Separated at interview?

[Boiler 45,541]

How come he was let in if he was smuggling drugs?

[kynight 1]

11 hours ago, ljroul said:

My husband and I have our AOS interview next week, I previously felt very secure and prepared for it, thanks to all the help I've gotten from this site. Today our lawyer had a conversation with my husband to prepare for the interview and she said things that are making me panic. First she said he would be asked about his entry into the US. He came by car from Canada and was stopped and searched, she said that Trump has passed some directive cracking down on drugs?? This is the first I have heard of it. Also she said we may be separated and interviewed one at a time. This seems crazy to me, I was under the impression that the stokes interview was the only one done separately and that was if the officer has concerns after the first interview. We have been happily married for 1.5 years and have been living together for 10 months, and we have no red flags. I was also under the impression that the AOS interview is about the marriage and not the POE.

 

 Is my lawyer crazy, or is this an actual thing I need to be concerned about?

It's very normal to be stopped and searched at the US/Canadian border. I've been search 7 out of 9 times I have traveled between in the past year. It's crazy but they never have anything on me, some people just get singled out more. But definitely do NOT lie. They live for catching liars. 

[ljroul 14]

1 minute ago, kynight said:

It's very normal to be stopped and searched at the US/Canadian border. I've been search 7 out of 9 times I have traveled between in the past year. It's crazy but they never have anything on me, some people just get singled out more. But definitely do NOT lie. They live for catching liars. 

Thanks for this. My husband was not doing anything wrong or suspicious, they just searched his car, found nothing out of the ordinary, and he went on his way. I figured that was pretty standard for crossing the border. 

[caliliving 606]

Omg fire your lawyer!!! They obviously searched him to see if he was "moving" to the U.S. or whatever. 

 

I was interrogated for 2hrs, got thru with a week visa and overstayed a year and it was NOT brought up at the interview.  Guess what, all they care about is that your in a real, genuine relationahip. After you entered LEGALLY you are free to marry and apply for a greencard.

 

Him getting searched won't come up. Calm down. Also, Google Canadians stokes interview and see how many come up. We are the lowest fraud when it comes to marriage and I don't see you having any issue with being separated.  Point blank, if he is a born and bred Canadian you won't have an issue. If he is muslim then you may be asked more questions regarding your marriage (also of his parents are born outside canada)

 

 

[Mollie09 1,543]

During AOS they brought in my USC husband first, then called me in 10 minutes later. Wasn't Stokes, it was what they did to everyone else too.

[ljroul 14]

4 minutes ago, caliliving said:

Omg fire your lawyer!!! They obviously searched him to see if he was "moving" to the U.S. or whatever. 

 

I was interrogated for 2hrs, got thru with a week visa and overstayed a year and it was NOT brought up at the interview.  Guess what, all they care about is that your in a real, genuine relationahip. After you entered LEGALLY you are free to marry and apply for a greencard.

 

Him getting searched won't come up. Calm down. Also, Google Canadians stokes interview and see how many come up. We are the lowest fraud when it comes to marriage and I don't see you having any issue with being separated.  Point blank, if he is a born and bred Canadian you won't have an issue. If he is muslim then you may be asked more questions regarding your marriage (also of his parents are born outside canada)

 

 

Haha, thank you! We only hired the lawyer because we didn't know the process and thought it was the safe thing to do. Now I understand that we have a very simple, standard case and could have easily done it without her. His whole family has been in Canada for generations, and he was born there and lived there his whole life. I have also heard that Canada is low fraud and that is why I wasn't worried about the interview at all until the lawyer brought all this up. I guess she is preparing us for the worst case scenario.

[yatsek 32]

2 minutes ago, ljroul said:

Haha, thank you! We only hired the lawyer because we didn't know the process and thought it was the safe thing to do. Now I understand that we have a very simple, standard case and could have easily done it without her. 

 

It does sound like she is trying a little too hard to earn her money.

The only red flag you have is  that you hired a lawyer in the first place.

Edited May 11, 2017 by yatsek

[ljroul 14]

14 minutes ago, yatsek said:

 

It does sound like she is trying a little too hard to earn her money.

The only red flag you have is  that you hired a lawyer in the first place.

Right, hindsight is 20/20. I wonder if couples who hire a lawyer are more likely to be separated, maybe to ask why the lawyer was hired? She might have warned us about it because in her experience that happens more often. 

[geowrian 22,337]

10 minutes ago, ljroul said:

Right, hindsight is 20/20. I wonder if couples who hire a lawyer are more likely to be separated, maybe to ask why the lawyer was hired? She might have warned us about it because in her experience that happens more often. 

Having a lawyer isn't a red flag or an issue. Many people do and they have no issues at all. I think it's more of a perception issue...people with more problematic cases usually need a lawyer, so they will see increased scrutiny. The lawyer aspect doesn't cause the scrutiny.

 

The same could be said for VJ...the vast majority of cases have no issues at all, but we regularly see denials, months/years of AP, very difficult interviews, etc. Most people don't have those awful experiences.

 

The lawyer is just preparing you for what could happen. As I said before, in all likelihood you'll have a "normal" interview experience and no issues.

