When a Green Card applicant is applying for a Green Card based on marriage to a U.S. citizen, providing strong evidence of a real marriage is super important. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is very concerned about fraud. USCIS knows that a person can’t pick his brothers or sisters, but he can pick his wife and maybe he picked his wife because she paid him $30,000 to get married, so she could get a Green Card. At the Green Card interview, the USCIS official will be digging in to see if the marriage is real. The couple will be asked to provide additional documentation that supports the authenticity of their marriage.
In preparation for the Green Card interview, the couple should gather a variety of joint documents that demonstrate the validity of their marriage. Examples of the documents that the couple should bring to the interview include joint checking and savings account statements showing regular financial activity, jointly filed tax returns for recent years, and shared lease or mortgage agreements. Other compelling documents include joint health, auto, or life insurance policies listing each other as beneficiaries, utility bills with both names, and documents showing shared ownership of assets like vehicles. These documents help establish a picture of a real life lived together.
Additionally, personal evidence such as photographs of the couple taken over time and in different settings—especially with family and friends—can illustrate the legitimacy of the relationship. Who would a person go through all of the effort to take multiple photos at various locations, in different clothing, surrounded by friends and family with a fake husband or wife? Presenting this broad range of documentation can reassure the USCIS officer of the good faith nature of the marriage. Being prepared with documents to demonstrate a real marriage will make the officer’s job easier and make it more likely that your Green Card application will be approved.
