I-751 Interview Questions

[Waiting and Waiting 0]

My wife and I have been asked to appear for an interview for our pending I-751. Vermont took a year to process the initial 751 then forwarded to my local field office (San Juan PR) for processing. They were concerned that we used a PO Box for our address (I've had it for the past 20 years. Very common here to avoid mailbox tampering.) 4+ months later we have an appointment.

Does anyone recall questions from their interview? I have read, on other sites, that they might ask about a birth date but did anyone have any unusual questions?

[raymaga 25]

I have read somewhere that they ask such questions as: How did you celebrate your wife's birthday this year?.... Who is your husband's best friend?..... What is your husband's favorite dinner?, etc.

Usually, when they request an interview for the ROC, it's because they have some doubt about the relationship being bona fide.

As long as you have nothing to hide, you will be fine. They are trained at being able to see if a couple is trying to be fraudulent about actually being a married couple, living in the same home.

Good luck.

[Lou Lou 1]

Please come back and post what happens. Since these interviews are so rare, it will be good for people that do get called. Good luck....I'm sure everything will be fine.

[meauxna 15]

Usually, when they request an interview for the ROC, it's because they have some doubt about the relationship being bona fide.

As long as you have nothing to hide, you will be fine. They are trained at being able to see if a couple is trying to be fraudulent about actually being a married couple, living in the same home.

Just so there's not too much worry...

There are a percentage of cases that are pulled for interview just for quality control purposes. If you're a totally legit couple that get called for an interview, it doesn't necessarily mean that there is any doubt about you/your relationship. You could just be in that lucky 10 or so percent.

Waiting and Waiting, there was a recent interview experience posted here:

I-751 - interview requested

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=390531&

I-751 interview requested - update

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=401279&

[Aussielad 37]

and trust it to fall under my district aswell (San Juan) , just my luck lol....come back and let us know how it all goes!.

Hopefully your just part of the 10% that got pulled from the stash to have an interview

[Waiting and Waiting 0]

I am glad to report that she was approved. There were extenuating circumstances. My wife and her daughter are living in Portland Oregon while her daughter gets established in college. The marriage is good, it's just that we had an opportunity to get her daughter into a good educational system and we decided that it was the best thing to do. I go there every 6 months for a week because I cannot leave my 87 year old father alone in Puerto Rico any longer than that.

So...we had to file our taxes separately.

We had reported their moving to Oregon and marked it as temporary on the AR-11.

We decided that the best strategy was to put all the cards on the table. Let the interviewing officer review everything and not hold any paperwork back. We decided what our reply would be when we were asked if we are living together.

Our appointment was called on time and we were asked to present our paperwork. Her first question was how we had met. She then asked if we had any child from our marriage. She wanted to know if we were planning to have any more children. She asked how many children each of us had from previous marriages. She wanted to know where they were living. She saw the tax return my wife filed for 2005 and asked why we were not living together. Our reply was "We have a temporary situation". She put the papers down, took off her glasses and said, "OK. Tell me everything from the beginning." My wife related the whole story of how everything came about. I kept my mouth shut and just nodded. We indicated we had documentation to back everything up from her daughter's school and her college guidance counselor but she did not ask to see them. When my wife finished, the officer took out the photographs and went through them, asking who the additional people were in the photographs. She took one photo, stapled it to the file and handed the rest back along with the CD that I had prepared. ("I like to have a picture in the file.", she said.)

She took out a form and an inkpad and asked my wife to put her fingerprint on the form in the box and said, "Give me your passport so I can mark an extension for an additional year. That's it. You are approved."

The interview lasted maybe 20 minutes at the most. It just seemed longer.

I felt we were treated fairly and given an opportunity to fully explain our position. Incidentally, the interview was conducted in spanish (My wife is from Peru.) The interviewing officer was temporaily assigned to the San Juan office to help with a backlog.

Just a note: while we were waiting to be called, 3 individuals who were there for appointments and had checked in were not there when their names were called. One showed up later. I have no idea why they would not be there waiting. The officer was not happy.

Next step is to file for citizenship!

Thanks to everyone who provided feedback and support. The suggestions and information I received here was very helpful. Honesty and full disclosure is the best policy when dealing with DHS.

[jsassman 1]

I am glad to report that she was approved.

Congratulations! Another big hurtle crossed over!

[Aussielad 37]

thats interesting,m especially since i myself am dealing with the San Juan district office aswell.

hopefully i wont have to get called for an interview!<...waste more time lol

[Sweetgirl 0]

I am glad to report that she was approved. There were extenuating circumstances. My wife and her daughter are living in Portland Oregon while her daughter gets established in college. The marriage is good, it's just that we had an opportunity to get her daughter into a good educational system and we decided that it was the best thing to do. I go there every 6 months for a week because I cannot leave my 87 year old father alone in Puerto Rico any longer than that.

So...we had to file our taxes separately.

We had reported their moving to Oregon and marked it as temporary on the AR-11.

We decided that the best strategy was to put all the cards on the table. Let the interviewing officer review everything and not hold any paperwork back. We decided what our reply would be when we were asked if we are living together.

Our appointment was called on time and we were asked to present our paperwork. Her first question was how we had met. She then asked if we had any child from our marriage. She wanted to know if we were planning to have any more children. She asked how many children each of us had from previous marriages. She wanted to know where they were living. She saw the tax return my wife filed for 2005 and asked why we were not living together. Our reply was "We have a temporary situation". She put the papers down, took off her glasses and said, "OK. Tell me everything from the beginning." My wife related the whole story of how everything came about. I kept my mouth shut and just nodded. We indicated we had documentation to back everything up from her daughter's school and her college guidance counselor but she did not ask to see them. When my wife finished, the officer took out the photographs and went through them, asking who the additional people were in the photographs. She took one photo, stapled it to the file and handed the rest back along with the CD that I had prepared. ("I like to have a picture in the file.", she said.)

She took out a form and an inkpad and asked my wife to put her fingerprint on the form in the box and said, "Give me your passport so I can mark an extension for an additional year. That's it. You are approved."

The interview lasted maybe 20 minutes at the most. It just seemed longer.

I felt we were treated fairly and given an opportunity to fully explain our position. Incidentally, the interview was conducted in spanish (My wife is from Peru.) The interviewing officer was temporaily assigned to the San Juan office to help with a backlog.

Just a note: while we were waiting to be called, 3 individuals who were there for appointments and had checked in were not there when their names were called. One showed up later. I have no idea why they would not be there waiting. The officer was not happy.

Next step is to file for citizenship!

Thanks to everyone who provided feedback and support. The suggestions and information I received here was very helpful. Honesty and full disclosure is the best policy when dealing with DHS.

Good News!!! Congratulations!!!

Best wishes.

Sincerely.

[efc 1]

thanks for all of these posts, very useful to us as we have been "selected" to interview next week

I know it will all be ok as we are very happily married, I wish these immigration officers would skip the interview and just come visit you at your home and stay a few days!

We don't have joint bank accounts b/c I didn't have an income for a long time when first married and then when I got a job it was an actual check so I went with my employer's bank in order to cash the check for free. We did set up a joint account a few months ago for joint expenses, but it hasn't been the whole time we were married.

The mortgage is still just his name as he had the house for years before we met, same for most bills.

But, we have tax returns, letters from family and friends, vacation pics and tickets for trips.

We also have separate healthcare b/c we both have insurance through work.

Hopefully will all be ok though!