made statements about this and don't care to elaborate on it again.

"Why did you have a christian wedding if your fiance is Muslim? DId he convert? He didn't seem to have a good answer for why he did that."

Really?? My husband is open to other people's religion and non-religion. He was willing to have a Islamic or Christian wedding. He was open to having a big wedding or small intimate ceremony. He left the details to me because he wanted to make me happy. Everybody isn't a religious fanatic including those who come from countries that are predominately Muslim.

"If you don't want to understand them better and just want to complain, okay. Best of luck to you."

You apparently didn't read or comprehend most of the posts I've written. Good day :-)

Why are you so defensive when you are asking for others opinions? You seem to just want everyone to just agree with you and feel sorry for you. Others are just trying to give you a different perspective, it doesn't make the IO's actions ok, but maybe you could understand a little more why he acted the way he did! As much as you wanted the IO to show some common courtesy it seems you should take the same advice in responding to those sharing their opinion in your public post...just a thought! Kindness goes a long way. Best of luck to you!

Let me just add that I get a similar response from my husband when I try to give him the possible perspective of (pick one: USCIS, NVC, Embassy, IO's). Just talking it thru so that he can be prepared for however they want to throw it at us! By getting so upset I feel like you let him accomplish his intent of shaking you up, dont let them win! You are obviously confident in your marriage and your situation and that is what they need to see. Of course the added hoopla is unnecessary but some obviously feel it is their job to intimidate you, just dont take it personal! But if you arent approved, then I would file a complaint! Just saying.

Edited March 12, 2014 by kiky

[RiverDeep 7]

Why are you so defensive when you are asking for others opinions? You seem to just want everyone to just agree with you and feel sorry for you. Others are just trying to give you a different perspective, it doesn't make the IO's actions ok, but maybe you could understand a little more why he acted the way he did! As much as you wanted the IO to show some common courtesy it seems you should take the same advice in responding to those sharing their opinion in your public post...just a thought! Kindness goes a long way. Best of luck to you!

Let me just add that I get a similar response from my husband when I try to give him the possible perspective of (pick one: USCIS, NVC, Embassy, IO's). Just talking it thru so that he can be prepared for however they want to throw it at us! By getting so upset I feel like you let him accomplish his intent of shaking you up, dont let them win! You are obviously confident in your marriage and your situation and that is what they need to see. Of course the added hoopla is unnecessary but some obviously feel it is their job to intimidate you, just dont take it personal! But if you arent approved, then I would file a complaint! Just saying.

I posted to simply share my experience for others who may have a similar case to mine. I'm not looking for anyone's pity or sorrow. I certainly appreciate those who have supported me. Whenever someone brings a different perspective, I counteract and bring a different perspective also so that whoever read this post can get something out of it. If someone took me wrong than I apologize to them. After reading many posts on VJ it seems some people post simply to freighten the OP....that aspect I have found disheartening. I did question whether or not I should post my experience but decided to do it anyway because reading about other's experience helped me. I guess you can say it was my way of giving back.

I am confident Love will see me and my husband through this challenge. It has stregthened and brought us even closer together.

[Me_Theo 25]

May be this link help you.

http://fi2w.org/2011/05/05/is-your-marriage-real-for-immigrants-with-green-cards-uscis-has-ways-to-find-out/