INS Rantings

I thought some people here could use some "I know how you feel" rantings.

"For me, as a person who is fumbling thru the intracasies of the
Immigration Services with my husband, i have a pretty good idea
of "legitimate marriage"... Hold people to the INS standards of
PROVING a legitimate marriage LOL.... I mean proving that you LIVE
together, that you have CONSUMATED the marriage, that you have CO-
MINGLED your finances, that the other person is listed as a
BENNIFICIERY in any insurance contracts, that you have a LEASE or
MORTGAGE in BOTH names, that the UTILITY bills for said home have
both names ... on & on.... see what i am saying is, while we alllll
know that some people have used fake marriages as a way of getting
a 'green card', its really hard and well, just downright
intimidating to have to PROOVE that you are honest! I was a wreck
before our interview with the INS because i was like how do you
PROOVE we aren't lying???!! You just have to know us, then there
isn't any doubt... but the INS people aren't looking to make new
friends LOL, they are just there to intimidate and scare the crap
out of law abiding people.. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

Ok, somewhat off track there LOL.... just saying that there are
already standards that the government uses to PROOVE a legitimate
marriage, although i would suspect, MOST people would not look
highly on the government subjecting them to these "tests" .... Just
us unlucky ones who happened to fall in love with someone who wasn't
born in the right country *sigh*"

I think the bottom line with INS is this.......If you've got all the information that theyre asking for, not what you think that they want, but what theyre ACTUALLY asking for ( the BCIS website breaks down every form, the fees and the paperwork needed to accompany it) then what they believe does'nt matter. Their determination is'nt a popularity contest they've got to follow the law the way it's laid out. Maybe it's just me...I've got a real thing for people that try to intimidate through authority thanks to 20 years with the Postal Service ...In fact, the women who interviewed my wife years ago when she first got here was an ex postal supervisor turned INS supervisor and I could tell right away that she was full of herself. We got married while my wife was here on a B1 visa which technically is a no-no unless you can prove that it was'nt planned. How do you do that? By saying nothing. I let her ask the questions and kept the answers short and sweet. Theyre smart. they'll ask you a question, you give an answer, then 5 minutes later they ask the same question in another way to see if you'll give the same answer. I was told this by an immigration lawyer that comes into the bar on occasion and she was the one who clued me to keep your answers short and sweet even when they seem like they wanna get chatty with you. Believe me, and I don't mean this in a bad way...but youre almost like a breath of fresh air to them if youre polite, concise, prepared, and can speak English. Once they see that youre not some idiot trying to con them then you're on even ground with them. They're just typical civil servants....underpaid, overworked and sometimes in need of an attitude check

P.S........this is why immigration lawyers make a living, they'll do for a fee what most people can do for themselves but feel intimidated by

this is why immigration lawyers make a living, they'll do for a fee what most people can do for themselves but feel intimidated by

When I grow up I want to be an immigration lawyer.

When I grow up I want to be an immigration lawyer.

Not me, when I grow up I wanna be Elizabeth Hurley's masseuse

Not me, when I grow up I wanna be Elizabeth Hurley's masseur

G0d, me too!  ... but I doubt if the indulgent Mrs H would let me ...