If you are seeking a green card based on your marriage to a United States citizen, you could wind up having to undergo a Stokes interview for the green card process to go further. Something about your application for a permanent visa could have called the legitimacy of your marriage into question for the immigration authorities.
Undergoing further scrutiny in an already nerve-wracking process is serious business. Being nervous is understandable but being fully prepared can help you get past any obstacles. The following tips can help you pass your Stokes interview with flying colors.
The Stokes interview
You will need to bring all the documentation that you can to establish that yours is a bona fide marriage and not a business transaction to get you a green card. In addition to the host of documents you should bring with you to the interview, take along your wedding album and other photo albums or digital depictions of your life together as a couple.
Spouses are separated during their videotaped Stokes interviews – and these interviews can last for hours. Be prepared to answer some very specific and granular questions about your life as a married couple. Even when the questions are invasively intimate, you still must provide truthful answers.
Types of questions you could face
Below is a non-inclusive list of frequently asked questions in Stokes interviews:
- How did the two of you meet?
- What did you do on your first date?
- Which side of the bed do you sleep on?
- What kind of toothpaste do you use?
- Describe the sofa in your living room.
- What TV shows do you record/watch?
- How many bathrooms are in your apartment or house?
- What night do you put out the garbage?
- Do you have any pets? Describe them.
- Describe the window coverings in your bedroom.
- What birth control method(s) do you use?
- What did you have for dinner last night/breakfast this morning?
As you can see from just the few examples above, it would be impossible to answer those questions if you weren’t describing your real life together or are well-versed in an elaborate ruse. Learning all you can about the questions you might face in a Stokes interview can help you clear this hurdle and secure permanent residency here in the United States.