I am often asked whether Immigration Officers in the USA conduct themarriage green card interviewsdifferently for same sex married couples, especially those where their partner entered on a B2 visa. The answer is no, but there are different aspects of “proof of marriage” evidence provided during adjustment of status that may make proving that a same sex couple lives together a bit more difficult in some gay marriage cases.When it comes to granting marriage green cards to binational couples,same sex couples are held to the same legal standard as different sex couples. To be granted adjustment of status, the gay married couple must prove (a) one of them is a U.S. Citizen, (b) that they are legally married, and (c) that they live together in a marital relationship. Proving the first two requirements is generally straight forward. Proving the third, that a gay married couple lives together in a marital relationship, can be a bit complicated. In general, the idea is to submit as many joint account statements as possible that list both names and the same address on them. The more accounts held jointly in both names the better, no matter how high the account balance. One obstacle to adding a foreign national spouse’s name to a financial account is their lack of a social security number or ITIN. Foreign nationals who entered the USA on a B1/B2 visa and applied for adjustment of status are not immediately given a social security number of an ITIN number. Immigration Officers are familiar with this dilemma but still expect gay married couples to provide them with proof of at least some joint accounts. Evidence of a joint rental agreement, joint zoo membership or Netflix account or magazine subscription in both names could be obtained, all of which to may not require a social security number or ITIN. Some gay married couples have proudly added both of their names to everything, but others (often for very good reasons) have kept their accounts completely separate. Unfortunately, if a same sex couple applies for a gay marriage based marriage green card, they will be expected to present the same amount of proof of living together at themarriage green card interviewthat a different sex couple is required to submit. If they can’t, they should be able to provide good reasons (in writing) for not doing so, such as a signed written statement, police reports, etc. Another requirement everyone is expected to meet to get the . . .marriage green card is that the same sex couple had interaction with each others’ family. This is proven through the submission of photographs taken at the wedding, holidays and special events. There are many reasons why a same sex couple might not have spent time with each others’ family and/or certain friends. The same sex couple should gather as many photos taken of both of them, as well as photos taken with each other’s family, and put them (2 on a page) on 8 1/2 x 11” paper in chronological order. Does it seem like there are no family or family alternatives in the photos? If you are missing photos of significant moments with significant family, it may be a sign to the Immigration Officer that you are not living together in a marital relationship. You may have a situation where it is just impossible to include key family member in your photos. Either they are deceased, live abroad, or are not supportive of your marriage. In that case be ready to provide an short concise explanation of why your family was not at the wedding and why they are not in the photos. I have found that the interviewing Immigration Officers have an understanding of what it is like for a same sex married couple to deal with discrimination based on sexual preference and disapproval by family members. However, just because family members are not in the photos, it does not excuse the same sex couple from finding other ways to prove that they live together in a “bona fide” marriage. For example, if a same sex couple is missing photos with family members in them, they should try to present more joint financial documents (such as a life insurance policy, joint medical insurance, joint tax return, and/or joint car insurance) at themarriage green card interview to make up for it. On the other hand, if a same sex couple is missing joint financial documents, they should present more photos, affidavits from friends/relatives, joint accounts that do not cost money (joint email address, joint twitter account, etc.) at themarriage green card interviewto make up for it. The interviewing Immigration Officers have had years of experience encountering different sex couples with 25+ years age differences and differing cultures and/or religions. The Immigration Officers are trained to take into consideration all of the circumstances when faced with evaluating the “bona fides” of a marriage, whether it is a bi-national, bi-cultural, split age, or same sex marriage.
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