Thanks for the kind words
Hey guys,
Thanks for all the encouragement. We got back from the interview a while ago and I've had some time to digest. Here are some thoughts:
TL;DR summary:
I walked out of the interview thinking we were going to get called back for a Stokes fraud interview. With the benefit of a nap and a few hours, I'm leaning more towards a 'bad cop' IO, and that we are hopefully either approved or RFE'd.
I tend to ramble, so I'll keep this short and sweet with an FAQ style structure:
What made you think that USCIS would call for a Stokes interview?
Three things made me think "Stokes':
First, the IO lady actually uttered the word 'suspicious' after my wife completely flubbed consecutive opening softball-questions:
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What is your home address? My wife mangled the street number, and got only one digit right in the zip code.
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What city was your husband born in? My wife picked the wrong borough of NY, but the IO couldn't understand her accent and had expressly told me not to help, so they spent a minute in a painful 'is this what you said?' It was almost like an unfunny stand up comedy routine after 10 back and forths. Each iteration took like a week off my life.
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What state was he born in? My wife couldn't understand the IO and was too intimidated to ask her to repeat the question, so she kept repeating the wrong borough, which of course the IO couldn't understand. Eventually I clearly enunciated 'STATE' and then my wife answered correctly.
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When did you move in together? My wife incorrectly (and painfully, for me) stated '2007' but she wasn't on the lease until around 2009. She had her own apartment but she spent 100% of her time at my place since early 2007. In fact, when we finally went to check in on her place, we discovered mice had basically taken over the apartment because she spent, literally, zero time there. The IO raised a suspicious eyebrow at this incorrect answer, and I tried to explain.
Second, after asking my wife why she didn't have a social security card or a California driver's license, she said 'you better get this stuff together for your
second interview.' This was the 'oh, shit, Stokes' moment for me.
Third, the interview ended after only about 20 minutes, and the only additional questions that were asked were
'what is your job now' (which my wife also mangled) the standard 485 questions: have you ever worked as a prostitute, have you ever been a member of an organization whose purpose is to overthrow of the U.S. government, etc.. Here's what did NOT come up: 'who was at the wedding,' 'what color is his toothbrush,' future plans, 'have you met each other's parents,' or 'do you have pay stubs?'
At the end of the 20 minutes, the IO just said 'you'll be mailed a decision in 30 days. Do you have any questions?' No introduction, no congratulations; total poker face.
Why do you now think that you'll get an RFE or an approval? It sounds like everything went wrong. Are you nuts?
There are 3 main reasons I'm not thinking Stokes:
First, when the IO asked 'any questions' at the end of the interview, after about 30 seconds, I managed to ask 'umm, you mentioned a 'second interview' earlier- is that the direction our application is headed in?' The IO took a moment to answer and said 'well, she'll need to interview a second time for the 10 year greencard.'
Up until that moment, the main thoughts in my head were 'ohshit,ohshit,ohshit,why didn't she prepare at all for this,ohshit,ohshit,ohshit.' After that it was more like 'wah? what does that mean?' Based on sleepless nights trawling these forums and visajourney, I was under the impression that couples suspected of fraud are informed immediately that they will be called within 120 days for a second interview.
I now think that the IO chose her words carefully, and that she was giving us some solace without letting up on her routine.
Second, 10 minutes after leaving the building I started to think that the IO had been playing 'bad cop' and that she was not actually suspicious of our marriage.
I read through a lot of the 'interview experience' posts on the forums (as many of us compulsively do), and I had a sense of the wide range of tactics IOs use to shake couples out of rehearsed lines or a comfort zone. I also know that if an IO uses strong words like 'fraud' or 'suspicious,' those words may be part of the theatrics, and not an actual indication of judgment. For a really extreme example, read hy2934's hair-raising experience:
http://forums.immigration.com/showt...Filers/page2&p=2563713&highlight=#post2563713
Third, in retrospect, I focused on the fact that our marriage probably contains very few 'red flags' for USCIS. We have a common background (my parents are first generation citizens from the same country as my wife), our ages aren't abnormally far apart, our education levels are comparable, there are no abnormally large differences in appearances (e.g., I'm not Jabba the Hut with Princess Leia- no offense intended to any Hutts that may be reading), and we submitted photos from a wide number of years, locations and (unfortunate) hairstyles.
