If you are applying for a marriage-based green card, U.S. immigration officials will be looking for signs that your marriage is not genuine. Here are 7 red flags that can raise suspicion.
U.S. immigration officials may suspect your marriage is fraudulent if one or more of the following 7 red flags go up:
No common language
If you can’t communicate with each other without using Google Translate, how can you have a bona fide marriage? Maybe it’s possible, but it’s a red flag.
A huge age gap
It’s not uncommon these days, but it’ll raise questions. It’s a little suspicious. Red flag.
Too many photos of just the two of you
U.S. immigration officers want to see more than just selfies. If your photos look real, so will your marriage. Be sure to include some of the two of you and other family members and friends. And don’t be wearing the same thing in every photo, for obvious reasons.
No documents showing a shared life
For example, it’s not a good look if you don’t have a joint bank account, or if you aren’t joint tenants on a lease or something like that. And it looks even worse if you rush to open up a joint bank account right before your interview with U.S. immigration officials because they’re going to think you did it only for immigration purposes.
Not living together (at some point)
It’s a red flag if you haven’t lived together for at least some period because that’s what married people do.
A suspicious (shady) immigration history
For example, if you or your spouse had a fraudulent marriage in the past, or some other major problem with U.S. immigration, it’s going to cast doubt on your current marriage.
Inconsistent answers at your marriage-based green card interview
If you and your spouse can’t get your stories straight, how can you have a bona fide marriage?
Want to talk through your situation? Book a consultation with me.