[Sunnyland 639]

8 hours ago, yatsek said:

 

It does sound like she is trying a little too hard to earn her money.

The only red flag you have is  that you hired a lawyer in the first place.

 

EXACTLY my thought! 

[Cathi 5,755]

You are worrying about nothing and I say this will all due respect; your attorney is crazy. Good luck at the interview and please keep us updated.

[Ebunoluwa 6,136]

If your lawyer would not have mentioned the possibilities then you would be upset and surprised if you would 

end up with a stokes, a good lawyer will prepare the client for all possible scenarios. That is what you pay him or her for.
I don't get the Trump/border/drug thing, probably your lawyer just making conversation and you should have asked

for what (s)he meant then instead of leaving her/his office confused. No, your lawyer is not crazy but doing his job.

 

In our case I was called in first for a stokes and asked about 50 questions for about an hour, then my husband about same

amount of questions for an hour.
Then both of us together for about 20 minutes, then me again for about 10 minutes.
The IO was comparing questions.  We did well and there were only a couple of non issue differences in our answers

because we remembered in different ways but we got all important things right.
So yes, each couple is unique and different and with that comes the discretion of the IO to hold a stokes interview

or not. It depends on what your file contains or if you have some flags.

 

 

[Teddy B 17,252]

On 5/11/2017 at 10:03 AM, kynight said:

It's very normal to be stopped and searched at the US/Canadian border. I've been search 7 out of 9 times I have traveled between in the past year. It's crazy but they never have anything on me, some people just get singled out more. But definitely do NOT lie. They live for catching liars. 

I assure you that being stopped and searched 7 out of 9 times is not normal. You are either sending off some really bad vibes or you have been flagged in their system.

Edited May 12, 2017 by Teddy B

[ljroul 14]

15 hours ago, Ebunoluwa said:

If your lawyer would not have mentioned the possibilities then you would be upset and surprised if you would 

end up with a stokes, a good lawyer will prepare the client for all possible scenarios. That is what you pay him or her for.
I don't get the Trump/border/drug thing, probably your lawyer just making conversation and you should have asked

for what (s)he meant then instead of leaving her/his office confused. No, your lawyer is not crazy but doing his job.

 

In our case I was called in first for a stokes and asked about 50 questions for about an hour, then my husband about same

amount of questions for an hour.
Then both of us together for about 20 minutes, then me again for about 10 minutes.
The IO was comparing questions.  We did well and there were only a couple of non issue differences in our answers

because we remembered in different ways but we got all important things right.
So yes, each couple is unique and different and with that comes the discretion of the IO to hold a stokes interview

or not. It depends on what your file contains or if you have some flags.

 

 

I didn't actually speak with her, she was on the phone with my husband, or I would have asked. When I talk to her next I will definitely find out!

 

Did you expect that your interview would be separate or so intensive? Most of the reviews I have read about AOS interviews is that they are not that long and the couple isn't separated. Of course anything can happen and I am prepared for that, and if we are separated, I don't anticipate any issues, I just didn't think it was likely. I can't think of any flags that we have - but that is one thing I will ask my attorney when I speak with her is if she thinks we do. 

[Ebunoluwa 6,136]

1 hour ago, ljroul said:

I didn't actually speak with her, she was on the phone with my husband, or I would have asked. When I talk to her next I will definitely find out!

 

Did you expect that your interview would be separate or so intensive? Most of the reviews I have read about AOS interviews is that they are not that long and the couple isn't separated. Of course anything can happen and I am prepared for that, and if we are separated, I don't anticipate any issues, I just didn't think it was likely. I can't think of any flags that we have - but that is one thing I will ask my attorney when I speak with her is if she thinks we do. 

 

Don't stress yourself out over it. If your relationship is genuine and you share your past and present life and experiences
and you communicate well with each other then there is no cause for concern.
I prepared my husband ( I am the USC) for a possible stokes so he wouldn't get too nervous should it happen.
It did and he was well prepared.
It does not happen that often so other than preparing yourself and spouse there is no need to be concerned.
Be advised that the questions can be extremely intimate questions and digging into your sex life and past relationships

even if not previously married during a stokes. Know each other's past.
Answers will be compared, get important questions wrong and you are considered not bona fide unless you

have a good explanation for your different answers.
Some couples get things like "what color is the curtain in your bedroom" wrong, she may see it as pink, he as red
or stupid stuff like that. If they want to find something they can use it against you but you can go over things like that
and clarify things like this before the interview with each other. Sometimes you will see the same thing honestly as different
or remember it as different than your spouse. Think of the newly wed game..... 2 or 3 minor variations are ok as long as
you remain pretty consistent overall. On some things I had to honestly respond with "I am not sure, I do not remember."
Don't make stuff up. Relax and be yourself.

You can gauge flags by the following things:
Previous recent petition(s) for each of you with someone else

Large age difference

Different religions ( for some countries, i.e. Muslim, Christian )

Several previous marriages/divorces

Super quick marriage after little face time

Very little evidence for financial co mingling or co habitation

Living apart

Those are some flags, usually sorted out at the consulate but some come right back to hit you over head
at AOS.