Marriage Interview Documents

If your spouse is in the United States and you file for his or her green card via adjustment of status you will have an interview near the end of the case. You will be notified about 30 days prior about your marriage green card interview. The notification letter will let you know about the date and time of the interview. It will also tell you what documents to bring. This article will explain which marriage interview documents to bring to your green card through marriage interview.

When to Arrive

Every district office of USCIS has different wait times concerning entry into the building. Over the past few weeks I have gone to interviews in Sacramento, San Francisco and Fresno. The San Francisco wait time to enter the building was non-existent. It was early in the morning and I made it through security right away. The Fresno wait time was similar. I made it through security in about 5 minutes. However, Sacramento is known to have wait times of up to an hour (maybe more) to enter the building. My advice is to arrive very early and bring something to read in case you have to wait in line for an hour. Also dress appropriately. It was a cold morning in Sacramento recently when I had to wait for 30 minutes outside. I was happy to be wearing a long coat.

Documents to Bring

The appointment letter will state what documents you need to bring to the interview. Read this document very carefully and make sure to bring these documents. You should also bring the originals of the document which proves you are a U.S. Citizen ( birth certificate, Naturalization Certificate, or U.S. passport) your spouse’s birth certificate, your marriage certificate.

Bona Fides of the Relationship

Generally, at the end of your interview the Immigration Officer will ask for joint documents or bona fides of the relationship. You should be prepared when you are asked for the documents. Have the documents organized and easily accessible so you are not fumbling around for documents while feeling the pressure of the interview.

The documents you should bring include:

1. joint credit card statements
2. affidavits from family and friends (3 is a good number—please see below)
3. joint bank statements/ joint stock account statements
4. utility bills in both names
5. gym memberships in both names
6. life insurance statements showing that your spouse is the named beneficiary
7. auto registration showing joint ownership and joint addresses
8. receipts from gifts you have purchased for one another
9. letters from family, friends, co-workers to you at your home address
10. your mutual child’s birth certificate or a doctor’s note saying that one of you is pregnant or is seeking fertility treatment
11. Rental agreements or mortgages with both of your names on it.
12. Both driver’s licenses showing the same home address on them
13. Wedding cards received from friends and family

You should also bring photos of your wedding and or photos showing trips you have taken together. (Photos where other family members are present e.g. a reception, are good photos to bring to your interview. )

How Much Evidence is Enough?

It is much better to bring too much evidence than too little evidence. I know of interviews where the spouses brought almost nothing to prove that they were sharing their lives together. The interviewer was very patient with these couple sand had them mail him more evidence. The case was approved but you do not want to be in this position.  I recommend that you bring a lot of evidence showing that you are married and are sharing your lives together.

Recently I had an interview with a very nice young couple. They followed my instructions and brought a lot of evidence. It was very obvious that they were sharing their lives together. The immigration officer would not even take copies of all of their evidence and said that there was more than enough evidence to approve their case.  

Lesson: Bring too much evidence to your interview and not too little.  

Lawrence Gruner is an immigration attorney with over 25 years of experience handling marriage green card, fiance visa, and U.S. Citizenship cases (as well as other immigration cases.) His office handles cases in California, the United States and the World. We handle cases Worldwide.  We can help you with your whole case or a portion of your case (e.g. document preparation only), our fees are very reasonable and payment plans are almost always used by our clients.

Attorney Gruner would be happy to talk to you, free of charge, about your case. He can be reached at 888-801-6558 or 916-760-7270. You may also email him at attorneygruner@gmail.com

The above article is for general information only. You should not file anything with USCIS without speaking to an experienced immigration attorney.