Separated at interview?

[ljroul 14]

1 hour ago, Ebunoluwa said:

 

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.
 

 

 

Yeah we just don't have a single red flag, so if they are going to separate us it will be based on what they see at the interview and I certainly hope that we don't arouse suspicion. It's hard not to stress about thinking that we could get denied based on answering differently on the color of our curtains.... what a nightmare

[caliliving 606]

3 hours 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. 

you are comparing someone from CYPRUS to someone from CANADA!!!!!

 

omg.. you need to compare CANADA to CANADA!!! like i said, yes, if you are from certain countries you have a better chance of getting a stokes.  As a canadian, you wont be given a stokes! do not look at a case from a country like cyprus and cmompare it to your own.  you wont have a stokes i can guarantee that.. lots of canadians get searched at the border bc they are worried we are going to 'vacation' here for longer then we should.. lol at the interview ALL they care about is that you are in a LEGITIMATE relationship and very very few canadians commit visa fraud.. trust me, they are not worried about canadians getting a greencard and running away.  i would not worry at all about your relationship! lots and i mean LOTS of canadians i know have had 'border' issues, and they all had an easy time at the marriage interview.  so please, do not compare your canadian interview to someone from certain countries that are known to do visa fraud (and this is generally fraud where the USC does not know that they are being duped) It actually happens ALOT in canada and they really stepped up to ensure that these marriages get denied, as they should.  

 

 

[caliliving 606]

31 minutes ago, ljroul said:

Yeah we just don't have a single red flag, so if they are going to separate us it will be based on what they see at the interview and I certainly hope that we don't arouse suspicion. It's hard not to stress about thinking that we could get denied based on answering differently on the color of our curtains.... what a nightmare

omg you wont be seperated!!! google canadian stokes interview and see how many come up.  its a non issue.. trust me!  canadians do not get scrutinzed. you were scrutinzed at the border not because of a marriage scam but bc they were worried you were going to MOVE to the us and live/work ILLEGALLY.  trust me. 

[geowrian 22,338]

26 minutes ago, caliliving said:

As a canadian, you wont be given a stokes! do not look at a case from a country like cyprus and cmompare it to your own.  you wont have a stokes i can guarantee that

Yes, it's highly unlikely for a Canadian to be scrutinized that way. However, nobody can guarantee what will happen in a particular case (especially somebody else's case). Canadians are not magically exempt.

http://www.sarmientoimmigration.com/2014/09/04/stokes-interview-i-130-approval-after-successful-bia-appeal-remand-for-canadian-client-in-new-york-ny/

 

It's extremely rare. There's no reason to believe it will happen in this case. There's nothing to worry about.  But it's not guaranteed.

[caliliving 606]

Just now, geowrian said:

Yes, it's highly unlikely for a Canadian to be scrutinized that way. However, nobody can guarantee what will happen in a particular case (especially somebody else's case). Canadians are not magically exempt.

http://www.sarmientoimmigration.com/2014/09/04/stokes-interview-i-130-approval-after-successful-bia-appeal-remand-for-canadian-client-in-new-york-ny/

 

It's extremely rare. There's no reason to believe it will happen in this case. There's nothing to worry about.  But it's not guaranteed.

i never said canadians were exempted, but a white canadian, born in canada whos parents are both white canadians born in canada is very very unlikely.  i have seen stokes with indian born canadian citizens (which could be the case and probably is in the post you quoted).  

 

also, the OP post is about her getting scrutinized at the border to being given a stokes/seperated at the interview and they are 2 seperate occurances.. getting scrutinzed bc the border is scared you are going to immigrate to the USA and live has nothing to do with being scrutinzed at the interview bc they are worried it is a sham marriage.  one does not correlate to the other.  

[geowrian 22,338]

1 minute ago, caliliving said:

i never said canadians were exempted, but a white canadian, born in canada whos parents are both white canadians born in canada is very very unlikely.  i have seen stokes with indian born canadian citizens (which could be the case and probably is in the post you quoted).  

Skin color / ethnicity has no impact on the process. How you gained Canadian citizenship has no impact on the process. And I wouldn't go assuming the ethnicity or heritage of somebody...there's no indication of any of that in the linked article.

 

1 minute ago, caliliving said:

also, the OP post is about her getting scrutinized at the border to being given a stokes/seperated at the interview and they are 2 seperate occurances.. getting scrutinzed bc the border is scared you are going to immigrate to the USA and live has nothing to do with being scrutinzed at the interview bc they are worried it is a sham marriage.  one does not correlate to the other.  

That's not how I read it. I read it as being concerned about a stokes interview in general, and what I believe the quoted posts above were suggesting. No posts that I saw associated the border inspection with a stokes interview.

[caliliving 606]

Just now, geowrian said:

Skin color / ethnicity has no impact on the process. How you gained Canadian citizenship has no impact on the process. And I wouldn't go assuming the ethnicity or heritage of somebody...there's no indication of any of that in the linked article.

 

That's not how I read it. I read it as being concerned about a stokes interview in general, and what I believe the quoted posts above were suggesting. No posts that I saw associated the border inspection with a stokes interview.

of course your skin color/religion has a barring on the process. they asked me if i was a born canadian and if my parents were also... asked me many many qeustions about my nationality.  yes, you will be extra scrutinization about not being a born canadian and read the news many canadian citizens that werent born there are having difficulty crossing the border. so yes, they take into account your religion/nationality.  of course your article didnt mention that. it just said his canadian client.  but yes, at my interview they were very concerned about my parents nationality/religion. and that is another reason they ask for your parents birth place on the GC application.  canadians that are not born in canada are actually given alot more scrutinty especially when it comes to crossing the border and especially under the new trump administration.  

