A spousal adjustment interview occurs when the foreign spouse is in the United States and seeks to adjust his or her status here rather than entering from outside the United States as an immigrant. In order to qualify, the couple must establish that 1) They are legally married; 2) They are married in good faith and 3) there are no bars to either the alien adjusting to immigration status or the citizen petitioning for the foreign spouse. The bars to adjustment include certain health problems, past criminal violations of the applicant, poverty, participation in political or terrorist activity adverse to the United States and past immigration violations. The bar to the petitioner include convictions for certain crimes involving sexual or spousal abuse. The spousal adjustment interview is intended to test the validity of the information provided to the Service on the Alien Relative Petition also known as the form I-130; the Application to Adjust Status to Lawful Permanent Resident also known as form I-485 (sometimes known as the application for a “Green Card”) and the Affidavits of Support or I-864.
This book describes the interviewing process; informs the couple how to prepare the necessary documents to substantiate their marriage; discusses the Stokes Interview process in which couples are separated from each other for questioning. The book prepares applicants for the spousal adjustment interview by discussing interviewing techniques used by USCIS officers and provides a summary of important immigration concepts, such as what constitutes a legally-binding marriage and a marriage entered in good faith. It reviews some of the most common obstacles to adjustment, such as health problems, criminal, adverse political activities, prior immigration violations, public charge problems, long-distance relationships, Internet-relationships, and situations where the prior marriage has not yet ended.