US Marriage Based Green Card Refused: Reasons, Appeals & Support from Immigration Lawyers

USCIS decisions describe the central question in assessing a genuine marriage as whether the couple “intended to establish a life together at the time they were married.”

Marriage-based green card applications can be denied because of insufficient evidence of a genuine relationship, inconsistent interview answers, incomplete documentation, failure to meet financial sponsorship requirements or immigration inadmissibility.

Suspected marriage fraud can also result in denial under INA Section 204(c). Applicants should review the specific grounds in their refusal notice because the reason for denial determines which legal remedies may be available.

In order to prove that your marriage or partnership is legally valid, you must provide the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) with a copy of your marriage certificate. The legal validity of your marriage could be compromised if your marriage is not legally recognized in the place where you were married, if one spouse’s previous marriages did not end, or was not finalized before their current marriage started.

For this reason, it is important to make sure ahead of time that both spouses are eligible for legal marriage and that the wedding/marriage ceremony can take place somewhere that legally recognizes their union.

If for example, your foreign national spouse is from a country that does not allow same-sex marriages or interfaith marriages, you can sponsor your fiancé(e) and their children (if they have any) to enter the United States for the sole purpose of legally marrying in the U.S. After you and your spouse have married, the U.S. citizen can then file for an adjustment of status for a marriage-based green card and then become a lawful permanent resident.

In order to prove that your marriage or partnership is genuine and not solely for the purpose of a green card, you must provide evidence of your relationship and life together. These would include:

• any financial documents with both of your names on it such as a joint mortgage or lease agreements, joint bank accounts, utility bills, etc
• photos of the two of you together on vacation, celebrations, etc
• birth certificates of children born into the union (if applicable)

It should be noted that any documents submitted should be translated if they are not in English. All translations should be done by a certified translator and provided with the original non-English document.

When submitting all the necessary forms and documents to your green card application, it is important that there are no mistakes. Make sure that all information is provided truthfully and accurately, there aren’t any missing signatures, photos meet the government visa standards and all legal fees have been made in full.

Small mistakes like these could result in your application being refused. For this reason, it is recommended that you consult with an immigration attorney to double-check that everything is in order before being submitted to immigration services.

Despite having a legal marriage and a genuine relationship, you could be denied a marriage green card due to ineligibility. There are a variety of reasons why you can be ineligible for a green card, according to the Immigration and Nationality Act these can include:

• the applicant does not meet the health standards (has a communicable disease, lacks necessary vaccinations, certain mental health conditions or substance abuse problems that pose a risk to the general public)
• the applicant has a criminal record (aggravated felonies, illegal drug trafficking, crimes involving ‘moral turpitude’)
•  poses a risk to national security (has been associated with terrorist groups, entering the U.S. to participate in espionage, etc)
• does not meet the financial requirements (sponsor does not make 125% of the Federal Poverty Line)
• past immigration and visa violations
• providing fraudulent information (knowingly providing false or misleading information to immigration officials)

Applicants who are found to be ineligible due to these reasons can apply for a ‘waiver of inadmissibility’. USCIS will only grant this waiver if presented with sufficient evidence that ‘extreme hardship’ will occur if a visa is denied.
DACA recipients who are without permanent residence status are still eligible for a green card but only under certain conditions.

If your initial application was denied that it is important to ensure you submit robust supporting evidence next time.

If USCIS identifies missing documents or insufficient evidence, it may issue a Request for Evidence (RFE) or Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID). You must submit the requested information by the deadline stated in the notice.

All of the supporting documents must be sent together before the deadline. If you are sending documents with sensitive or confidential information via mail, it is recommended that you track the package to make sure that it is not lost or stolen and that it was properly delivered to the USCIS  office.  Make sure you keep a receipt of proof of delivery along with photocopies of all the documents that you sent off in your packet.

To further strengthen your application you should double-check all the details you have submitted. It is important to be as accurate and honest as possible.