[caliliving 606]

3 minutes ago, geowrian said:

Skin color / ethnicity has no impact on the process. How you gained Canadian citizenship has no impact on the process. And I wouldn't go assuming the ethnicity or heritage of somebody...there's no indication of any of that in the linked article.

 

That's not how I read it. I read it as being concerned about a stokes interview in general, and what I believe the quoted posts above were suggesting. No posts that I saw associated the border inspection with a stokes interview.

she was concerned about the stokes interview bc she has been stopped and interrogated many tmes with crossing the border.  she assumed one event would lead to another.  

[geowrian 22,338]

10 minutes ago, caliliving said:

of course your skin color/religion has a barring on the process. they asked me if i was a born canadian and if my parents were also... asked me many many qeustions about my nationality.  yes, you will be extra scrutinization about not being a born canadian and read the news many canadian citizens that werent born there are having difficulty crossing the border. so yes, they take into account your religion/nationality.  of course your article didnt mention that. it just said his canadian client.  but yes, at my interview they were very concerned about my parents nationality/religion. and that is another reason they ask for your parents birth place on the GC application.  canadians that are not born in canada are actually given alot more scrutinty especially when it comes to crossing the border and especially under the new trump administration.  

What you are suggesting happens would be against the INA (and FAM). Can an individual do so? Sure. Can there be widespread discrimination? Yeah. But it's hearsay and anecdotal evidence. They could be targeting people over a certain height. Or Republicans/Democrats. Or those who wear blue shirts (screw you, blue-shirt-people!). I'd prefer not to engage in speculation of people violating the law, though.

 

Thanks for sharing your experiences.

 

Edit: Uh oh, I just realized I'm wearing a blue shirt.

Edited May 12, 2017 by geowrian

[kynight 1]

11 hours ago, Teddy B said:

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.

Today I tried to enter the US with my spouse and was rejected, because our visa is still pending. So took her back into Canada and drove back to the US this evening and they let me right in with no inspection. It's go or miss, depending on how rational the border agent is. Many seem to lack common sense or have personal issues. Sometimes it seems like they're trying to out-a-hole each other in the secondary inspection building. BP needs more drug dogs and less secondary inspection as it's a huge waste of time and resources. Things should be more automated like the Nexus or Ezpass for tolls. It's 2017 and everything is still handled by the postage. All it takes is one careless (many are illiterate) USCIS rep to screw up an application and it's several months delayed.

 

Questions they ask

"do you have another passport"

NO

"are you from another country"

NO, my passport says born in NJ!

"do you own guns"

I'm American, what difference does it make?

"why did you drive here from NC"

because not everyone can afford a direct flight!

Edited May 13, 2017 by kynight

[ljroul 14]

5 hours ago, caliliving said:

she was concerned about the stokes interview bc she has been stopped and interrogated many tmes with crossing the border.  she assumed one event would lead to another.  

I've actually never had any issues with the borders, I am the USC and have never had any problems the multiple times I have visited Canada. My husband is the one who was searched at the US border just the one time, entering from Canada the last time (by car) and that is the POE the officer will ask us about in the AOS interview. He visited me many times via air before then and didn't have problems.

Edited May 13, 2017 by ljroul

[caliliving 606]

4 hours ago, ljroul said:

I've actually never had any issues with the borders, I am the USC and have never had any problems the multiple times I have visited Canada. My husband is the one who was searched at the US border just the one time, entering from Canada the last time (by car) and that is the POE the officer will ask us about in the AOS interview. He visited me many times via air before then and didn't have problems.

I ment the Canadian got aquestioned. That is normal he was visiting many times. Like I said it's a non issue at the interview and won't cause a stokes or anything. 

[ljroul 14]

Friends, just an update for anyone who is curious. We had our interview this morning. 

 

I asked my lawyer about her Trump comment, and it actually wasn't in relation to border crossings. She said that under Obama, there was more leniency for immigrants regarding minor drug offenses, and that under Trump, they take it much more seriously etc. (I don't have any evidence to cite this - this is just what she told me ). This is relevant because we live in Colorado where marijuana is decriminalized under state law and she wanted to warn us that they could ask about drug use. It's not an issue as we are not drug users, but just something for anyone who lives in a decriminalized marijuana state to be aware of I suppose. 

 

We got into the room and the officer said she didn't need much from us and wouldn't take much time. All she asked for were our drivers licenses and my husband's completed medical. He was asked the yes/no questions from the I-485 and that was it. She said she didn't need any other evidence because our I-130 was already approved. She said she would probably be able to approve our case today. Our status was changed to "interview completed and my case must be reviewed" I am hoping we'll get the approval soon! 

 

Thanks for all the opinions and advice regarding this, I agree with the people who said that my lawyer was being cautious and preparing us for the worst, in my opinion, she took it too far and ended up making us way more nervous than we needed to be. Not only did the officer not ask us about drug use, or the border crossing, she didn't even ask about our relationship! I was not actually asked any questions at all, the whole thing took about 5 minutes. Relieved that it's over!

[Ebunoluwa 6,136]

Congratulations ! No lawyer can foresee what will be asked. She did her job well as she should because others aren't as

lucky as you.

[Penguin_ie 5,997]

Thanks for the update!