Preparing for the Marriage-Based Green Card Interview

Congratulations! You have received a notice from the USCIS (former INS) instructing you to appear at a local US immigration office for a green card interview!   Amidst the excitement of getting your green card, you might be worried about appearing in front of immigration authorities to answer questions about your relationship.  What if you or your spouse stumble? What if one of you doesn't recall what face cream the other one likes!?!  

Beyond what you say or don't say, know that government officials will look at the unspoken and largely be able to tell if the relationship is real, and whether you are happy or unhappy with each other that day.

 

When you receive the interview notice, put the time and date on the calendar for yourself AND your USC spouse, because your spouse will be required to attend the interview, too.  Review all the questions and answers to the application forms I-130, I-485, G-325 and I-864 that you filed.

In preparation for the interview, be sure to gather the following materials and documents:

1. The Interview Appointment Notice. Take the original and a copy with you.
2. Valid photographic identification such as your driver’s license and your social security card.
3. Your Birth Certificate and Passport.
4. Your spouse’s Birth Certificate or US Passport.
5. Marriage Certificate.
6. Copy of your I-130/I-485 petition.
7. Two months most recent paystubs for your spouse to show his/her ability to support you financially.
8. Documents proving the bona-fide nature of your marriage such as:

a.    Insurance Policies (car, life, health)

b.    Joint Property Documents (car, apartment of house lease or deed)

c.     Bank and Credit Statements

d.    Non-Joint Bills (one for each party, showing both of you at the same address)

e.    Wedding Photos and Photos of you and friends/family together (bring any marriage-album and any other picture album)

f.     Any Other Evidence or Marriage like cards or emails to each other.

Before you are seated you and your spouse will be sworn to tell the truth. The first set of questions may be basic, biographical questions about each other such as:

House Hearing on Foreign STEM Graduates

On October 5, 2011, the House Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement held a hearing  to discuss whether the U.S. should reform its immigration policies to retain more foreign graduates of American universities’ advanced degree programs in the “STEM” fields of science, technology, engineering and math.    

Inside Higher Ed’s article, “Reverse Brain Drain,” provides coverage of the hearing:  

...foreign students are dramatically outpacing their American counterparts in the STEM fields.  In 2009, half to two-thirds of all Ph.D.s in related fields and almost half of all engineering and computer science master’s degrees awarded by American colleges were earned by foreign students...

Because only 140,000 total employment-based immigrant visas are available each year, with only 7% of that number available to each country, the United States is not absorbing these foreign graduates into its workforce.  Backlogs have grown to the point that some green card seekers could spend a lifetime waiting for permanent residency.  According to the article:

...a skilled Indian immigrant seeking a green card in the United States could wait up to 70 years to actually receive one.  Indian and Chinese immigrants are far likelier than are their peers from other countries to earn advanced degrees in STEM fields in the United States.  This disparity makes it incredibly difficult for students from those countries to stay in the United States to live and work.  Instead, Lofgren said, they are forced back to their home countries where they end up competing with American companies.

At the hearing, B. Lindsay Lowell, B. Lindsay Lowell, Director of Policy Studies at the Institute for the Study of International Migration, drew several conclusions from the data on foreign graduates in STEM fields.  Below is an excerpt from his testimony:

H.R. 3012: "Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act"

Reforming the per-country limits on employment and family-based visas are both up for consideration this week in the House. The purpose of "HR 3012" is to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to eliminate the per-country numerical limitation for employment-based immigrants, to increase the per-country numerical limitation for family-sponsored immigrants, and for other purposes.

Please find the actual bill here and note the following update from AILA's Director of Advocacy, Greg Chen:

On Thursday and Friday this week, the House Judiciary committee is scheduled to markup a series of bills including H.R. 3012, the "Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act". Congressman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) along with Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX) are the sponsors of H.R. 3012, a measure that would eliminate the current per country cap limits of 7% on all employment-based (EB) green card categories over a three year transitional (phase-in) period leading to a strictly "first in, first out" (based on priority dates) system within the existing employment-based green card system. The measure would immediately increase the family-based per country cap from 7% to 15%. Also, the offset created by the Chinese Student Protection Act of 1992 is eliminated under the bill.

During the three year phase-in of the "first in, first out" employment based system- no group of applicants from a single country may receive more than 70% of employment based visas. In FY 2012, "first in, first out" applies to 85% of available EB visas; for FY 2013, "first in, first out" applies to 90% of available EB visas and for FY 2014, "first in, first out" applies to 90% of available EB visas for those visas not subject to "first in, first out". In other words, in FY 2012, 15% would be set-aside and 10% for the next two fiscal years. No group of applicants may receive more than 25% of the total set-aside during the 3 year phase-in period.

H.R. 3012 is the last measure on the list of bill scheduled to be addressed so there is a chance the committee will not get to it this week. In any case, we will provide additional updates as they occur.

H-1B Cap Update (as of 10/7/2011): 24,000 regular Hs left; 900 advanced degree Hs left

H-1B Cap Update: As of 10/7/11, USCIS received approx 41,000 cap subject H-1B cases and another 19,100 towards the advanced degree cap.

Link.

Q & A: EAD/AP Combo Card

Question:  I have an I-485 (adjustment of status) application pending, based on a labor certification filed 6 years ago.  I am waiting for my priority date to become current.  I work in H-1B status, have an H-1B visa AND a valid EAD (employment authorization document) and AP (advance parole/travel document). My EAD and AP will expire soon. Now that USCIS is issuing a convenient “combo card” combining the EAD and AP into one card, will I get a combo card when I apply to renew my EAD and AP?

Answer:   You are only eligible for an EAD/AP combo card if both applications (I-765 and I-131) are filed simultaneously, and both the EAD and AP documents are within 120 days of expiry.  Below please find a link to the USCIS Policy Memorandum, on the subject of issuance of the combo card.
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/98938707/AP-EAD-Final-Memo_12-2010

Suzette Blackwell

Associate Counsel

Ryvin Wallace Group

1-703-531-0790

suzette@ryvinlaw.com