Taking The Fifth

T

tuckin14

Registered Users (C)
OK, maybe this seems weird, but I'm not kidding.

Suppose you have an interview in which one spouse (obviously there is some friction) accused the other of something illegal. For example, a couple who are separated and one spouse says "He stole money from me" or "She beat me."

So then they ask "Sir, did you steal money from your wife" or "Ma'am, did you beat your husband?"

Do you take the fifth? I mean, these things are crimes.

And if so, how does this affect the interview? I know that you can always terminate an interview, but I think that usually results in an automatic denial. But say the applicant/beneficiary makes the charge against the sponsoring USC, and the USC declines to answer - it would seem highly inappropriate to deny the beneficiary for making a possibly true charge of wrongdoing against the USC which the USC refuses to confirm.
 
Yes they do.

The test is whether the marriage was entered into in good faith. The applicant has to show that they intended to have a bona fide marital relationship at the time of marriage.

If you are married, the USC spouse has to file the I-751 petition jointly. There is no option to say "We're separated and my spouse won't file." If a divorce is pending, USCIS will sometimes grant a continuation to wait for the divorce to be final so that the applicant can file with a waiver based on termination of the marriage.

However, in the simplest case, the petition is filed jointly, and the applicant shows that they intended to have a marital relationship at the time of marriage, but it just didn't work out. If the proof supports it, the green card will be granted. Of course, the fact of separation may cast some doubt on that, but it's not at all an insurmountable hurdle.
 
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