If your case is particularly complex you may consider using a immigration specialist to check your application before submission.

USCIS may interview spouses separately if an officer has concerns about the authenticity of their marriage, including inconsistent testimony or suspicious supporting documents. These interviews are commonly known as Stokes-style interviews, although they are not a routine requirement for every marriage-based green card application.

USCIS guidance explains that “an officer may consider interviewing the petitioner and beneficiary separately” when submitted documents, inconsistent testimony or other circumstances raise concerns about possible marriage fraud. A separate interview does not automatically mean that a marriage green card will be denied.

USCIS may compare each spouse’s answers, review additional relationship evidence and request further documentation before making a decision. Depending on the evidence, the officer may approve the application, issue a Request for Evidence or Notice of Intent to Deny, or refuse the application. Applicants should address any concerns raised in the official notice and obtain legal advice if fraud is suspected.

In the Stokes interview, spouses will be separated and interviewed individually. Interview answers from each spouse will be recorded and compared afterward to determine if there are any major inconsistencies between each spouse’s answers. At the end of both of the interviews, the couple will be brought together to explain any discrepancies in their answers. It should be noted that this interview process can take many hours to complete.

If at the end of this interview, the immigration officer is still not satisfied and convinced of a bona fide marriage, the marriage-based green card will be denied.

When you are asked to come back for a Stokes interview, you will be asked to bring some documents with you. What to bring will vary depending on your case and the circumstance, however, it is a good idea to bring the following with you:

• Photo ID of the U.S. Citizen spouse
• Proof of U.S. citizen’s spouse’s citizenship (example: birth certificate, passport, green card, any document confirming their permanent residence status, etc)
• Foreign-born spouse’s passport
• Original marriage certificate
• Employment letters and recent pay stubs
• Bank account statements
• Rental or mortgage receipts (especially important if you are on a joint agreement)
• Tax returns
• Photo albums
• Any other forms that have both you and your spouse’s name on them. These can include insurance statements, utility bills, etc.

There is generally no conventional appeal against a consular immigrant visa refusal. However, the applicant may be able to provide additional documents, undergo administrative processing, apply for an available waiver or reapply, depending on the legal grounds stated in the refusal notice.

If USCIS denies your Form I-485, you generally cannot appeal the decision, but you may be able to file a motion to reopen based on new evidence or a motion to reconsider an error of law or policy. Your attorney may request to have the case reopened if new evidence is provided that might change the decision or you could just try to apply again if there are fixable mistakes on the first application that can be corrected.

If your adjustment of status application is denied, whether you must leave the United States depends on your current immigration status and circumstances. If you have no other lawful basis to remain, you may face removal proceedings and future immigration consequences. If this is the case, speak with an immigration attorney who will offer you legal advice on the best action to take.

The USCIS defines marriage fraud as the following:

• A U.S. citizen is paid or asked to perform a favor, to marry a foreign national already residing in the United States
•  “Mail-order” marriage where either the U.S. citizen or alien knows it is a fraud
• A foreign national defrauds a U.S. citizen who believes the marriage is legitimate

Under 8 U.S.C. §1325(c), an individual who knowingly enters into a marriage to evade immigration laws may be “imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or fined not more than $250,000, or both.” These penalties apply to individuals found guilty of marriage fraud under the statute.

Both foreign nationals and U.S. citizens are subject to these penalties if found guilty. Usually, harsher charges may accompany this charge if the perpetrator is found to have been systematically arranging fraudulent green card marriages for others or is involved in any other conspiracy operation.

The Department of Homeland Security takes this offense very seriously so if you are found to have committed marriage fraud, the foreign-born national will have their current visa revoked and face removal proceedings from the United States. A finding of fraud or willful material misrepresentation may result in permanent inadmissibility under US immigration law. However, certain applicants may qualify for a waiver, depending on the applicable legal provision and their family circumstances.